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Women in Combat? Secretary Mattis Steps Into a Minefield
The American Conservative ^ | October 19, 2018 | Edward D. Chang

Posted on 10/19/2018 5:20:53 AM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo

...Jim Mattis has largely avoided the major controversies that have plagued his fellow Trump cabinet members. But if the reaction to his recent remarks at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) are any indication, his luck may have begun to run out.

During a September visit to the military school, Mattis offered his thoughts on women serving in combat infantry jobs, later interpreted by the Associated Press as a “dim view” of their prospects. The comments were further panned by those advocating the integration of women into combat, who characterized Mattis as “poisoning the well” and “sabotaging” efforts to integrate women. Other reactions, some from veterans, were even less flattering.

Are these reactions justified? Better yet, what exactly did Mattis say? A male VMI cadet, who went to bat for his female classmates, asked the secretary about his thoughts on women in combat. The following quotations are part of a longer reply, but these appear to be the most contentious points:

"It’s a very, very tough issue. Because it goes from some people’s perspective of what kind of society do we want… it goes to the almost primitive needs of a society to look out for its most vulnerable."

"How did the infantry get its name? Infant soldier. Young soldier. Very young soldier. They’re cocky, they’re rambunctious. They’re necessarily macho. And it’s the most primitive, I would say even evil, environment—you can’t even explain it."

"This is an area we are going to have to resolve as a nation…the military has got to have officers who look at this with a great deal of objectivity, and at the same time remember our natural inclination to have this open to all. But we cannot do something that militarily doesn’t make sense…"

(Excerpt) Read more at theamericanconservative.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: mattis; military; militarywomen; secdefmattis; trumpdod; womenincombat
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If women should not serve in combat, it seems to me that they should not serve as commander-in-chief of those who must fight and die in combat. Such thinking strikes at the heart of today's conventional wisdom, but I am afraid one day we'll have to learn the hard way.
1 posted on 10/19/2018 5:20:53 AM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

I’ve never served in,or near,combat so it could be argued that my position lacks credibility.However,I believe that the only military women who should be allowed anywhere near combat are physicians,surgeons and nurses.


2 posted on 10/19/2018 5:23:27 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (I've Never Owned Slaves...You've Never Picked Cotton.End Of "Discussion".)
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

If the United States and other major powers did not employ women in combat in World War I or II, why would they need women in combat now? Caring about women means not putting them in harm’s way unnecessarily.


3 posted on 10/19/2018 5:24:21 AM PDT by reaganaut1
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

But I don’t understand. Every movie or TV show I see lately shows women in combat kicking the a$$es of all the men. How could this not be reality?


4 posted on 10/19/2018 5:28:01 AM PDT by rbg81 (Truth is stranger than fiction)
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

Martis speaks gobbledygook and has to go.


5 posted on 10/19/2018 5:31:27 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now it is your turn ...)
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To: reaganaut1

PC has its hooks in us so deep that a significant portion of our population (just short of a majority) has lost its basic common sense. The unfortunate truth is that we will need a near apocalyptic disaster, major war loss or severe economic depression to bring our Society back to reality.

For a while, I thought 9/11 did the trick. But, 17 years later, we have only gotten crazier.


6 posted on 10/19/2018 5:32:26 AM PDT by rbg81 (Truth is stranger than fiction)
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To: rbg81

Still crazy after all these years.


7 posted on 10/19/2018 5:35:35 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (If White Privilege is real, why did Elizabeth Warren lie about being an Indian?)
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To: PIF

“Martis speaks gobbledygook”

Mattis certainly gave a convoluted response in this instance. Was he saying that soldier in combat are evil? Perhaps I misunderstood...


8 posted on 10/19/2018 5:41:34 AM PDT by be-baw (still seeking...)
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To: Colonel Kangaroo
I enlisted during Nam.

NO, women do NOT belong in combat.

The ONLY people advocating otherwise are attempting to undermine the military to further a social agenda.

9 posted on 10/19/2018 5:42:33 AM PDT by G Larry (There is no great virtue in bargaining with the Devil)
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To: G Larry
I think that is true. Democrats like Schumer often talk about bringing back the draft. That is NOT an effort to re-normalize military service among the general population. It IS an effort to make voters oppose any use of military force "My son is in the army! I don't want to send troops to XYZ!"

Same with women in the military. When women are added to the front line, the nation becomes reluctant to put the front line in danger.

The Left supports pacifism because it weakens the nation.

10 posted on 10/19/2018 5:46:48 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (If White Privilege is real, why did Elizabeth Warren lie about being an Indian?)
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

One thing to bear in mind — a lot of lusty men want to bunk with beautiful babes. Better yet — shower with them. Their opinions need to be taken with a grain of salt.

At the very least — physical standards should not be watered down for front line forces. Some forces could be light on front line activity and more specialized. They need not have such high standards.

But frankly there will be an increasing need for desk jockeys who view monitors. The need to analyze intel is becoming a bottomless pit in modern warfare.


11 posted on 10/19/2018 5:47:58 AM PDT by Arthur Wildfire! March (News and poltiicians who ignore James O'Keefe are fake and evil.)
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To: rbg81

Yeah, Mattis needs to rent Atomic Blonde!
He’d be a fool not to want such a badass in his unit.


12 posted on 10/19/2018 5:48:36 AM PDT by JZelle
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To: G Larry
NO, women do NOT belong in combat.

So no women pilots? No women on aircraft crews? No women on combat ships? No women in Army or Marine units that could possibly come under fire?

13 posted on 10/19/2018 5:48:58 AM PDT by DoodleDawg
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

In DC, a “gaffe” is when someone actually tells the truth.


14 posted on 10/19/2018 5:49:31 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: DoodleDawg

There are lines to be drawn re: safety and yes, at times warfighter group cohesion.

We should leave it to our military leadership, unencumbered by PC considerations, to determine where those lines are.


15 posted on 10/19/2018 5:50:52 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

They might want to consider Rush Limbaugh’s proposal for the creation of the “All American Amazon Army.”


16 posted on 10/19/2018 5:53:30 AM PDT by GreenHornet
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To: DoodleDawg
So no women pilots? No women on aircraft crews? No women on combat ships? No women in Army or Marine units that could possibly come under fire?

Absolutely yes.

17 posted on 10/19/2018 5:53:30 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn)
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To: Colonel Kangaroo

The dirty little secret is that the military is pushing women and homosexuals into these roles because they can’t find enough straight men to do the job.


18 posted on 10/19/2018 5:56:35 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("The Russians escaped while we weren't watching them ... like Russians will)
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To: ClearCase_guy

‘The Left supports pacifism because it weakens the nation.’

perhaps...but I, for one, am reluctant to commit anybody’s child into harm’s way, male or female, without there being a compelling purpose for doing so...


19 posted on 10/19/2018 5:56:35 AM PDT by IrishBrigade
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To: be-baw
No, he was saying the nature of combat is evil, and the infantryman's world is savage.

He then continues to lay out the dichotomy - we live in an 'open society' where 'equality' is ostensibly desirable. "But we cannot do something that militarily doesn’t make sense...."

I don't see anything wrong with those statements. The environment needed to develop young men who can kick open a door and shoot some other young man in the face without second though is pretty savage, some could even say evil indeed.

We do live in an open society. Officers should look at the situation objectively and ensure that the military reflects American values while understanding "...we cannot do something that militarily doesn’t make sense...."

male VMI cadet, who went to bat for his female classmates,

in other words some college student, Lt wannabe with just enough information to be dangerous tries to play stump the chump with SecDef.

I

20 posted on 10/19/2018 5:57:06 AM PDT by Repeat Offender (While the wicked stand confounded, call me with Thy saints surrounded.)
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