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

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

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

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

"Quick-Look" Summary Omits Details on Issues of Major Concern

On Friday, February 1, the Center for Naval Analysis (CNA) released a "Quick-Look Analysis of Survey Results Assessing the Implications of Possible Changes to Women in Service Restrictions."  The 5-page paper, dated September 2012, summarizes results of an online survey of active-duty Marines on the subject of women in combat, which was conducted from May 30 to August 31, 2012. 

The Center for Military Readiness obtained a copy of the 16-page CNA survey instrument in June, 2012, and prepared an analysis of the 122 questions asked. 

The CNA "Quick-Look" summary, belatedly released on a Friday, seems intended to manage public perceptions that are not supported by still-undisclosed research data.  If the survey of Marines revealed significant support for the assignment of women in "tip of the spear" direct ground combat units, detailed poll results would have been announced in full and proclaimed a "success" four months ago.  . . . Read More