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Gen Robert H. Barrow On Women in Combat

Gen Robert H. Barrow, 27th Commandant of the Marine Corps, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Women in Combat, June 1991.

 

Comments

USMC Infantry Capt

I’m always totally baffled by the hypocrisy of some of those in our Corps.  Gen Barrow's comments are TOTALLY relevant to the discussion that is going on today, IRT women in combat.  I would ask "USMC Maj", why we seek out lessons learned and even have established an institution to teach those lessons from the past to our Marines/Sailors?  It is to learn from the experience that we gain as a whole entity that spans over 230 years.

I’m not going to ask why the Gazette posted the above comment, but I would hope that more Marines take advantage of what history and hard lessons have taught us, so that we can be smarter about the way we do our business.  I would hope that we use these hard-won and hard-taught lessons to look past what may be politically correct or expedient in the hope that we don’t get labeled "ideological dinosaur(s)" in trying to improve what is truly important...combat effectiveness.

 

USMC Capt

I found the former CMC's comments compelling.  We need to think very carefully about putting women in direct combat roles.  Is this really what we want? Terrain, weather, and the enemy all get an equal vote in battle.  This issue with women being in direct combat roles deals with combat readiness and effectiveness.  Do we want women drafted into direct combat roles and everyone treated equally in this regard?  War is brutal as the former CMC described.  The war on terrorism in its entirety is not equal to the fighting seen in WWII, Korea, or Vietnam.  Again my comparison is to the sustained aspect of these wars that I just mentioned and the fighting that took place.  I can not even imagine my sister fighting in these climates.  In closing, let us all pause and think about this.   

USMC Maj

Funny how dated and pathetic his arguments seem.  General Barrow is a ideological dinosaur.  Why did the Gazette post this?

Common sense is dated.

USMC Maj is right that General Barrow's remarks sound "dated." Common sense usually sounds dated now, especially in matters of sex. But anyone who calls a man like General Barrow "pathetic" reveals a great deal about himself. I wish I were as "pathetic" as that giant.

AMEN!

AMEN!

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