Feminizing the Military

This story, reported by The Daily Caller, deserves far more attention than it has received. Then again, if it is not receiving attention, that itself is a symptom. A symptom of the willingness of the public to accept the degradation of the military… through the imposition of feminist ideology.

Don’t you think that the best way to create a mean, lean fighting machine is to follow feminist principles?

It seems that the Obamafied military, led by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is no longer concerned about winning wars or even battles. It has a new goal: gender equity. Now the military, even the Marines will dedicate its efforts to help women to fulfill their true potential. By giving them special privileges in order to foster diversity. Better yet, by putting them in combat.

Who talks this way?

Feminist firebrands like Sheryl Sandberg.

As you know, Sandberg is the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook. And she is a widowed single mother of two children. Apparently, she has extra time on her hands, so, from her perch in the Lean In foundation,  she has taken to lecturing the Secretary of Defense on the composition of military units.

How much does Sheryl Sandberg know about military readiness, effectiveness and readiness?

Nothing. Zero. Truth be told, she does not care.

Why is the man in charge of the world’s greatest military organization taking advice from a feminist? And why, God forbid, is he implementing her suggestions?

If this does not show that the inmates have taken over the asylum, it certainly shows that feminist ideology has infiltrated the national culture to a frightening extent.

Surely, this should make serious people very angry, but it must also make them very afraid. The people tasked with defending the nation are indulging in mindless social experiments. If ours are so far superior to other military forces that they can win with both hands tied behind their backs, one knows that it will not always be this way. And, what do you think leaders of other aspiring hegemonic powers are going to think when they see that American forces are being led by women? Fear and trembling or encouragement? And what will the world’s brigades of terrorists be thinking when they discover that American military bases have lactation stations? Fear and trembling or a sign that they are on the side of strength?

The Sandberg-Carter reforms show a complete lack of concern for the true goals of the military: winning wars. They are willing to sacrifice combat readiness and efficiency for an ideological illusion. They want new mothers to take parental leave and to be able to return to their units, with whom they have not been training, and to take up their old positions.

What does Sandberg want?

She wants women to receive preferential treatment in the military. Worse yet, Carter was receptive to the plea. The Daily Caller reported:

Newly released emails from Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s private email account show detailed correspondence with Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, who pressured an enthusiastic and receptive Carter to give preferential treatment to women in the military

We know how well preferential treatment has worked in university admissions, so why not try it in the military.

What evidence does Sandberg present?

For Sandberg, not enough women are represented in the military and that problem only compounds when examining high-level positions across the services.

What the military really needs, she adds, is diversity. What really matters is women reaching their true potential. As you know, when you are fighting a war, you get extra credit for diversity:

The first proposal Lean In recommended was to restructure and reform promotions in the military to “counter biases that are preventing women from reaching their full potential.”

This proposal includes carefully examining promotion criteria to see if they “filter out a disproportionate amount of women and/or minorities.” The implication seems to be that if too many women are filtered out, then the standards practically by definition cannot be gender neutral, and so should be scrutinized and potentially reworked.

One might ask how many minority executives there are at Facebook, or throughout Silicon Valley. And, how many women executives are working at those firms? If Sandberg wants to play ideological games with her company, she is free to do so. If she wants to offer an opinion, she is free to do that also. Ash Carter has no such excuses for his own dereliction.

Sandberg thinks that we should have more women commanders. As for the pesky problem of pregnancy and childrearing, Sandberg believes that women should not be penalized for taking time off. And naturally they should be able to bring their babies to work. She even wants bases to have lactation stations:

Additionally, women in the military often take leaves of absence, due to issues like pregnancy, which naturally hurts their chances at promotion. For Lean In, the discrepancy seems unacceptable. Instead, the career track should allow far more flexibility to make sure that in spite of pregnancy, women still comprise a much larger portion of military leadership.

The military’s obligations, according to Lean In, are not concluded after a female servicemember gives birth. Rather, the military should shift the hours of child care development centers to open 15 minutes before duty reporting.

There should also be lactation rooms on all bases.

“Pregnancy is a top driver of female attrition across all branches,” the report notes. “We suggest that the DOD find ways to offer female service members who are (or who are thinking about becoming) pregnant assistance with planning their next career moves.”

Increasing maternity leave and helping women every step of the way during pregnancy is necessary to lower female attrition rates in the military and make sure they get into leadership positions in the military.

Of course, Sandberg is trying to change the culture overall. She obviously believes that men and women are not just equal, but the same. Therefore any institution that treats men and women differently is necessarily prejudicial. If she believes that women will be as effective as commanders as men she is clearly delusional. Again, if she wants to try it at Facebook, by my guest. If she cannot figure out why in the highly competitive world of warfare men have always been singled out to lead the charge, then she is simply ignorant.

But, what is Ash Carter’s excuse:

Sandberg sent another email September 21, 2015, applauding Carter and saying, “Your commitment to creating a force as diverse as the nation it serves is something that will change our military—and our culture overall.”

“I truly believe that together, we are making the world a bit more equal,” she said.

Carter was ecstatic at the praise.

“I thank YOU Sheryl for your inspiration,” Carter said. “It is easy to fall in behind the strong and persuasive way you help me make the case. I learned a lot…I am so pleased that this gives you some happiness. I wish you strength every day. Please call me Ash.”

For my part, I will accept all of it at precisely the moment when the government forces all professional football teams to have an equal number of men and women on the field at all times. That would be true equality, don’t you think? If women can't hack it in the NFL what makes you think that they can  hack it in combat?