Lady SEALs
Stu sends us a link to an article by Darlene M Iskra at Time’s Battleland in which poor little Darlene has confused actual reality with Hollywood’s reality. Reading the article about the possibility of allowing women in the ranks of the Navy’s SEALs, you can almost hear Darlene creaming all over herself. She also includes an image of a shorn Demi Moore in her role as “GI Jane” as well as a video clip from the movie.
I believe that is an accurate depiction of what any woman who tries this will have to endure. It is not for the weak of heart. As I stated in my December 21 post, now we just have to wait for the right women to volunteer and put themselves on the line.
As reactions to my previous posts have shown, there is a remarkable resistance by men to any change in personnel policy.
Yeah, well, i think it’s a movie, and just because the ACTORS in a MOVIE tried to keep the ACTRESS in a MOVIE from making it in SEAL training in a MOVIE, that doesn’t mean that REAL instructors will do the same. Obviously, Darlene hasn’t met any real SEALs, but that doesn’t stop her from making outrageous claims.
The Navy’s implementation plan is due to the defense secretary by May 15, and the plan for integration of Special Operations not until January 2016. By then I hope that women who desire these assignments will be in training, in preparation for what will be viewed through a microscope by those who want to see them fail.
But ladies: “Don’t give up the ship!”
As in, don’t give it up for lost and abandon it. At least one of you will prevail.
So, why don’t you do it, Darlene, since it’s so important for some reason to all of womanhood? I have no problem with female SEALs who meet the established standard. I couldn’t, even at my best several decades ago, but the problem here is that people who have n intention of taking part in the training are the only ones pushing this shit.
If anything, movies like “GI Jane” only serve to scare women away from these positions, and the media’s treatment of entertainment as reality only perpetuate the toxic myths about people who are currently serving.
Category: Military issues
50 me!
@50 – Mystery poster claiming to be Master Chief — Also, RADM Duerk, first woman admiralty striker — met her at Great Lakes in 1972.
I went hunting for CDR ISkra’s story, found several different items, decided on the “History of Women in the Navy”, which covers a lot. RADM Hopper is well-known for COBOL outside the Navy.
What I found interesting in CDR Iskra’s story is that she cusses so much, it embarrasses the men working for her. Awwww! I did not know that sailors had such sensitivity. 🙂
I did not want to bring up CDR Iskra’s use of invective on the off chance that it might start another — well, ‘war’ of words — in which all of you take so much delight. However, I may change my mind about that.
I think Scubasteve is right: we should have a best & worst movie quotes post, to stretch our fading memories.
@ EX-PH2 … no that was me …
While I was at SWOS in Newport I trained some of the first female SWO’s. The first PCO’s and PXO’s to go the ships.
I served with the great diver twice:
Bobbie Scholley, Captain, U.S. Navy (retired)
Captain Bobbie Scholley graduated from Basic Diving Officer School in 1983. She went on to serve as a Commanding Officer (CO) in several capacities: for USS Bolster (ARS 38) from 1992-1994, as the first female CO of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two from 2000-2002, and of Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey. In 1997, Captain Scholley became the first woman to serve as the Navy’s Supervisor of Diving. She was the Diving and Salvage Officer for the 1996 TWA Flight 800 recovery operation and supervised diving operations on destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) in Yemen after it was attacked by terrorists in 2000. Captain Scholley also acted as the on-scene commander during the 2001 and 2002 USS Monitor recovery expeditions. She joined the Women Divers Hall of Fame in 2000.