Report to Recommend Co-Ed Boot Camp -- 03/16/1999

Report to Recommend Co-Ed Boot Camp

16 March, 1999

By Scott Hogenson
CNS Executive Editor

(CNS) – Conservatives hoping to end same-sex boot camp suffered a set back at the hands of a congressional commission, which is prepared to recommend that the armed forces continue training men and women together in basic training.

A statement from the Congressional Commission on Military Training and Gender Related Issues obtained by CNS said, "each Service should be allowed to continue to conduct basic training in accordance with current policies. This includes the manner in which basic trainees are housed and organized into units."

Currently, the Army, Navy and Air Force have co-ed boot camp. The Marine Corps still separates its male and female recruits through basic training.

The commission's conclusion runs counter to a 1998 recommendation by a similar panel convened by Defense Secretary William Cohen, which unanimously decided that same-sex training in boot camp was a "common sense" approach to conducting military basic training.

Although the commission's report will recommend continuing co-ed boot camp, the decision was not unanimous, with six of the board's 10 members voting to continue to practice, one voting against and three abstaining.

Among those abstaining was Charles Moskos, a sociologist from Northwestern University who also served on a 1992 commission to study the issue of women in combat. A draft of Moskos' statement obtained by CNS said the commission's overall recommendation to continue co-ed boot camp training "implies there are no serious problems in (Initial Entry Training) beyond those identified by the Services."

"I was particularly struck by the overwhelming consensus among trainers that something is seriously flawed in gender-integrated training," wrote Moskos, who also noted that recruits are generally more positive about co-ed boot camp than the drill sergeants and company commanders who administer the training.

The commission decision has angered some conservatives who have long been opposed to mixed-gender training. One top congressional aide blamed the panel's recommendation on "The Stupid Party," noting that the decision is being handed down by a "Republican-appointed congressional commission."

The commission's report is scheduled to be delivered Wednesday to the House Armed Services Committee's military personnel subcommittee.

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