March 28, 2024

The law only required that both parties be consenting adults…which tells us something about the assumptions at the time

A BETTER PEACE welcomes Tanya Roth to discuss a topic that we often think of as an issue of modern day — LGBT service members — but has been a fact of military service for decades. Our Editor-In-Chief Jacqueline Whitt sits down with Tanya to examine a case of transgender marriage, accusations of homosexuality and the Army’s handling of the situation in 1976.

 

 

Clipping of 14 June 1977 The Montgomery Advertiser “Gender Expert Labels Former WAC Male

Dr. Tanya Roth is a high school history teacher with emphasis on 20th Century World History and US History at Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School. Jacqueline E. Whitt is an Associate Professor of Strategy at the U.S. Army War College and the Editor-in-Chief of WAR ROOM. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.

Photo Description: The Women’s Army Corps (WAC) was the women’s branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to full status as the WAC in 1943. The WAC was disbanded in 1978, and all units were integrated with male units.

Photo Credit: Image derived from original recruiting poster, Bradshaw Crandell, Department of the Treasury, 31 December 1942

2 thoughts on “WAC MARRIAGE CASE: THINKING ABOUT GENDER, SEX, AND MILITARY SERVICE

  1. I think actual policies should be informed by science. Policies should not try to import cultural ideas from civilian life where the culture doesn’t match the demands of defending America.

    DOD should not be required to enlist and medically support people with gender dysphoria. People suffering from gender dysphoria too often suffer from multiple other mental conditions.

    Transgender Surgery Isn’t the Solution: A drastic physical change doesn’t address underlying psycho-social troubles. By Paul McHugh Updated May 13, 2016 2:18 pm ET

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/paul-mchugh-transgender-surgery-isnt-the-solution-1402615120

    Research Claiming Sex-Change Benefits Is Based On Junk Science
    Sex-change studies base their conclusions on as few as 10 percent of study subjects. The truth is, many people who follow Caitlyn Jenner’s path will deeply regret it.

    https://thefederalist.com/2017/04/13/research-claiming-sex-change-benefits-based-junk-science/

    When the science says that Same-Sex Marriage is worse for children, then DOD will incur extra costs with same-sex couples raising children.

    Same-Sex Marriage: Not Best for Children

    While the debate over the legitimacy of same-sex marriage can be viewed from many perspectives, there should be little debate about the effects it has upon children: Same-sex marriage deliberately deprives the child of a mother or a father, and is therefore harmful. The College has sought to defend the child’s position in this debate from an objective, scientific standpoint. Below you will find convincing evidence of the fundamental value of the married, father-mother family unit to the optimal development of the child.

    College Statements:

    Marriage and the Family
    Defending Traditional Marriage for the Well-being of the Family and the Child
    Marriage Rights for Homosexual Couples
    Homosexual Parenting: Is It Time For Change?

    Amicus Briefs by the College on Marriage and the Family

    Amicus Brief: Perry v Schwartzenegger in Prop 8, California, 2010
    Amicus Brief: Donaldson v Montana, Supreme Court of Montana, 2012
    Amicus Brief: Windsor v U.S., U.S. Court of Appeals, New York, 2012
    Amicus Brief: Golinski vs US Office of Personnel and Management, U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit, 2012
    Amicus Brief: Welch vs Gov Brown of Calif, #2, U.S. Court of Appeals, California 2014
    Amicus Brief: Obergefell vs Hodges, and Appendix, Supreme Court, re: Same-sex Marriage, 2015
    Amicus Brief: Supreme Court of Alabama on Obergefell vs Hodges

    https://www.acpeds.org/same-sex-marriage-not-best-for-children

    When we have research showing that same-sex marriage is worse for children, the academic community has perverted their standards to discredit the research. True science is dealing with the evidence whether you like the results or not.

    The Campaign to Discredit Regnerus and the Assault on Peer Review by Peter Wood

    https://www.nas.org/academic-questions/26/2/the_campaign_to_discredit_regnerus_and_the_assault_on_peer_review

    As was seen with the Cambridge spies, the homosexuals were more loyal to their sexual orientation than they were England. Why should DOD have enlist people with divided loyalties?

    The Mask of Treachery : Spies, Lies, Buggery and Betrayal: The First Documented Dossier on Anthony Blunt’s Cambridge Spy Ring by John Costello (1988, Hardcover)

    Too often, we try to promote women to roles when they can’t adequately perform them. I had contact with someone who was familiar with the Marine Corps tests. The women Marines whined about having to stay out in the field overnight rather than returning to barracks at night.

    Marine study finds all-male infantry units outperformed teams with women by Jim Michaels
    USA TODAY

    WASHINGTON — A Marine Corps study that found all-male ground combat units more effective than teams that included women has raised new concerns about the Pentagon’s push to open all jobs to women next year.

    A summary of results released Thursday from the unprecedented study showed that all-male ground combat squads were faster, stronger and more lethal in most cases than units that included women.The women also suffered higher injury rates during physically demanding training.

    The Marine Corps and other services face a deadline the Pentagon has set for requiring military branches to open all specialties to women, including infantry and special operations forces, beginning next year.

    The services have until the end of this month to request an exception to the order for some occupations.

    The Marine Corps has not yet said whether it will request a waiver, but the study’s results are likely to fuel a growing debate over including women in ground combat jobs.

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/09/10/marine-study-finds-all-male-infantry-units-outperformed-teams-women/71971416/

    Further facts your conversation should consider discussing male vs. female differences. Why employ women in combat roles when they will be medically evacuated much sooner than men?

    Women in combat roles face these “disproportionate medical risks”

    https://hotair.com/archives/2017/07/26/women-combat-roles-facing-disproportionate-medical-risks/

    Experience in high intensity warfare under extreme conditions has shown that generally men ages 21 – 25 can stand the rigors of such a fight. Men ages 17 – 18 tend to break down psychologically. Men 27 and above tend to break down physically. Actually as it turns out, Italy was the worst theater of war during World War II for the Americans and the British. Australia has not fought a high intensity war since Korea. Thus, the generals and admirals now have no direct experience in what is required to man the positions.

    An acquaintance who is both a former Air Force serviceman and a former law enforcement officer had a nephew involved in the US Marine Corps test of mixed men and women units. The women were petty, spoiled, and sullen about being forced to participate and outraged that they could not return to base each night to bath and sleep in their beds. A similar dynamic exists within law enforcement in America as well. An experienced law enforcement officer noted that women law enforcement officers will serve two years on the streets and then want a promotion to get off the streets. If not promoted, they often resign from the force.

    Would you want to go into combat with women who could only hit the target 28% of the time while the men hit the target 44% of the time?

    Another former police officer from California noted that one woman law enforcement officer was delivering a handcuffed man to the county jail. On arriving at the jail, she attempted to take him into the jail the man emerged from the squad car and chased the armed woman officer around the police car several times before she ran screaming into the jail. It was all caught on camera. To get her off the street, she was promoted rather than fired.

    https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/this-kind-of-war-t-r-fehrenbach/1002558011#productInfoTabs

    https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/books/review/antony-beevors-ardennes-1944.html

    https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/brave-men-ernie-pyle/1122979377

    There are several inequities to women in DOD. Too often, they can’t really deploy to hard duty location. Too often, they are in the continental U.S. where they can build relationships and obtain advanced degrees in night school, etc. If a man is humping mountains in Afghanistan, he doesn’t have that option.

    When a woman is pregnant, she will not be available for certain duties closer to her due date. After childbirth she can have 12 weeks of leave. Should a woman have five children then 5X12 = 60 weeks. Should she be counted as having served when she is effectively absent from duty for over one year? Should she and a man, who has not taken off 60 weeks, receive the same pension?

    These are facts to consider in devising policies for the maximum effective armed forces.

  2. Since health of the baby will always have to be made a consideration, mother will effectively be unavailable most of the nine months before delivery too she wouldn’t be available to hump mountains in Afghanistan during this time either.

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