I think the presentation was fascinating and helped me understand the Army’s current dilemma

with integrating women in military units, notably in combat arms. I did not know how many

male soldiers in units dreaded, or derogatory in worse instances, to females entering into the

service. This became so far gone to the point they had to treat women differently than men from

remotely touching them in combat carries and drills to NCO’s exhibiting churlishness to their

female officers in front of other soldiers, which is a totally unacceptable display of behavior.

Another instance where an officer and her wife were ostracized for being homosexual, cornered,

and shouted at for their orientation and pursuit of combat roles is also an expressed antithesis of

the Army Values. As unacceptable as the treatment of women is in our military, from petty

exclusion to sexual assault and harassment, I’m not surprised to see that improvement has not

really been made in our Army overall. For one thing, the current #MeToo movement has

skyrocketed paranoia around women not just in the Army, but across the United States. I know

from friends, guys and girls, who come forward or face sexual assault accusations know the

nuclear and detrimental consequences on careers, which is well deserved against anyone who

cannot display self-control and respect for others, but nonetheless still a frightful matter to be

involved in. More than that, it seems incredibly difficult to integrate women into the Army, let

alone combat arms, because military service worldwide is historically a masculine enterprise. To

excel in PT to eventually be accepted into and graduate from special leadership schools like

Ranger and Sapper (which some, but very few, women have graduated thus far) has been

historically and still may be considered as a manly endeavor. I used to believe that women going

into combat arms would be a fantasy of an idea until I joined Fordham ROTC and saw female

cadets outperform me. In our own company, I see female cadets outperform a lot of males,

including myself at one point, in PT, ruck marches, and general knowledge of the ranger
handbook. We have an MS2 who is going to Air Assault school, and I think she’s going to crush

it because she rucks 11 minutes per mile effortlessly. And that’s just one of many women in the

company, including some officers I’ve met, who I appreciate for their leadership and support.

The Leadership Requirements model demands a variety of competencies and attributes to

objectively become a sufficient leader, and gender is not one of them. I think the solution for this

problem we face regarding the treatment of female leaders in combat arms will rely on

continuing the pursuit for excellence with our peers, regardless of gender, as fellow colleagues

swearing to defend the Constitution of the United States.