Military Review English Edition November-December 2013 | Page 59

U N I T Y BY D I F F E R E N C E you wish—if they are American soldiers, their mission is to fight and win. Rather than debate the reasons why any given class or category cannot or should not be included in the all-inclusive category of “fighters and winners,” we should dedicate our energies to fostering reasons they should. Army leaders have always encouraged soldiers to achieve their fullest potential and fulfill their aspirations, but sometimes within artificial constraints or boundaries dictated by antiquated and stereotypical thinking. There is no better time than right now, prompted by a question such as this one, to reshape our thinking and radically adjust our mindset in a positive and proactive way. In the distant future, we will be a blended nation, all of us some shade of brown; our distinctness and otherness will be erased. Or will it? At root is the very human fear of losing our individual identity. Unfortunately, history has tended to base this identity on the wrong criteria. It is not about how we look but how we act and exemplify Army values. I don’t know about you, but I am not afraid to act like a woman. MR NOTES 1. Renee Montagne, “Critical Afghan Issue: Future of Women’s Rights,” NPR, (10 May 2012). 2. Wayne Drash and Jessica Ravitz, “Vagina enters stage left—or is it right?” CNN, (28 March 2012). 3. Department of Defense Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military, FY 2010, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (March 2011), 97, found at . 4. Lisa Daniel, “Panetta, Dempsey Announce Initiatives to Stop Sexual Assualt,” American Forces Press Service, (16 April 2012). 5. Internet Movie Database (IMDb), . 6. As cited by Margot Canaday, “U.S. Military Integration of Religious, Ethnic, and Racial Minorities in the Twentieth Century,” found at (1 May 2001). 7. Catherine L. Aspy (pseudonym), “Should Women Go Into Combat?” excerpted from Reader’s Digest (February 1999), found at . 8. Wayne Drash and Jessica Ravitz. 9. Susan Saulny, “Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Chose All of the Above,” New York Times, (29 January 2011). Joss Whedon speaks powerfully to the issue of equality, particularly gender equality. Click on image above to watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYaczoJMRhs MILITARY REVIEW • November-December 2013 57