Issues Research & Analysis
More background information and historic documents on this topic may be available in the 'Essential Resources' section of this website, or in a previous edition of CMR E-Notes, archived here.

April 21, 2013

Gen. Dempsey Says He Will Question Standards That Are "Too High"

The Department of Defense is protesting (too much) that when military women are allowed (actually, ordered) into direct ground combat battalions, they will be held to the same standards men must meet today.  This claim is not compatible with another major social goal of the Defense Department, what former Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen called "diversity as a strategic imperative."

There are seven major reasons why the Obama Administration, including compliant members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are being less than candid about the consequences . . . Read More

April 7, 2013

Military LGBT activists can hardly wait for the Supreme Court to declare the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional.  According to a Politico report titled "For LGBT Troops, DOMA Ruling a Pocketbook Issue," if the Supreme Court does not issue a sweeping ruling in their favor, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender groups will pressure Congress to pass legislation authorizing marriage benefits for same-sex couples. 

This suggests that if the courts or Congress abolish the DOMA, which defines marriage as the bond of one man and one woman, a new class of potentially "entitled" beneficiaries will expect to draw funds from shrinking Defense Department family support accounts.  . . . Read More

April 2, 2013
Results of the annual 2013 Military Times Poll of active-duty subscribers to the Gannett-owned Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Times newspapers, reveal political shifts and unresolved concerns about the consequences of social engineering in the military.  (See April 1 edition, pp. 8-10)  Trends on women in land combat and gays in the military hardly indicate that the administration's policies are universally supported by the men and women who serve.  . . . Read More

March 28, 2013

The Center for Military Readiness has prepared a brief but comprehensive analysis of issues raised when the Obama Administration set in motion a determined, incremental plan to unilaterally abolish military women's exemption from direct ground battalions.

This CMR Policy Analysis explains why the only way to show true respect and support for both women and men in our military, and to preserve tough training standards and sound policy regarding Selective Service, is to codify women's long-standing direct ground combat exemptions: 

Defense Department Drive to Force Women Into Direct Ground Combat: Why Congress Must Intervene

Congress should exercise its constitutional authority over military policy by establishing . . . Read More

February 21, 2013
On January 24 lame-duck Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the administration's intent to eliminate military women's exemptions from direct ground combat battalions.  Targeted for unprecedented change would be Army and Marine infantry, armor, artillery, Special Operations Forces and Navy SEALs.

These are small fighting teams that locate, close with, and attack the enemy with deliberate offensive action and a high probability of . . . Read More