Military Review English Edition November-December 2013 | Page 53

Fighting
and
Winning
Like Women*
Dr. Robert M. Hill

I

Dr. Robert M. Hill is a senior analyst
with the Information Operations Proponent Office, specializing in distance
learning programs and products.
He spent 20 years on active duty in
field artillery and public affairs, and
he worked in the private sector for a
decade in broadcasting and education.
He holds a B.S. from the U.S. Military
Academy, an M.A. from Duke University, and an Ed.D. from the University
of Missouri-Columbia.
IMAGE: Engraving of Joan of Arc in
battle in Le Brun de Charmettes,Paris,
Ed. Artus Bertrand, 1817.

MILITARY REVIEW

N MAY 2012, National Public Radio’s Renee Montagne spent time in
Afghanistan covering a range of critical issues facing the country as it
looks to a future without significant NATO and U.S. force presence. On 10
May, the topic was women’s rights and concerns that if the Taliban were
brought into the political process or able to reestablish any degree of control, gains in women’s rights would be, most assuredly, jeopardized.1
That same day, I read about the 2012 DePuy writing contest on the topic
of womens’ role in the Army over the next 20 years. In light of the National
Public Radio story, it struck me as ironic that the U.S. Army was wrestling
with the very same question. This soul-searching suggests a number of things:
?? Best case—we’re not as advanced on issues of equality as we’d like or
need to be.
?? Worst case—We continue to hold onto outdated and sexist views of
women; i.e., we’ve fundamentally not changed much at all since their full
integration in the early 1970s.
?? Risk—Asking such a question is just lip service and a stall tactic.
?? Opportunity: Admitting that we truly do know the answer is the first
step toward genuine change. But like the joke—“Hey boss, when do you
need that report,” and the reply comes back, “Yesterday!”—we cannot wait
20 years to make needed changes.

Three Vignettes

I was a cadet at West Point when the first class with women entered in 1976
and ambivalent about their admittance into the Corps of Cadets. I remember
asking my father, an alumnus and career infantry officer who saw combat in
Greece, Korea, and Vietnam, how he felt. He surprised me with his response:
future wars would demand more brain than brawn and women were damned
smart. It would be foolish to limit the military’s intellectual capital because
of outdated stereotypes and prejudices.

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