The role of women in the United States armed services became an important political topic in 1991. Women military personnel had engaged in combat in the most recent U.S. military actions: Grenada

Grenada

Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...

 in 1983 Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

 in 1989, and the Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

 in 1991. Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 William V. Roth R-DE) introduced a Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 bill in 1991 to clarify women’s roles in the armed forces, including combat.

Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 Patricia Schroeder

Patricia Schroeder

Patricia Nell Scott Schroeder , American politician, was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Colorado, serving from 1973 to 1997. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado.- Early years :...

 (D-CO1) and Beverly B. Byron (D-MD6) then convinced the House Armed Services Committee to amend the House

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 bill under consideration for military appropriations for 1992 and 1993 to allow combat roles for military women. In the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator John Glenn

John Glenn

John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...

 (D-OH) opined that a thorough review and study of the issue of women’s role in the armed services would take up to 18 months.

Senator Sam Nunn

Sam Nunn

Samuel Augustus Nunn, Jr. is an American lawyer and politician. Currently the co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative , a charitable organization working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, Nunn served for 24 years as a...

 (D-GA), Chair of the Senate Committee, then introduced several Senate bills—102 S. 1507, 102 S. 1508, 102 S. 1509, and 102 S. 1515—to create just such a commission. The Congressional conference committee

Conference committee

A conference committee is a joint committee of a bicameral legislature, which is appointed by, and consists of, members of both chambers to resolve disagreements on a particular bill...

 chosen to reconcile the House and Senate versions of bills for 1992-1993 military appropriations (of which Sen. Nunn was a member) included creating the Commission in the approved 1992-1993 military appropriations law..

Enabling authority

• Public Law
  Public law
  Public law is a theory of law governing the relationship between individuals and the state. Under this theory, constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are sub-divisions of public law...
  
   102-190, National Defense Authorization Act for FY 1992 -1993 (December 5, 1991). Sections 541 through 549.

Purposes

• “In general, the Commission shall assess the laws and policies restricting the assignment of female service members and shall make findings on such matters”

Specific matters for the Commission to study included

• Combat readiness of armed forces permitting women combat roles

Their physical fitness

The effect of pregnancy and other absences

Unit morale and cohesion

Unit cohesion

Unit cohesion is a military concept, defined by one former United States Chief of staff in the early 1980s as "the bonding together of soldiers in such a way as to sustain their will and commitment to each other, the unit, and mission accomplishment, despite combat or mission stress"...

• Public attitudes regarding military women assigned combat roles

• Legal implications of

Draft and conscription of women

Voluntary assignments for women in combat roles

Involuntary assignments for women in combat roles

• Modification of facilities, quarters, vehicles, and equipment for women in combat roles

• Training of women in the combat skills to use these combat materials

• Costs involved in these modifications and training for women for combat roles

• Implications of allowing or restricting women from combat roles on the recruitment

and retention of armed forces personnel

Membership

The President appoints the 15 commission members from among those in the public or private sector the President feels have both distinguished themselves in their own field of endeavor and have “significant experience” in one or more of the commission’s areas of concern.

--Retired military personnel

--Academic institutions

--Civilian industry

--Non-defense related government agencies

--The law

--Armed forces combat

--Armed forces combat support

--Armed forces personnel management

Three of the commissioners must be women representing specific groups

Armed Services member

Representative from a women-in-the-armed-services organization

Representative from a women’s issues organization

Commissioners

• Robert T. Herres
  Robert T. Herres
  Robert Tralles Herres was the first Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.-Early life and education:Herres was born in 1932, in Denver, where he attended East High School. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1954...
  
  , General
  General
  A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
  
  , United States Air Force
  United States Air Force
  The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
  
   (Ret.) Chairman
• Mary E. Clarke, Major General
  Major General
  Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
  
  , United States Army
  United States Army
  The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
  
   (Ret.)
• Samuel E. Cockerham, Brigadier General
  Brigadier General
  Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
  
  , US Army
• Elaine Donnelly,
• Thomas V. Draude
  Thomas V. Draude
  Brigadier General Thomas V. Draude is a retired officer of the United States Marine Corps. Since retirement, Draude served with USAA and retired in 2003...
  
  , Brigadier General, United States Marine Corps
  United States Marine Corps
  The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
  
  
• Mary M. Finch, Captain, US Army
• William Darryl Henderson, PhD
  PHD
  PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
  
  
• James R. Hogg
  James R. Hogg
  James Robert Hogg is a retired United States Navy four star admiral who served as U.S. Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee from 1988 to 1991....
  
  , Admiral
  Admiral
  Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
  
  , United States Navy
  United States Navy
  The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
  
   (Ret.)
• Newton N. Minow
  Newton N. Minow
  Newton Norman Minow is an American attorney and former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. His speech referring to television as a "vast wasteland" is cited even as the speech has passed its 50th anniversary...
  
  
• Charles C. Moskos, PhD
• Meredith A. Neizer,
• Kate Walsh O’Beirne
• Ronald D. Ray
  Ronald D. Ray
  Ronald D. Ray is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense under the Reagan administration. He is also a decorated Vietnam veteran and Colonel. He is now a practicing attorney in Kentucky....
  
  
• Maxwell R. Thurman
  Maxwell R. Thurman
  Maxwell Reid Thurman was a U.S. Army general, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, and former commander of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command....
  
  , General, US Army (Ret.)
• Sarah F. White, Master Sergeant
  Master Sergeant
  A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in some armed forces.-Israel Defense Forces:Rav samal rishoninsignia IDF...
  
  , US Air Force Reserve

Information gathering by panels

Each member of the commission, except for the Chair, was assigned to a panel to collect specific information relating to the commission’s purposes.

• Panel One

Commissions members: Ray (Chair), Clarke, Henderson


Assignment: Women’s roles in the armed services of other nations; women’s
roles in domestic law enforcement; the issue of prisoner of war

• Panel Two

Commission members: Cockerham (Chair), Finch, Moskos


Assignment: Physiological and cost issues for training, readiness, clothing, facilities, and equipment; the issue of pregnancy; the issue of combat unit cohesion

Unit cohesion

Unit cohesion is a military concept, defined by one former United States Chief of staff in the early 1980s as "the bonding together of soldiers in such a way as to sustain their will and commitment to each other, the unit, and mission accomplishment, despite combat or mission stress"...

• Panel Three

Commission members: Neizer (Chair), Donnelly, Thurman


Assignment: Social and cultural issues, with a focus on the family; concerns about parenthood and child care affecting “deployability”; analysis of the surveys done for the Commission

• Panel Four

Commission members: O’Beirne (Chair), Draude, Hogg, White


Assignment: Legal and management issues; issues surrounding personnel retention and career development in all-volunteer armed services; examine recent : experiences of women in combat in Panama and Grenada

Survey research

• Roper Polls

The commission had this prestigious center conduct two surveys on the roles of women in the U.S. armed services. One survey polled 1,500 adults in the United States via telephone with a 20-minute survey. Those polled split 50-50 when asked if they supported the current policy categorically restricting women from combat assignments. 50% of those polled would allow women assigned to combat only if they volunteered. 50% of those polled favored drafting or conscripting women during national emergencies or wartime. However, 65% of those polled opposed requiring married women with children assigned to combat.

The second survey mailed questionnaires to 8000 members of the U.S. armed services. Overall, 57% of the respondents supported the current policy categorically restricting women from combat assignments. 72% of the respondents currently assigned to combat supported the current policy. 78% of the respondents serving in the Marine Corps supported the current policy.,

• Moskos Survey

Dr. Charles Moskos (a member of the commission) and Ms. Laura Miller, both of Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

, conducted a survey of 1651 U.S. Army soldiers on the roles of women in the U.S. armed services in 1992. Of the women soldiers surveyed, over 70% favored allowing women volunteers to serve in combat roles, but only 12% said they would volunteer.

• Navy Personnel Research and Development Center
  Navy Personnel Research, Studies, and Technology
  Navy Personnel Research, Studies, and Technology is a division of the United States Bureau of Naval Personnel. Since 1946, NPRST or its predecessors have served as a personnel policy laboratory for the Navy...
  
  

The NPRDC conducted longitudinal studies covering 1988, 1990, and 1992 on reasons for time lost from active duty by Navy personnel. They reported to the commission that pregnancy rates among women Naval personnel were similar to those in the civilian population. Their studies found that single parents had negligible effect on naval activities. They further found that naval personnel held the perception that pregnant women adversely affected ship operations.

• Commission Survey of Retired Flag and General Officers

The commission conducted its own survey of the 6,109 known retired flag and general officers in four all branches of the U.S. armed services. Those surveyed were overwhelmingly white males. A little over half responded, with the representation ranging from 70% from the Marine Corps to 41% from the Navy. A majority of respondents opposed assigning combat roles to women. The degree of opposition correlated directly to the age of the respondents; older respondents voiced greater opposition to assigning women to combat than younger respondents. The biggest concern 56%) of the majority was that women’s presence would adversely affect combat unit cohesion.

Fact-finding trips by commission members to Armed Services installations

• Air Force = 5 installations visited

--4th Composite Wing internal

4th Fighter Wing

The 4th Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Ninth Air Force. It is stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, where it is also the host unit....

, Seymour Johnson AFB, NC

--USAF Weapons and Tactics Center, Nellis AFB, NV (2 visits)

--Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape School, Fairchild AFB, WA

--HQ US Central Command, MacDill AFB, FL

--HQ, US Special Ops Command

United States Special Operations Command

The United States Special Operations Command is the Unified Combatant Command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Commands of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps of the United States Armed Forces. The command is part of the Department of Defense...

, MacDill AFB, FL

• Army = 5 installations visited

--4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO

--1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley

Fort Riley

Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...

, KS

--24th Mechanized Infantry Division, Fort Stewart

Fort Stewart

Fort Stewart is a census-designated place and U.S. Army post primarily in Liberty County and Bryan County, but also extending into smaller portions of Evans, Long, and Tattnall Counties in Georgia, USA. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census...

, GA

--XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg

Fort Bragg (North Carolina)

Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...

, SC

--U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY

• Foreign Military Representatives = 6 countries consulted

--Canada

--Denmark

--Israel

--Russia

--The Netherlands

--United Kingdom

• Marines = 4 installations visited

--II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejune, NC

--Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC

--USMC Air-Ground Combat Center

United States Marine Air-Ground Task Force Reconnaissance

The United States Marine Corps have many reconnaissance elements that are valuable to a Marine Air-Ground Task Force by providing the force and component commanders [i.e. Marine Expeditionary Force or Landing Force commanders] with maneuver space and reaction time, and prevent enemy forces and...

 Twentynine Palms, CA

--USMC Officer Candidate and Basic Schools

Marine Corps Base Quantico

Marine Corps Base Quantico, sometimes abbreviated MCB Quantico, is a major United States Marine Corps training base located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly in southern Prince William County, northern Stafford County, and southeastern Fauquier County...

, Quantico, VA

• Navy = 9 installations visited

--U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD

--Norfolk Naval Station, Norfolk, VA

--Navy Fighter Weapons School, NAS Miramar, CA

--Navy Surface Fleet, Pacific, Naval Station 32nd Street, CA

--Navy Special Warfare Command, Naval Amphibious Base, CA

--Aircraft Static Display, Naval Air Station Glenview, IL

--Carrier Air Wing 3, USS John F. Kennedy

USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)

USS John F. Kennedy is a John F. Kennedy class aircraft carrier, the last conventionally powered carrier built for the United States Navy. The ship is named after the 35th President of the United States, John F...

--Submarine Group Ten, NSB Kings Bay, GA

--Commander Submarine Fleet Atlantic (ComSubLant

ComSubLant

Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic is the type commander for U.S. submarines in the Atlantic Fleet. Established on 7 December 1941, Rear Admiral Richard S. Edwards was assigned as the first Force Commander. U.S. submarine operations in the Atlantic, however, go back to before the First World War...

), Naval Station, Norfolk, VA

• Others = 2 installations

--General Dynamics

General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...

, Ft. Worth, TX

--Aeromedical Seminar, San Antonio, TX

Formal commission meetings

(Dates, location, and simple description)

March 25, 1992 Washington, DC

Initial meeting

March 26, 1992 Washington, DC

Survey of existing research

April 6–7, 1992 Washington, DC

Defense Dept. physical fitness standards, demographics of armed services personnel, status of women in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force

May 4–5, 1992 Washington, DC

Review information resources from the GAO, media, public opinion, “think tanks”, Congress, and legal writings.

June 8–9, 1992 Washington, DC

Testimony on women’s in “non-traditional roles”; service specific definition of “combat”; prisoners of war issues; 5 other discussion topics

June 25–26, 1992 Washington, DC

Members of Congress testimony; 8 sets of witnesses on various personnel issues

July 13–15, 1992 Chicago, IL

Midwest perspectives; theological perspectives; mixed-gender armed services units’ perspectives

August 6–8, 1992 Los Angeles, CA

West Coast perspectives; theological perspectives; single-gender armed services units’ perspectives; perceived combat “role” for each armed service

August 27–29, 1992 Dallas, TX

Women’s rights advocates; Southern perspectives; theological perspectives; legal implication of any Commission recommendations; review fact-finding reports; witnesses on aircraft: bombers, fighters, helicopters; witnesses on combat support and combat service support; witnesses on field artillery

September 10–12, 1992 Washington, DC

Review Commission panel findings; theological perspectives; Commissioner-generated testimonies; surveys of Army women and women Army officers

October 1–3, 1992 Washington, DC

Miscellaneous reports; review Commission panel findings; review surveys’ findings; Commissioners discuss final report formats

October 22–24, 1992 Washington, DC

Approve findings; discuss issues

November 1–3, 1992 Washington, DC

Discuss, deliberate, and vote on Recommendations

November 9–10, 1992 Washington, DC

Review and approve final draft of report

November 15, 1992 Washington, DC

Final Report transmitted to the President

December 15, 1992 Washington, DC

Final Report transmitted to Congress

Findings and recommendations

A. Quotas and Goals

Quotas should be avoided at all costs as they tend to be biased and discriminatory. “Best qualified” should be the sole criterion for assignments open to both genders.

Commission vote—Yes=9, No=6, Abs=0

B. Voluntary vs. Involuntary Duty

A voluntary assignment policy would hinder combat readiness and effectiveness. A gender-neutral assignment policy for qualified persons should be used. The term “qualified” is determined solely by law and policy.

Commission vote—Yes=10, No=2, Abs=3

C. Fitness/Wellness Standards

Current good health practices are not linked either to specific assignments or gender but rather to the highest levels of general fitness/wellness for the armed services.

Commission vote—Yes=12, No=0, Abs=1, NV=2

D. Occupational Physical Requirements

The armed services should adopt specific requirements for those occupational specializations requiring muscular strength, endurance, or cardio-vascular capacity without regard to gender.

Commission vote—Yes=9, No=4, Abs=2

E. Basic Training Standards

Entry-level physical training may be gender-specific as necessary for specific assignments.

Commission vote—Yes=8, No=6, Abs=1

F. Pre-Commissioning Standards

Physical training the in the military academies, officer candidate schools, and the Reserve Officer Training Corps already have appropriate gender-neutral and gender-specific programs in place. These programs do not appear to compromise either combat performance or combat readiness.

Commission vote—Yes=10, No=4, Abs=1

G. Gender-Related Occupational Standards

Gender-neutral muscular strength, endurance, and cardiovascular capacity requirements may be adopted for those specialties for which they are relevant.

Commission vote—Yes=14, No=0, Abs=0, NV=1

H. Parental and Family Police

The Defense Department should review all policies regarding single and dual-service parents. Policies on recruitment, retention, deployment, and child care for such personnel require either new policies or better implementation of existing policies.

Commission vote—Yes=9, No=0, Abs=1, NV=5

I. Pregnancy and Deployability Policies

Consistency of application and force readiness should drive Defense Department policies regarding pregnancy. Current pregnancy rates among women aviators do not hamper unit performance or readiness.

Commission vote—Yes=8, No=0, Abs=2, NV=5

J. Combat Roles for Women

While circumstances exist where female personnel may be assigned to combat situations, unit readiness for combat should be the main policy concern.

Commission vote—Yes=8, No=1, Abs=1, NV=5

K. Ground Combat

Women may not be assigned to direct land combat units.

Commission vote—Yes=10, No=0, Abs=2, NV=5

L. Combat Aircraft

Women may not be assigned to fly in combat-mission aircraft. “The one vote margin by which this issue was resolved illustrates the deeply divided views that exist to the assignment of women to combat aircraft”

Commission vote—Yes=8, No=7, Abs=0

M. Combatant Vessels

Women may be assigned to all naval vessels except amphibious craft and submarines. The navy should modify vessels to accommodate women when needed as part of normally scheduled maintenance.

Commission vote—Yes=8, No=6, Abs=1

N. Special Operations

Retain the existing policies excluding female personnel from assignment to Special Forces.

Commission vote—Yes=14, No=0, Abs=0, NV=1

O. “Risk Rule”

The “risk rule” is standard operating procedure whereby the exposure of women members of the armed services to situations involving injury, death, or capture is avoided. The “risk rule” should be retained except for women serving on naval vessels.

Commission vote—Yes=9, No=4, Abs=2

P. Transition Process

The further integration of female personnel into existing military units should be done according to an individual’s physical and professional qualifications for the assignment. This transition period should proceed in a timely fashion adhering to best operating procedures. Modifications of existing equipment and facilities for women personnel should be carried out during scheduled routine maintenance

Commission vote—Yes=11, No=3, Abs=1

Q. Conscription

Women should be excluded from any draft or conscription for required military service.

Commission vote—Yes=11, No=3, Abs=0, NV=1

Alternative views

Five members of the commission — Cockerham, Donnelly, O’Beirne, Ray, and White - wrote a 38 page section in the Final Report entitled “The Case Against Women in Combat”. They argued that the proponents of assigning women to combat did not prove the necessity of their case. The five members repeated and emphasized the evidence and personal testimony the Commission collected that cast doubt on combat roles for women. “Most importantly”, they stated, “(combat roles for women) would overturn two centuries of settled law and military policy based on deeply held and commonly shared cultural assumptions defining how men should treat women”.

Sources

The Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces:
Report to the President, November 15, 1992. Washington, DC: GPO, 1992. 1 volume of various pagination. Cited in the text as ”Final Report”

Encyclopedia of Governmental Advisory Organizations Detroit, MI: Gale, 1998-1999. Entry number 1958.