Sophistry About Women on Submarines

Stars & Stripes newspaper posted today a letter to the editor from CMR President Elaine Donnelly in response to a report it ran on July 22, titled "Breaking into the underwater boys' club-Sailor one of 12 women to be submarine-qualified." Those quoted in the article seemed unaware of the unique hazards to females and their fellow sailors were women to crew submarines.

Unfortunately, Stars & Stripes did not include hyperlinks to references supporting Donnelly's statements in the letter, as she had originally submitted it. You can find those at the end of the article posted on CMR's SITREP blog, titled "Sophistry About Submarines," as well as a more detailed response to the omissions and alarming attitudes reflected in the July 22 Stars & Stripes report.

Military Officers' Organization Disregards Survey Results

An online survey done by the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) continues to spark controversy due to the organization's decision to disregard the opinions of younger, current military people who responded to the survey after the first eleven days. Elaine Donnelly's article on this subject, published on Monday by NewsMax, is titled "Military Voices Must Be Heard." Links to graphs illustrating the MOAA survey responses that were removed from the survey website are included in this article: "MOAA Survey Stifled on Gays in the Military." The survey is not definitive, but it is significant because it contradicts the notion that younger, currently serving members are more inclined to support repeal of the 1993 law.

New York Times Stories Ignore Regulations on Women in Combat

Last week the New York Times ran two major front-page articles that featured interviews with female soldiers, which included very little information on the status of regulations affecting women and why the Army is ignoring them. The Times published a Letter to Editor from Elaine Donnelly, in response to this article by reporter Steven Myers: "Living and Fighting Alongside Men, and Fitting In."

Her letter, limited to only 150 words, was based on detailed reports and CMR Policy Analyses on the subject of women in or near land combat. This article, titled "Disrespect for Regulations, Congress, and Army Women," includes several links to previous reports spotlighting the Army's continuing violations of Defense Department regulations and the congressional notification law.