Save the Date: October 12, 2006, for the Center for Military Readiness

Mark your calendar and plan to attend the Center for Military Readiness Annual Briefing on 12 October in Your Nation’s Capital.

Women in Combat

Elaine Donnelly, President of CMR We are at war. In this time of struggle we must defend our way of life, our institutions, and our system of law.

We also face an unexpected controversy. Who controls our institutions? In particular, who controls our Armed Forces — bureaucrats or elected officials? Can we afford to let political correctness takes precedence over policy and law?

Was this helpful? Do comment.

Consider a free eMail subscription for this site.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Your Business Blogger proudly serves as the Vice President for the Center for Military Readiness.

At the CMR Issues Briefing last October, which took place just before our Tenth Annual CMR Celebration reception, we explored these questions and more. Elaine Donnelly explained the lawlessness of the Pentagon in embedding female soldiers with direct ground combat support units collocated with the infantry.

Pentagon officials have not denied what is going on. Instead, they keep making rules on their own, withholding information from Congress — and hoping that no one will notice.

CMR notices! With your help, CMR will continue reporting and analyzing critical issues that are not going away.

First hand sources, both men and women in the military, have put their careers at risk to tell CMR the truth. We’re working hard for their sake and don’t want to let them down.

The strength of CMR is our independence. That quality depends on people like you who are willing to support our work.

Last year Congress mandated by law a full report on women in land combat. But the Pentagon cynically diverted the task to a civilian corporation known to “spin” reports on this subject. Evasions such as this indicate that something is not right. We have our work cut out for us — the consequences of saying nothing are far too great.

With your personal help in the form of a generous contribution, CMR will continue researching and reporting on the situation, in order to influence what happens next.

It is very important that our Eleventh Annual CMR Celebration, scheduled for Thursday, October 12 in Washington D.C., be a big success. This is our main event of the year, and I hope I can count on your help to make it the best ever.

We are excited about plans to expand our reach among active duty men and women in the military. Most would very likely agree with the common sense views expressed by two impressive women who came to speak at our CMR Issues Briefing last year.

Army Captain Michelle Jones told us about her experiences leading a transportation company that came under fire in Iraq. And Air Force Captain Margie Crowe impressed us all with her insight into cultural and family confusion in the military.

CMR supports courageous women like these and the men with whom they serve. We cannot afford to let them down!

Without CMR, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Rep. Louise Slaughter, and Rep. Barney Frank would pretty much have the armed forces at their mercy.

CMR stands up to these people because so much is at stake. CMR is the only organization ready to report and analyze issues that directly affect combat discipline and morale.

With your help we have held the line on the most extreme goals of Sen. Clinton, Rep. Slaughter, and Rep. Frank.

These people, however, do not give up. Together with their activist ideologues and friends in the media, they will continue to push hard for their most radical goals.

These include:

* Women ordered to serve in or near direct ground combat

* The presumption of guilt anytime a man is accused of sexual harassment or assault

* Full acceptance of open homosexuality in the military

Your CMR is watching and countering these ideologues. We cannot afford to stay quiet and allow these people to win!

Our men and women in uniform deserve superior leadership and wise policies — not social engineering that elevates risks and needlessly endangers lives.

We are proud to do what we can to support the troops in this unique area of public policy.

And we have had significant victories.

Last fall your CMR revealed that the Defense Department had paid $50,000 to the Wellesley College Centers for Women, for a report on “prospects” for an Office of Victim Advocate (OVA).

This was an insider game the feminists expected to win. But we beat the OVA plan by exposing how a powerful “Office of Male Bashing” in the Pentagon would work.

This year, the same crowd is trying to exploit sensational news stories about sexual misconduct at the military service academies.

CMR has taken the high ground by promoting discipline and due process not the presumption of professional victim advocates that a man is “innocent until accused.”

Well-funded organizations, such as the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) thought they could use the Supreme Court’s 2003 Lawrence v. Texas case as a battering ram to bring down the law and impose their agenda on the military.

They will not get their way as long as CMR continues to defend the 1993 law banning homosexuals from the military.

In two major cases so far, federal courts have seen through the arguments made by the usual gay activist groups. This 0 for 2 won/loss record won’t deter appeals. Radicals never give up!

Almost every week I hear from a journalist or program producer looking for comment on the latest “news” release from well-funded advocates. It’s all part of a failed two-year public relations campaign, which has been extended indefinitely.

CMR is the only organization prepared to lead this fight — and we will continue doing so with your help.

Implementation of gay activists’ goals would be a huge victory for critics of the military who don’t understand the importance of good order and discipline in the ranks.

These advocates are well funded and powerful. CMR needs your help to counter them!

One of the best things you can do is to contribute to the success of our Eleventh Annual CMR Celebration.

We are planning an enjoyable and informative evening. It’s always fun to hear excellent speakers, followed by stimulating conversations and refreshments with friends old and new. I hope you will make plans to attend — especially if you were not able to join us in recent years.

The CMR Issues Briefing will take place on October 12 beginnning at 4 PM, and the CMR Celebration Reception from 6:00 — 8:00 PM. We will meet in the elegant Hall of States at the National Guard Association of the United States building in Washington D.C. The building offers convenient access, only one block west of Union Station.

We will be announcing details about our 2006 Honorees and participants in the CMR Issues Briefing soon.

I can be reached at 301.604.6639 or via e-mail at jack AT cmrlink DOT org.

Please help CMR to support the troops in this unique and important way. This is the only military we have. We need to “Support the Troops” with more than bumper stickers.

Some organizations only stir up discontent, but your CMR takes positive action. Publicly and sometimes privately, we lend support to public officials who want to do the right thing.

Contributions to CMR are tax-deductible, and I will be personally encouraged to hear from you soon.

Our work is always a challenge, but we enjoy getting in the way of liberal, anti-military activists who want to impose their agendas on the military. Please be generous in helping to keep CMR on the job and more visible than ever.