Americans support their troops -- but they certainly don't support the choices this president has made regarding them. Fewer people than ever think the U.S. is the world's greatest military power, according to Gallup's World Affairs survey. Forty-nine percent of Americans think we have the globe's top military force -- a 10-point drop from this same time last year. Most of the downturn has nothing to do with our selfless servicemen and women, and everything to do with the administration's radical social policy and deep budget cuts.
The U.S. military has become a minefield of social experimentation, starting with open homosexuality and religious hostility and ending, the White House hopes, with women drafted into combat. The changes have come at breakneck speed in a force known for its proud history and strong moral foundation. Now, seven years into the Obama presidency, the military hardly resembles the force that most of our veterans were proud to serve. Instead, it's become a laboratory of social engineering with little to show for it but low morale, retention and recruitment woes, suicide, and sexual abuse.
On the verge of throwing open the infantry and special operations positions to women, the president's political appointees are continuing their practice of basing decisions on personal agendas -- not proven research. First, Navy Secretary Rob Mabus ignored the Marines own year-long study on the fallout of mixed-sex combat units. Now, the administration is poised to ignore even more warning signs: a breaking Rand Corp. study on the troops' own concerns about the move. The Washington Times's Rowan Scarborough dug up this piece of information from the president's own budget: "U.S. Special Operations Command and its 69,000 personnel are up against 'training challenges' and is noticing 'minor impacts to the forces' ability to accomplish missions' that could grow worse."
All of this is happening in the face of Army Green Beret and Navy SEAL cutbacks -- which will only complicate the integration process. Already, Rand warns, 85 percent of the men in those units oppose the idea, and 90 percent are convinced that it will lead to lower physical standards, jeopardizing missions where "high endurance and brute strength are vital." In fact, Scarborough notes, "some male warriors are so opposed that Rand scholars labeled them 'extreme.'" With special ops already under tremendous stress, military leaders are worried about adding more. "We are a force who has been heavily deployed over the last 14 years, and our military members, civilians, and their families have paid a significant price."
Instead of forcing a deadly change on troops that don't want it, the best favor the commander-in-chief could do is listen to the military he's commanding. If not them, then at least the research -- which points to a crippled force for women and men alike. For more on the president's lethal mission, don't miss Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin's (U.S. Army-Ret.) piece on the Hill blog, "What the U.S. Can Learn from Women Serving in the Israeli Defense Forces."
