Military leadership quotas?

Friday, March 11, 2011

Here is the beginning of a recent article by The Associated Press: "The U.S. military is too white and too male at the top and needs to change recruiting and promotion policies and lift its ban on women in combat, an independent report for Congress said Monday."

Actually, what the U.S. military needs is to seek out the best leaders it can find without regard to race or sex - but it should not deliberately place women in combat roles.

Our military would be in trouble without the many female service members who ably fill a variety of roles in the armed forces. But the sad reality is, women captured in combat would be subjected to even crueler-than-usual treatment by our enemies.

That does not mean women should be denied ample opportunities for advancement in the military alongside men. But in no case should advancement be tied to racial or gender quotas. The U.S. military should be as close to a "meritocracy" as our nation can make it.