Soldiering Isn't What It Used To Be

Fred Reed skewers the Army for making men wear high heels in a sensitivity-training session worthy of a Stalinist HR department in corporate America. In an open letter to the Chief of Staff, Fred makes some humorous points:

I do not question your qualifications for command. You doubtless have a firm handshake, a steely gaze, an imposing presence, and a perfect grasp of PowerPoint. But a general who is so afraid of feminists that he forces his troops to play dress-up, well, I mean, what if there is a real war?

I applaud your forthrightness in bringing the doughboys out of the closet in those cute red heels. They are so precious! (By the way, have you considered foot-binding?) As a former Marine in Vietnamese days, I have always suspected the Army of being cross-dressers. How candid of you to confirm my suspicions.

True, traditionalists, and warriors, and cranky old Marines will say that you are just another sorry two-bit, peace-time, careerist politician of a pseudo-soldier who doesn’t have the balls to stand up to feminists and protect the service from becoming a display ad for Victoria’s Secret. I am shocked. How could they think such a thing?

Yes, Generral, yes. I understand. Putting GIs in those darling heels is supposed to provide some kind of uplift (though I believe brassieres are better for that). But I know perfectly well, and you may suspect—check with your dominatrix—that feminists get a hoot out of watching those macho men (ugh!) tottering around before the whole world in heels, like teen-age girls preparing for their first prom. "Heeeeeeeeeeeee-ha-ha." Likely every diesel-dyke in a Women’s Studies department is rolling on the floor. Tippy-toe. Tippy-tippy-toe. "Hey, Sheila, look what we made them do!"

Where I disagree with Fred is his obvious outrage over the program and the broader dysfunction infecting the military. I say amplify the decades-long trend of lowering standards, accepting anyone who can fog a mirror, making everyone more sensitive to each other's feelings, and altering the military's focus from warfare to careerism. Such a military will be far less capable of invading distant countries that have not attacked us, let alone of turning its weapons on American citizens who increasingly resent being governed by a band of outlaws.