I’ve been waiting patiently for a commentary which would as succinctly as possible address the disaster underway in the undermining of the US armed forces. This one is pretty good, but still falls a bit short. I do wish our readers could be offered this in its entirety, however, the excerpts will hopefully entice them to read the entire article in hopes that people like some of your military friends would be moved to provide Quad Citians with their informed assessments.
In this piece, I think the writer sums up the weak stance on the part of the GOP candidates pretty well, except in the case of Cruz. I think Cruz at least approaches the subject better than any of the others (I’ve highlighted his take).
One thing the writer failed to note, in my view, which should be a part of the needed critique of the Obama assault on our military is the diversion of Pentagon spending and training resources to those things this social experiment is causing. While reducing manpower, weaponry, etc. we are spending the budget aimed at shoring up our military on climate change-related “directives”, transgender recruitment, sexual and gender harassment training, healthcare funds for transgender surgeries, pregnancies, family leave, etc , etc.
Every Problem with Women in Combat the GOP Contenders Ignored
By Gene Schwimmer writing at American Thinker
Which of the enemies America faces is the most dangerous? Is it North Korea? ISIS? Iran? A resurgent Russia? A rising China?
The answer, in fact, is, none of the above.
The warriors posing the greatest threat to our security are the social justice warriors in the White House, Congress, and the Pentagon.
…and, sad to say, onstage at the February 6 Republican candidates’ debate, in New Hampshire. In response to a question on whether to require women to register for the draft, Marco Rubio replied, in part:
[T]here are already women today serving in roles that are like combat … whose lives are in very serious danger, and so I have no problem whatsoever with people of either gender serving in combat so long as the minimum requirements necessary to do the job are not compromised.
He was soon joined by Jeb Bush, who added:
[I]f women can meet the requirements, the minimum requirements for combat service, they ought to have the right to do it.
But the Nobel Peace Prize for P.C. claptrap has to go to Chris Christie:
[M]y wife and I have taught our daughters right from the beginning that their sense of self-worth, their sense of value, their sense of what they want to do with their life comes not from the outside, but comes from within. And if a young woman in this country wants to go and fight to defend their country, she should be permitted to do so.
Part of that also needs to be part of a greater effort in this country, and so there’s no reason why young women should be discriminated against from registering for the selective service.
Or from increasing the risk to male soldiers’ lives by serving in combat to satisfy “their sense of self-worth”?
Elsewhere in the debate, on the question of loosening the rules of engagement, Ted Cruz said that we should (emphasis added):
… allow our soldiers to do their jobs instead of risking their lives with politicians making it impossible to accomplish the objective.
Cruz, of course, is the man who vows to rescind all of Barack Obama’s executive orders on the first day. Does that promise apply to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus’s order – against the strong objection of Marine Corps commandant General Joseph Dunford and notwithstanding empirical test results – to open all combat positions to women? Cruz did not say at the debate, and though he did, in a subsequent town hall, describe drafting women as “nuts,” he apparently said nothing about the core issue of women serving in combat period. . . .
Ed note: Cruz’s position does not seem unclear to us – he opposes drafting women and putting them in close combat, and is the only candidate to hold that position. His position has been ardently expressed. His position on rescinding Obama’s executive orders is clear, he will rescind all unconstitutional ones the first day in office. That does not mean all others that day – even Obama has some that are pro-forma actions. If any represent bad policy, then he should do so in due haste.
As far back as the Carter administration, civilians have been pushing the military to allow women into ground combat. And the military has been pushing back, to no avail.
The results of the Marines’ mixed-gender combat test – the results that Mabus willfully ignored – that women were slower, weaker, more injury-prone, and poorer shots than the men – are well known, as are the statements, on military blogs, of numerous enlisted men and officers who have made their opposition to Mabus’s order clear. But a Facebook post, by Sergeant Major Justin Lehew, who has “been a part of this process from the beginning,” merits quoting at length (emphases added):
We selected our best women for this test unit, selected our most mature female leaders as well. The men (me included) were the most progressive and open minded that you could get. … No one went in to [sic] this with the mentality that we did not want this to succeed.
[…]
This was as stacked as a unit could get with the best Marines to give it a 100 percent success rate as we possibly could. End result? The best women … as a group … were equal or below in most all cases to the lowest 5 percent of men as a group. They are slower on all accounts in almost every technical and tactical aspect and physically weaker in every aspect across the range of military operations.
SECNAV has stated that he has made his mind up even before the release of these results and that the USMC test unit will not change his mind. … Listen up folks. Your senior leadership of this country does not want to see America overwhelmingly succeed on the battlefield, it wants to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to pursue whatever they want regardless of the outcome on national security.
[…]
There is nothing gender biased about this, it is what it is. You will never see a female Quarterback in the NFL, there will never be a female center on any NHL team and you will never see a female batting in the number 4 spot for the New York Yankees. It is what it is.
DLH
