When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to Quantico, Virginia, last September, he delivered a blunt message: Things were changing fast in the newly renamed Department of War. “No more division, distraction, or gender delusions,” he said. “We are done with that shit.” What mattered going forward, […]
Gender
Posted inNewsroom
Military Sexual Trauma Survivors Can’t Sue the Government. A New Bill Could Change That
When Mayra Diaz opened the door of her Army barracks room in 2022, she didn’t realize it was the beginning of the end of her military career. She had never met the soldier standing in front of her, Sgt. Greville Clarke. She didn’t know he had sexually assaulted three other women on base over the […]
Posted inReflections
The Marines Created a Warrior. But I Forgot How to Be a Woman
I secured my M-16 to my rack after a long, scorching day on the rifle range and touched my stomach. Cramps should be arriving any day—but they weren’t. How many weeks had it been? Where was my period? Where was everyone else’s? I had seen “Full Metal Jacket” and expected the experience it depicted: the […]
Posted inNewsroom
Hegseth Ordered a New Study of Women in Combat. Critics Say It’s Built to Reach One Conclusion
Two months before Pete Hegseth appeared in front of Congress to testify in his confirmation to be secretary of defense, he sat across from the podcaster Shawn Ryan, talking about the Pentagon’s 2015 decision to open ground combat roles to women. “It hasn’t made us more effective. It hasn’t made us more lethal,” Hegseth said. […]
Posted inReflections
He Was a Sailor. I, a Marine. Our Romance Was Forbidden by Regulation.
Marine lance corporal and Navy petty officer third class fall in love while stationed in Japan despite military regulations of fraternization.
Posted inNewsroom
Women Have Served in Combat Roles for a Decade. The Pentagon is Reopening the Debate
Pete Hegseth has directed Pentagon leaders to review fitness, training standards which could adversely affect women in combat roles
Posted inReflections
Lessons Learned from Madame le General—Doctor, Pilot, Hero
Biographer of Valerie Andre, France’s first female Army general and trailblazing helicopter rescue pilot reflects on Valerie’s military career after her death at 102.
Posted inReflections
Sewing Under Duress: Dad’s Military Moves Forced Me to Serve Five Tours of Home Economics
Due to constant moves during her dad’s service in the Air Force she learned to sew by taking home economics five times.
Posted inNewsroom
‘I’m Just Trying To Be Good At My Job’: Transgender Troops Brace for Decision on Military Ban
Transgender troops await what a military ban could mean for their careers after Trump reversed Biden’s policy to allow trans service members.
Posted inNewsroom
‘Long-Overdue Justice’: Settlement Paves Way for Upgrades, Benefits for Thousands of LGBTQ Veterans
About 30,000 LGBTQ veterans could potentially benefit from a settlement in a class-action lawsuit reached Friday between the Defense Department and attorneys representing veterans discharged for their sexual orientation.
Posted inNewsroom
What Sexual Assault Survivors in the Military Say about the Next Four Years
Sexual assault survivors, advocates consider military’s future treatment of women under Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.
Posted inNewsroom
Inside the Military’s LGBTQ Witch Hunts
Two veterans reflect on the lasting harms of the military’s LGBTQ witch hunts as questions about who is fit to serve swirl with Trump’s return.
