GI Jane, Again

LAST year, the U.S. Army redesigned its combat brigades into “units of action”: taskorganized, self-contained organizations that include support troops-or forward support companies (FSCs)- embedded within them. The change was designed to make our troops more rapidly deployable. Unfortunately, it has been adulterated by a bow to political correctness that threatens to attenuate the military’s effectiveness.

Current regulations prohibit women from ground combat-a prohibition that also applies to women in FSCs. Nevertheless, the Army, claiming that there are not enough men to fill positions in the FSCs, has begun to assign women to them. Army leaders claim that this change is consistent with current regulations, and that Defense Department rules bar women from FSCs only during moments in which those units are “conducting” combat. The implication is that women would be withdrawn from them before the onset of hostilities.

About the Author

Mackubin Thomas Owens

Mackubin Thomas Owens is a senior national security fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute , editing its journal Orbis from 2008 to 2020. A Marine Corps infantry veteran of the Vietnam War, he was a professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College from 1987 to 2015. He is the author of US Civil–Military Relations after 9/11: Renegotiating the Civil-Military Bargain.

Featured Tags

Department of Defense

Congress

House of Representatives

LAST year, the U.S. Army redesigned its combat brigades into “units of action”: taskorganized, self-contained organizations that include support troops-or forward support companies (FSCs)- embedded within them. The change was designed to make our troops more rapidly deployable. Unfortunately, it has been adulterated by a bow to political correctness that threatens to attenuate the military’s effectiveness.

Current regulations prohibit women from ground combat-a prohibition that also applies to women in FSCs. Nevertheless, the Army, claiming that there are not enough men to fill positions in the FSCs, has begun to assign women to them. Army leaders claim that this change is consistent with current regulations, and that Defense Department rules bar women from FSCs only during moments in which those units are “conducting” combat. The implication is that women would be withdrawn from them before the onset of hostilities.

About the Author

Mackubin Thomas Owens

Mackubin Thomas Owens is a senior national security fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute , editing its journal Orbis from 2008 to 2020. A Marine Corps infantry veteran of the Vietnam War, he was a professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College from 1987 to 2015. He is the author of US Civil–Military Relations after 9/11: Renegotiating the Civil-Military Bargain.