Brian Mitchell

About the Author: Brian Mitchell is a former U.S. Army infantry officer and intelligence agent. Mitchell, now a reporter for Navy Times newspaper, is the author of the controversial book Weak Link: The Feminization of the American Military, from which this viewpoint is excerpted.

The party line in Washington is that all is well with women in the military, that with the exception of a few minor annoyances to be dispelled by the magic wand of policy, sexual integration is proceeding smoothly without degrading military readiness. Women are “an integral part” of the nation’s defense, and they can do the job “as well if not better” than their male comrades, say responsible officials, some of whom seem quite willing to believe that women actually make better soldiers than men do...