By @CynicalPublius on X
Retired US Army Colonel
I’ve seen some great articles about how Trump’s election is causing a “preference cascade,” i.e., people suddenly realize that they are not alone in their thinking, that so many others share that thinking, and that it’s OK to say those things out loud again. It’s a “the emperor…
— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) December 13, 2024
I’ve seen some great articles about how Trump’s election is causing a “preference cascade,” i.e., people suddenly realize that they are not alone in their thinking, that so many others share that thinking, and that it’s OK to say those things out loud again. It’s a “the emperor has no clothes” kind of thing.
Pete Hegseth’s nomination has opened up a preference cascade on the issue of women in combat. It’s OK again to speak truth on the subject and not pretend that men and women are somehow interchangeable.
If you follow me, you know my story that I have served with many amazing female soldiers. At the same time, I recognize that there are some immutable truths about the issue that have gone stifled for too long.
It’s not that I want to deny women opportunities, but readiness comes before feelings, and any analysis of women in combat MUST consider the following Ten Truths (all of which are now OK to speak thanks to the Hegseth Preference Cascade):
1. As a general rule, women possess less physical strength and endurance than men.
2. As a general rule, women tend to incur stress fractures and similar overuse injuries more easily than men.
3. As a general rule, women miss more duty time than men due to medical reasons, which impacts readiness.
4. As a general rule, men and women process information differently, with women tending to give more weight to emotional considerations than men. One can argue this point, but combat leaders need to not make decisions based on emotions.
5. When women in service get pregnant, they are non-deployable for an extended period and unit readiness suffers, particularly if a woman who is pregnant holds what is known as a “low-density MOS.” (i.e, She’s the only person in the unit with her MOS—I had this happen with my unit going into Afghanistan where the one-of-a-kind medical lab tech got pregnant just before we deployed; we went without and cross-trained a regular medic. People actually could have died due to this shortfall, thankfully they did not.)
6. Standards HAVE been lowered in so many corners of the military to accommodate physical differences between men and women, and readiness is lessened as a result. This has happened despite assurances it would not.
7. Mixing young men and young women in high-stress, isolated combat conditions (whether at war or in training) often results in intense romance that harms small unit cohesion and combat effectiveness. Hormones cannot be wished away.
8. Men tend to have a protective instinct regarding women, an instinct that can lead to poor decision-making in combat.
9. Women tend to have greater hygiene needs than men, and hygiene in combat or field conditions is difficult to maintain. (See #3.)
10. Women face risks as a prisoner of war that men do not face.
Look, I support women in the military, quite strongly. I’m married to an Expert Field Medical Badge-wearing paratrooper medic who is as Hooah as they come.
But the fact is, women in forward combat roles is something altogether different, and any discussion on that topic MUST address the Ten Truths above, or else it is no discussion at all, it’s just DEI claptrap.
Reality wins over DEI, as it must.
Need to be able to have a conversation about women in the infantry
Get Over It! We Are Not All Created Equal
By Capt Katie Petronio, USMC
First published in Marine Corp Gazette, July 2012
As an Infantry Officer and commander of one of the first sexually integrated Basic Combat Training units (The Army took out the Combat part of the name), later a MACOM Inspector General, and Commander of a Joint Command in Somalia, I completely concur with all 10 points in this opinion. In Dec 2015 as a member of the Army Human Dimension multi-year project, we were told by PM Soldier that the average combat load of the infantrymen in Afghanistan was 106 lbs, not counting extra ammo, water, or rations. Even exceptional athletic women cannot carry that load and be an effective member of the squad or platoon. Most men struggle with that load. But as a 5 time commander, I can tell you the leadership problems quadruple in mixed sex units – related to sex and romance and sexual tensions. The two women I had in combat both panicked under fire, one nearly getting three males soldiers/marines killed in an ambush instead of doing her duty. These are anecdotal stories but the truth from my 31 year career. Infantry units live in dirt and filth and have no special accommodations for women. I may be old but from my experiences and observations women do not belong in ground combat – infantry, combat engineers, tank crews, or self-propelled artillery. They are a liability, detract from cohesion, and do not enhance readiness. There are hundreds of MOS and types of units where they can serve as outstanding leaders and enlisted members including, MI, AVN, ADA, Missile & Towed Arty, MPs, Heavy & Construction Engineers, Logistics, Medical, and some SF, etc. And yes they may find themselves in combat in those duty positions, but they are not assigned to units given the mission to close with and destroy the enemy in ground combat.