Apples and oranges, the country had not been at war in over 20 years when WW2 started. There were few combat officers to select from. For every officer who had served in combat you had 100 officers with no combat experience. The country now has been at war, in two different theaters for 12 years, non-stop.
If you read page two of the Washington Times article, it’s orders from the Obama White House put as many women in command as possible no matter how many combat experienced warriors have to be purged to make room for fast tracking women up the chain of command.
http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/17/air-force-command-nominee-is-1st-woman-non-pilot/
So? That was well within the careers of all three men. None of them saw combat in World War I.
There were few combat officers to select from.
There were hundreds to select from. Patton, Clark, and most of the corps and division commanders all saw combat in that war.
If you read page two of the Washington Times article, its orders from the Obama White House put as many women in command as possible no matter how many combat experienced warriors have to be purged to make room for fast tracking women up the chain of command.
So it's not apples and oranges, it's male and female. She got the job solely becuase she was a woman, is that it?