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'Feminized' military in need of reform? (FORUM title) As the author of the new book, 'From Trust to Terror: Radical Feminism is Destroying the U.S. Navy,' I have been critical of the 'feminization' of the U.S. Navy -- especially its combat arms. In particular, I have been very critical of the feminization of combatnaval aviation. Many with the same view have expressed the fear that this 'feminization' is inevitable, beyond repair, and past the point of return due to the current political mood in the nation. This view holds that it is 'too late' to do anything about the situation. The cancer has spread too wide and reaches too deep to be rooted out. Others will tell you that all we need is a change of administration. Not so! The rot is too deep, too pervasive, too entrenched in Congress and in radical parts of the American psyche. The fight is much larger than the current administration. It is generational. The feminization of American culture extends back to its beginning in the 1820s and has gained momentum ever since. But let me tell you, there are still 'islands of excellence' out there in naval aviation which have not been corrupted by our political leadership. Based on these 'islands,' there is still hope for turning around the elite Boomer generation's destructive betrayal of trust. Recently, I attended the reunion of my first fighter squadron, hosted by the active duty unit (which will remain anonymous so that it will not feel the wrath of those who object to what I am about to describe). We were treated to an open house and air show at their home base. We met and carried out in-depth conversations with the aviators in this squadron in their hangar, during the air show demonstration of their tactical maneuvers, and solo/division flyovers. We were treated to 'rides' in their training simulator on the ground, testing our 'rusty skills' in combat maneuvers and landings (ashore and aboard an aircraft carrier). The next day, we were treated to a 'dependents' cruise' aboard one of the Navy's premiere aircraft carriers. We boarded the ship at 0830 and steamed out 50 miles at sea. There, we were treated to a firepower demonstration -- 1000 pound bombs dropped on smoke flares and 20mm cannon strafing runs by two sections of the finest attack/fighter aircraft in the world. We saw tactical maneuvers in as near a wartime scenario as was possible for the thousands of guests and crew on the flight deck. Then the pilots of the air wing performed solo and division aerial maneuvers with F/A-18 and F-14 aircraft. The performance of these marvels was breathtaking. Horizontal and vertical maneuvers which were unheard of in our day, all within visual contact of the ship. An F-14 bearing down on the island of the ship, at flight deck level, at 500 knots is an ominous sight. As it pulled up vertical over the flight deck, we saw a plan view of this workhorse fighter, interceptor. On another pass at flight deck level, we saw a cloud (condensation from the shockwave) bearing down on us at a speed greater than Mach 1. The 'boom-boom' of a sonic shock wave sent the viewers on the flight deck into a reflexive 'crouch' and, then, a spontaneous standing ovation. This demonstration brought the same 'tingling of the spine' that we all felt in our day at the prospect of flying the world's finest aircraft. But that is not all we observed. The young men of our host squadron displayed the same enthusiasm, the same spirit, the same dedication that we remembered of our fellow naval aviators in our day. We had the opportunity to see and feel the spirit of those young 'warriors' who hold the Navy's future in their hands. We were carried away to a simpler time, when we awoke every morning just itching to get to the ready room to fly the world's best airplanes. Those young men (the squadron has no female 'fighter pilots') are just as good, just as patriotic, and just as pure as those we worked among in our day. At the level up through O-5, the 'warrior' Navy is still in good hands. It is only from the top-down that the rot has set in and corrodes the morale of those in a mixed-sex environment. The young men of that fighter squadron are an island of 'excellence' that reminded us of a simpler time -- a time when we 'warriors' could not wait for dawn so we could go out there and fly the best damn airplanes in the world. We didn't care about anything that went on above the rank of our 'skipper.' In fact, anyone above that rank didn't even exist, at least in our minds. All we asked was that they 'stay the hell out of our way' so we could go about training to fight our nation's wars in the manner we knew would qualify us to win. In this more complex world, I know these young men are aware of and subject to pressures that we could not then and cannot now even comprehend. In spite of this, it was very comforting to see them with the same patriotism, the same emphasis on excellence, the same focus on their mission, and the same dedication to duty, honor, country that we saw and lived with our contemporaries in our time. Indeed, these 'islands of excellence,' 'islands of hope,' are a meritocracy where ability, skill, and intelligence prevail. There is no favoritism for those in preferred groups, no affirmative action on any level. Merit, and merit alone, prevails.
While we were extremely proud of our young naval aviators, we could not help but be alarmed by what we saw on the decks of the aircraft carrier which hosted the 'dependents cruise.' The ship's company displayed all of the behavior and characteristics which underly the anecdotal evidence of the deterioration of today's 'feminized' Navy. We observed, first hand, obvious fraternization on the flight deck between a uniformed male officer and a uniformed enlisted female. Their conversation was of the nature of spirited social banter (drinking, etc.) -- that is, outright flirting. Their conversation and body language was that which one might observe between men and women on a college campus, in an integrated workplace, or in a bar. Why would we expect otherwise from young men and women with 'raging hormones' placed in confined quarters for long months at sea? Common sense tells all of us that 'this is so.' This flirtatious fraternization is obviously so common aboard ship that the young men and women do not even attempt to hide their relationships from their superior officers. I can't imagine anyone disciplining them for this behavior even though it is against Navy regulations. It is too pervasive. It is nature's way. It cannot be regulated. My wife observed, as we walked the passageways of the ship, the numerous small, isolated cubby-hole rooms and spaces that could be used as mating-meeting places for shipboard romantic trysts. Most of us who walked past these spaces in our day could not even imagine such a use. In today's 'feminized' Navy, these spaces are used for just that purpose. Another observation: small groups of blacks congregated, small groups of Hispanics likewise, and foreign language conversations were common. Vietnamese, Korean, Spanish, and Japanese were recognizable (from the facial features of the speakers as well as their language.) Some of the female sailors were so tiny (less than 100 pounds) that one wondered how in the world they ever got through basic training. A few others were so obviously overweight that one wondered how they could ever pass the annual physical fitness tests. We all tend to 'bloat up' a bit after the age of 60, but at 35 to 40? For those of us who believe it is essential that our armed forces return to the meritocracy that existed before the early 1970s, take heart. Amid this sea of evidence against the 'feminization' of our Navy and the failing social experiment underway, we can make our voice heard. The evidence is on our side. Americans are beginning to realize that the elites of the Boomer generation, the 8 million or so of that generation who carried out the counter culture revolution of the '60s and who are now in positions of power throughout our nation, are the most dangerous and destructive generation in America's history. It may be the only generation in American history 'to have won its adolescent rebellion against its parents (Shelby Steele, The Wall Street Journal, 9/25/98). This narcissistic generation, exemplified by its icons, Bill and Hillary Clinton, have come to believe that our 'feminist' credentials 'are not earned through personal responsibility; they are established by ... open support of feminist policies, by ...mere willingness to identify [themselves] with the feminist agenda.' In the words of Shelby Steele, "We could not have had a Bill Clinton without the generational corruption that allowed virtue to be achieved through mere identification. When this is possible, people can -- with little more than the embrace of an icon -- become good so that their virtuousness precedes all that they do. Even affairs with interns. When we consider ourselves innocent, Albert Camus says, we 'give birth to evil." Flag rank active duty naval officers have carried out the agenda of their commander-in-chief. They have invoked the new religion of the elites of the Boomer generation -- that is, affirmative action, diversity and multiculturalism -- on an institution historically guided by merit, and merit alone -- thereby corrupting it. Unfortunately, the alumni associations which in the past have promoted the historic Navy tradition have now been taken over by politically correct retired naval officers who promote the very 'feminization' that their membership abhors. These organizations now take their cue from the active duty naval officers who are betraying the 'warrior' tradition of the naval service to enhance and further their careers under the direction of the most corrupt commander in chief and administration since the beginning of our constitutional republic. The leadership of the U.S. Naval Institute, the Tailhook Association, and the Association of Naval Aviation have all capitulated to this social experimentation. If these organizations will not attempt to save naval aviation, who will? If they will not lead the way, then who? The answer is clear. It is us! Concerned American citizens must become active, speak out. clear the way. Make our voices heard. In the same manner that we spoke out for the impeachment of President Clinton. His generation's creation of a new 'good' in which private moral responsibility is secondary to perceived purity in the 'isms' was a profound mistake. Under this dictum, they have ruined their generation's first presidency. We must not let them destroy our military institutions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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