Female Marine Captain Asks President Obama a Question About Women in Direct Ground Combat
At the September 28 CNN Townhall meeting with President Barack Obama and a military group at Fort Lee, VA, Marine Capt. Lauren Serrano courageously asked a respectful but challenging question about women in direct ground combat Capt. Serrano’s question was accurate and appropriately asked of the Commander-in-Chief. President Obama did not explain why he ignored the best professional advice of the Marine Corps on the issue of women in the infantry.
See CNN Transcript and Video Clip here: Obama/Serrano Question - Sept. 28, 2016
Following three years of intense research, including field tests designed to prove the hypothesis that women could perform as well as men performing tasks that are common in land combat, then-Marine Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford exercised his option to formally request that infantry and Special Operations Forces remain all-male. Contrary to President Obama’s assertion that no studies would be ignored, that is exactly what happened when the Secretary of Defense disregarded the huge body of scientific data that supported the Commandant’s request for exceptions. President Obama’s answer rambled on with contradictions and condescension. He said we will have to “deal with it” if a minimally-qualified woman cannot evacuate Capt. Serrano’s wounded Marine husband from the battlefield. But he won’t be around to deal with any of this, will he? -- CMR