Military leaders are expressing support for women in the armed forces after Fox News host Tucker Carlson
Tucker CarlsonNYT criticizes Tucker Carlson for attacking journalist The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – Legislators face threat from Capitol while senators line up votes for relief bill Tucker Carlson criticizes CNN, claims to be ‘more destructive’ than QAnon MORE complained in its program about recent changes aimed at attracting and retaining more female members.
“Women lead our most lethal units with character”, tweeted the sergeant. Army Major Michael Grinston, the service’s top enlisted leader. “They will dominate ANY future battleground where we are called to fight. @TuckerCarlson’s words are divisive, they don’t reflect our values. We have the most professional, polite, agile and strong [noncommissioned officer] Body in the world. “
On Monday, President biden
Joe BidenManchin cementes key vote status in the Senate 50-50 The Memorandum: How the year COVID overthrew politics Post-pandemic plans for lawmakers: Chuck E. Cheese, visiting friends, hugging grandchildren MORE marked International Women’s Day by publicizing the recent promotion of two women generals. In his speech, Biden also mentioned efforts in recent years to better accommodate women in the military, including work to design flight suits for pregnant women and update hygiene standards to allow for a wider range of hair styles.
The following night, Carlson protested these efforts.
“So, we have new hair styles and maternity flight coveralls. Pregnant women will fight our wars. It is a mockery of the US military, ”said Carlson.
“As China’s military becomes more masculine as they assemble the world’s largest navy, our military needs to become, as Joe Biden says, more feminine, whatever feminine means,” he continued.
Tucker delivered the monologue alongside a photo of an Air Force officer, who wore an artificial lump, modeling a flight suit designed for pregnant women.
The changes that Carlson focused on were initiated during the Trump administration.
The Air Force has been working on buying flight coveralls for pregnant women after announcing in 2019 that this would allow pilots to continue flying longer during pregnancy without a layoff.
Meanwhile, in January, the Army unveiled new grooming standards that were recommended in December, including allowing longer ponytails and longer braids, braids or twists. Although appearance regulations aim to reinforce uniformity, many black women complained that strict rules do not allow braids or other hair styles that are easier for those with different hair textures and lengths.
Asked about Carlson’s comments on Thursday, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby relayed the secretary of defense Lloyd Austin
Lloyd AustinOvernight Defense: House approves .9T COVID-19 relief bill | McConnell says Capitol security reminds him of ‘last visit to Kabul’ | Austin, Blinken going to South Korea, Japan on their first trips abroad Pentagon announces climate working group Top Biden officials to meet with Chinese in Alaska MOREthe “disgust” of the segment.
“What we are absolutely not going to do is take personal advice from a talk show host or the Chinese military, and maybe these people feel they have something to prove, that’s their responsibility,” Kirby told reporters.
But Kirby also said that the American Forces Network (AFN), which broadcasts to troops deployed abroad, will continue to broadcast Carlson’s show.
“By instruction, we are required to transmit and make available to men and women and their families abroad the same type of content, news, information and sports content that their fellow citizens can obtain, so their program is broadcast on AFN,” said Kirby.
“I hope that in the reaction he’s seeing, and hopefully in our reaction here today, he will realize the mistake he made and express some regret about the way he essentially downgraded the entire US army, and how we defend and serve this country ”, He added.
Fox News spokesmen did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reaction to Carlson’s segment among military leaders.
Several top Army officers accessed Twitter to strike back at Carlson.
“Thousands of women serve with honor every day around the world,” tweeted Gen. Paul Funk, commanding officer of the Army Training and Doctrine Command. “They are beacons of freedom and prove that Carlson is wrong through determination and dedication. We are lucky that they serve with us. “
Funk’s deputy, Lieutenant General Ted Martin, posted a photo of his daughter in combat uniforms and said “contrary to what you may be hearing, this WOMAN and 1000 WOMEN like her are NOT ‘mocking our military’. “
“You WISH your daughter was as AMAZING as MINE! then CHALLENGE YOURSELF, ”added Martin.
Gen Brig Pat Donahoe, commander of Fort Benning and the Army’s Center for Excellence in Maneuvering, posted a video of himself conducting a re-enactment ceremony for a soldier as “a reminder that @TuckerCarlson couldn’t be more wrong”.
Commander Sgt. Major Rocky Carr, the senior enlisted leader of the Military Deployment and Surface Distribution Command, posted a photo of him and his wife after a 3-mile run near Fort Hood and noticed that she was the best overall finisher.
“Side note: she was 12 weeks pregnant with our daughter. #soHooah, ”Carr tweeted.
The Army’s official Twitter account also appeared to get into controversy on Thursday, tweeting several photos of female soldiers alongside messages about their capabilities, although the tweets did not directly address Carlson.
“I am an American soldier. I am ready to deploy, engage and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in hand-to-hand combat.” read a tweet which included a photo of a woman operating an M2 .50 machine gun.
The commander enlisted the leader of the US Space Command, Sergeant Master of the Marine Corps Gunner. Scott Stalker, however, dismissed Carlson’s comments as “based on zero days of service in the military.”
The military’s maternity policies, which Stalker emphasized were informed by medical professionals, “actually make a force more lethal and ready and fit,” he said in a video posted on Twitter on Thursday.
Ellen Mitchell contributed to this report, which was updated at 12:28 pm