Concerns over gender integration need to be addressed before plan moves forward, Marine veterans say
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter's order Thursday to open all military roles to women may be a historic moment for the armed forces, but some Marine Corps veterans said Friday they have concerns about how it will work.
Three Marine Corps veterans -- two men and one woman -- said they had mixed feelings about Carter announcement's opening the final 10 percent of military positions to women, allowing them to serve in the most grueling infantry roles and join special operations units. Women have already served in many roles that exposed them to combat situations in Iraq and Afghanistan in positions on flight crews and artillery units.
Carter said Thursday that the armed forces branches have 30 days to submit plans to make the necessary changes to open those roles to women. He added that any man or woman who could meet the standards should be able to serve in any role. The branches of the armed forces will have to begin putting plans in place by April 1.
But Yvette Clifford, who served in the Marine Corps from 1980 to 1988, said the standards needed to be clearly defined. Clifford, of Oak Grove, Mo., said she did not think women should serve in combat roles, unless the women who wanted to enter those combat roles met more grueling standards for men.
"Men and women are different," she said. "God made it that way and no matter how much we try to make people the same, we are different. Our minds work differently, our thoughts process differently, and our bodies are built differently.
"If the standards are kept just as they are and not lowered for women, there will not be much change. But should the powers that be say men will meet this standard and women will meet this lower standard, then there will be issues. Women have proven they can keep up without changing the requirements for the combat jobs."
Clifford and veteran Tom Snyder both said issues in the armed forces with sexual assault and sexual harassment needed to be addressed before putting women in combat roles. Clifford said she wanted to see data that showed those rates were declining before putting more women at risk.
"Has it increased in the last 25 years as women crossed over into male roles," Clifford said. "If it has, should we put women in those situations just because of political and public opinion?"
Snyder, a Vietnam War veteran from Nazareth, Pa., and his daughter are both Marine Corps veterans. He said Friday he would not want his daughter exposed to the deplorable conditions he faced on the front lines.
"Having served in combat, I do not wish that on anyone, let alone a woman," he said. "Combat is not how M.A.S.H. was portrayed on TV, and the special accommodations females would need would increase costs, slow down mobility, and open up doors for more sexual harassment claims."
Both Snyder and Marine Corps veteran Greg Stimmell expressed concerns that setting up separate accommodations for male and female infantry would lead to the performance of co-ed units suffering -- a concern also voiced by former Marine Corps commandant and current Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, who had asked for an exception to open all positions to women.
A Marine Corps study released in September found that women were more prone to injury and performed worse than their male counterparts in infantry-focused tasks. The study also found that all-male units worked more efficiently than mixed-gender ones.
"Instead of living with your teammate, there is a separation that could hinder part of the team building process," said Stimmell, of Winston-Salem, N.C. "This process, in my opinion, is ultra-important for a unit to function at the highest level.
"I had the privilege of serving with some amazing female Marines. Some of them were more mentally and physically fit than some of the male Marines. I have no doubt that some female Marines can effectively fill combat roles. While I agree with equality, I'm torn on this particular issue."
Stimmell, who served in the Marine Corps from 1984 to 2004, also said he was concerned about Marines have a more emotional reaction to the news of a female Marine being captured, rather than a logical or tactical one. Allowing emotion to seep into those decisions puts more Marines at risk, he said.
A spokeswoman for the Marines said Thursday the military branch would begin to implement the change immediately while maintaining the standards of the force and working to "optimize individual performance."
Carter said the integration of women into combat positions will be deliberate and methodical, addressing the concerns of the Marine Corps, but Snyder said he wished the concerns of the Marines were taken into account more.
"(My daughter) was a Marine, and physically and mentally able to take care of herself, a proven fact," he said. "There are sufficient jobs within the military that are suitable for women, and the frontline in combat conditions is not one of them. Our Department of Defense officeholders need to listen and heed the advice of Marine Corps Headquarters for once."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow reporter Matt McNab at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt.
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This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Concerns over gender integration need to be addressed before plan moves forward, Marine veterans say."