And that's the problem.

 

I know this post will be taken in the wrong way, so let me head it off here by saying up front that sexual assault is never OK. It is always a crime, and those who are guilty of it should be punished. And to the women who serve in our military, you have my gratitude, but I don't think you should be shouldering the responsibility of direct combat.

 

The military right now is beset with criticism and questions over the sharp rise in sexual assaults in our armed forces and training academies. Senators, combat veterans, and others insist that sexual assault in the ranks has "cost the services the trust and respect of the American people as well as the nation's men and women in uniform."

 

Should our military have to take time out from protecting our shores in these perilous times to deal with rape and sexual harassment? To put it more bluntly, would this even be an issue if we hadn't allowed homosexuals and women to serve in the same capacities as men? I'm just old-fashioned enough to think there are military jobs for which women are not suited, and that there are role differences between the genders. And I'm enough of a moralist to believe that homosexuals shouldn't be in the military at all. We have allowed a PC policy and a minority of criminals to cast a pall upon the respect and trust the vast majority of our servicemen deserve. And that's a crying shame.

 

"Chiefs try to salvage commanders' authority in cases." The Dallas Morning News; June 5, 2013; p. 1A.