Eight years after the Pentagon allowed women to work in all combat professions, a report released on Monday claims that female troops still experience widespread discrimination, harassment, and other gender-related issues in male-dominated Army special operations groups.
In a thorough analysis, the US Army Special Operations Command documented numerous overtly sexist remarks made by male soldiers, including a general dislike of women operating in commando teams.
The Battle Against Sexism in Army Special Operations
The comments, it claimed, are not exceptional but rather reflect a widespread opinion that women have no place on special operations teams.
One male commentator called the notion that women are equally as physically, cognitively, and emotionally equipped to carry out the bulk of tasks quite frankly ridiculous.
Others declared they wouldn’t stay on a team with a woman and that doing so would cause issues and jealousy among their wives.
Many people who have witnessed the challenging adjustment when women entered the military’s front-line combat duties will be able to relate to the direct and occasionally vulgar remarks. They also present a troubling, difficult image for leaders.
More than 5,000 individuals assigned to Army special operations forces groups were interviewed for the thorough investigation, including 837 female soldiers, 3,238 male soldiers, and the remaining defense civilians.
It was discovered that senior noncommissioned officers, regrettably, were responsible for the overwhelming bulk of the negative sentiments regarding women participating in special operations.
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The Impact of Opening Combat Positions to Women
The command’s most senior enlisted soldier, Command Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann, discussed the results with reporters on the phone on Monday and stated that it does appear to suggest that it is generational.
However, the unfavorable opinions expressed by special operations personnel throughout the services in 2015 when asked if women should work in the hazardous commando duties are echoed in the 2023 report.
Later that year, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter issued a historic directive making all combat positions open to women.
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