This is one of those “no win” threads. In a nutshell, if women are currently barred from direct combat duty, then they should be prohibited from commanding such a unit. There are however, many fields open to women all they way to the top. These selections are not usually taken lightly. They are well qualified officers in most cases, just like men.
Military officers on the “flag track” get different training, exposure, education, and respnsibilities. As a Navy vet, I don’t think I would want a woman commanding a carrier battle group. Not because she is arbitrarily unqualied due to gender, but because she doesn’t have the right “tickets” punched.
As long as the politicians dictate where women can serve (and this can change admin-to-admin), it makes little sense to groom a woman for a billet she may not be “allowed” to serve in.
(Dianna, I’m generally on your side, so go easy on me!)
Are there not female “aviators”? Is not a requirement to be carrier skipper that they be aviators? Are there not female skippers of other ship types out there?
If they’re already serving in such roles why can’t they rise to flag rank? What other tickets do they need punched?