UPDATE:
On Wednesday, Hegseth met with Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, the first woman combat veteran in the Senate, in what could perhaps be described as a come- to-Jesus meeting.
In addition to being a great example of what female servicemembers can accomplish in the military, Lt. Col. Ernst “has made combating sexual assault in the military a key bipartisan focus of her time in the Senate”
Hopefully, Ms. Ernst was able to talk some sense into Hegseth and will send a loud and clear message to Donald Trump.
Original Post:
It was on my 73rd birthday, nearly 12 years ago, when then-Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta lifted the ban on women in direct combat roles in the U.S. military.
In his remarks on the occasion, Secretary Panetta recognized the unprecedented contributions women have made in the defense of our nation, demonstrating courage skill and patriotism and noted that “a hundred and fifty-two women in uniform have died serving this nation in Iraq and Afghanistan.” He added, “Female servicemembers have faced the reality of combat, proven their willingness to fight and, yes, to die to defend their fellow Americans.”
In December 2015, another Defense Secretary, Ash Carter, put this historic change into action, opening up hundreds of thousands of jobs for women in the military, essentially ensuring that “as long as female service members completed the necessary training and requirements, they could now serve in almost any role in the U.S. Armed Forces.”
President Barack Obama applauded the decision and also acknowledged that already “in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, our courageous women in uniform have served with honor, on the front lines — and some have given their very lives.”
Since then, thousands of women have served or are currently serving in military combat roles.
As Secretary Panetta noted in 2013, a hundred and fifty-two women had already lost their lives in service to the United States since September 11, even before women were allowed to serve in combat.
Several more have given their lives since then, including Marine Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, USMC, 25 years old and Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23, during the suicide bomber attack against our evacuating forces at the Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan, on Aug. 26, 2021.
No one wants to see a woman injured or killed in war. They are always someone’s daughter, often someone’s mother, sister, wife. Always someone’s loved one.
It was perhaps my protective Latino background coming to the forefront when, just a few days after the Panetta announcement, I wrote:
On a personal and emotive level — thinking about our daughters, our sisters, wives, and mothers everywhere — I cringe at the thought of what can happen to a woman in combat. The thought of a woman being injured, killed or captured — and worse — frightens me.
I continued, “On the other hand, I respect the patriotism and mettle of those women who want to serve their country on an equal basis as their male counterparts and I must — albeit ambivalently — agree that those women able and willing to serve in combat roles should be allowed to do so. I will say a prayer for them.”
Twelve years later, Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, Peter Hegseth, has stated that “we should not have women in combat roles.” “It hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated,” he claims.
Hegseth has received scathing criticism from all quarters on his “antediluvian views on women in the armed forces,” especially from women who have served.
Perhaps alluding to widely reported allegations of excessive drinking, strip club escapades, and disrespect for women, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a decorated combat veteran who lost both legs flying a helicopter combat mission in Iraq, said “Where do you think I lost my legs, in a bar fight? I’m pretty sure I was in combat when that happened.”
In a speech at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, the current Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, was short and clear. “If I get a little fired up about this, it’s just because this isn’t 1950, it isn’t 1948 — it is 2024,” he said. “Any military that turns away talented patriots, women or men, is just making itself weaker and smaller. So — enough already.”
Even his own mother has accused Hegseth of abusing women.
In a 2018 email to her son she wrote in part, “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.”
More recently, Mrs. Hegseth said that she had apologized to her son for the email immediately afterwards.
With more than 200,000 women serving on active duty in the U.S. military, Hegseth’s “alluvial” views on women in combat alone should disqualify him to head the Department of Defense.
Then there are his many other issues with women…
It is perhaps why, today, “Hegseth’s future as Defense secretary hangs by a thread.”
We will see if respect for women means anything to the incoming president.
