The Army released a long-delayed report on the treatment of women in special operations Monday.
The report found problems with misogyny among male special operators. Roughly 5,000 men and women who were members of Army Special Operations were interviewed anonymously by researchers. The report cataloged comments from male operators who said women have no place on the teams.
“Females have no place on a Team. It’s an unnecessary wrench in a perfectly functional system in the name of ‘political correctness,'” said one anonymous operator listed in the report. “This trend is another factor that has systematically blunted the tip of the spear.”
Among women, 40% reported gender bias in the workplace as a challenge.
“We do believe that the vast majority of the negative comments came from senior non-commissioned officers, unfortunately,” said Sgt. Maj. JoAnne Naumann with Army Special Operations Command. “It does seem to indicate that it is generational.”
Women reported they were left out of key assignments by male leaders who believed women needed to be protected. They were segregated at times to address spouses concerned about fraternization during deployments.
The commander of Army Special Operations, Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, says the results are troubling.
“Our culture needs to be fixed, but I don’t think it’s rampant if you look at the data,” he said.
The report lists 42 recommendations, ranging from addressing sexism to the need to provide modified equipment to better fit womens’ bodies. Women in Army Special Operations reported buying their own body armor, because the equipment they were issued either did not fit properly or was not readily available in their sizes. There were similar issues with Army issue backpacks.
The report also looked at issues with childcare. Many of the recommendations mirrored problems already uncovered by the other elements of the armed services. While women make up roughly 20% of the armed forces, they represent less than 10% of special operations.
The report was finished in 2021 but was only released Monday. All elements of special operations have been under Congressional scrutiny. All jobs in the military were opened to women in 2016, but so far no woman has reached the most elite of special operations including the Navy SEALs, though Braga said Monday that less than 10 women have become members of the storied Army Green Berets.
