The Case for Female SEALs

Article here. Excerpt:

'So if the barrier to integrating women into the infantry isn’t a physical one then what is it?

It’s cultural. And that’s why the infantry may not be the best place to start in military gender integration. Instead, as counterintuitive as it might sound, the military should begin with its Special Operations Forces: elite units such as the Green Berets and SEALs. Although not the obvious move, starting here would likely make for a smoother transition over all.

The infantry, our nation’s foot soldiers, exist in a hyper-masculine culture, awash with 19-year old riflemen, “grunts” as they call themselves. For what the infantry does—combat at close quarters—that type of hyper-masculinity works. It creates an unshakable determination to accomplish the mission and to protect your friends. When fighting house-to-house in Fallujah, or valley-to-valley in Kunar Province, technology counts for very little. Culture counts for everything. That doesn’t mean it can’t be altered to accept women, but it will be different. Not better, not worse, but different.

So how do you responsibly alter the culture so women are accepted and the force remains effective?
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If the military were to integrate elite formations such as the SEALs, Marine Special Operations and Army Special Forces, a few highly capable women in those communities would provide cultural proof that females can hang with “the toughest of the tough.”

Instead of being dropped into the less nuanced and hyper-masculine infantry culture, these women would prove their mettle operating in a more liberal and flexible special operations culture—and one with more cachet when it comes to convincing infantrymen of their tactical prowess. Once their contributions have been made and seen, some 19-year-old grunt in the 2d Marine Division will have a hard time rationalizing how he’s tougher than a female Captain whose seen active service as a Team Leader with 7th Special Forces Group.'