The military needs a real plan to recruit and retain women, report finds

MY COMMENT:

Having served mostly in integrated units, medical and Military Police, for example, I can assure you that women can fight and perform at the very highest levels of professionalism and competence along side men. But that professionalism and competence cannot protect them from sexual harassment or assault, the leading causes of female military discharges.

Women don't want to serve in an unsafe environment caused by their male military colleagues and superiors.

It seems to me that if you want to recruit women who want to be in the military you need to improve or completely solve sexual violence in the military. One way to do that I believe is to offer an all-female option.

This would take a sea-change in the way the military operates, but I believe given the opportunity, all-women units could excel.

If you let women design the units, from uniforms and equipment, to training and SOP's, you would end up with a quality operation, capable and effective - and without the terrible incidents of sexual violence, which degrades individual and unit moral and functionality.

Let's face it, the job of the military is to win wars and conflicts, project power and influence, protect and defend this great country, effectively and efficiently. Women can do this as effectively as men, but for the most part are not allowed to flourish in the male dominated military. All women units would give females the SAME opportunity as men to perform and excel, thereby earning promotions and recognition at the same rate as their male counterparts.

Naysayers complain about different standards, but fail to admit that men and women ARE in fact DIFFERENT. Segregated forces would eliminate that criticism, and allow focus to be brought on PERFORMANCE rather than gender.

One rationale for separating the genders is that although there is a general physical difference in capability, the very best females can outperform most males, as we see in elite sports venues. Women who join the military are not average women. Many are above average and beyond in physical competence and capability.

There are many psychological and social reasons why all female military units make sense, and it's something quite common in other countries. Some even have all female elite special forces units. I believe female military members can better explain these nuances, but they do exist, and I have had discussions about them with my female military colleagues.

I think it's time that planning begins for establishing all female military units as not just a way to get more females to join, but as a way to add another effective dimension to our total force structure. Unique units with unique capabilities can perform unique missions that would help keep us all safer as well as honor the unique capabilities of women.