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Big news and a short thread from this Hollywood Marine.
1. It used to be a point of pride that USMC recruit training was gender segregated. As @tomricks1 observed, USMC leaders felt it was a better model than Army, where dealt w/ boot camp sexual assault scandals in the 90s. https://twitter.com/NelCepeda/status/1359549596037382146
1. It used to be a point of pride that USMC recruit training was gender segregated. As @tomricks1 observed, USMC leaders felt it was a better model than Army, where dealt w/ boot camp sexual assault scandals in the 90s. https://twitter.com/NelCepeda/status/1359549596037382146
2. But that just pushes the problem down the road.
I stepped on those yellow footprints at MCRD SD. I was a infantryman and didn't encounter women in the Marine Corps until officer training (TBS) 5 years later.
One was in my squad. She is still a good friend (hello Turtle!).
I stepped on those yellow footprints at MCRD SD. I was a infantryman and didn't encounter women in the Marine Corps until officer training (TBS) 5 years later.
One was in my squad. She is still a good friend (hello Turtle!).
3. But the 30-40 of us who went on to infantry officer training (the most likely group to ascend to generalship) mentally walled women off from us "real Marines" who were preparing for the brutal fights in Ramadi, Fallujah, al Qaim, Haditha.
4. It wasn't until 8 years into my career, habits already formed, that I worked closely with a Marine who happened to be a woman. Thank goodness she was a strong MSgt and we worked in an office environment (enlisted assignments!) where I had some idea of what the norms should be.
5. But even still, it was so awkward for me to be in charge of someone who was not a foul-mouthed crotch-scratching member of the gun club. I don't think I was intentional, but I had a lot of bad habits that she helped me break.
I was lucky (hey MSgt Johnson!).
I was lucky (hey MSgt Johnson!).
6. And this is why this news is huge. There are relatively few women in the USMC, which draws its leaders from fields where they are even less represented.
Women need to be in the mix, from the beginning. This is excellent. More of this please.
Semper fidelis.
Women need to be in the mix, from the beginning. This is excellent. More of this please.
Semper fidelis.
