My Marine Corps journey began as many others have. I was looking for a way out of my old life. I was looking to grab that first rung to the ladder of a new life. My senior year of high school, a friend told me about ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) scholarships. He told me … Continue reading A Little About Me
When I joined the Marine Corps Force Innovation Office (MCFIO) in June 2014, I had been a Marine for fourteen years. I loved the Marine Corps, and did not hesitate to tell anyone that I had had a great career. I had been fortunate in that I had always felt part of the team, that … Continue reading My Intent with This Book
In January 2016, I finished my tenure with the Marine Corps Force Innovation Office (MCFIO). The office was charged with conducting research, asking questions, synthesizing the conclusions and eventually making policy about women in the ground combat arms. It was the most difficult tour of my entire Marine Corps career – not Iraq or Afghanistan, … Continue reading Research into Women and Ground Combat: A (relatively short) History of MCFIO
When I asked the GCEITF's Gunner, CWO5 Nick Vitale, the role of leadership in cohesion and morale, he said, "it's the hinge!". Somehow everything always comes down to leadership. It's the lynchpin to so many things. Cohesion and morale - the military always unites the concepts - is incredibly important to unit performance. But it's … Continue reading Cohesion & Morale & Leadership
It's the little things that trip us up. When Marines began arriving at the GCEITF, leadership faced a question. Where to house the women? Marine Corps culture runs deep. Anyone who knows a Marine knows this. Things that are as natural to us as breathing, to outsiders, seem to be from another world. Things that … Continue reading Cohesion – Unit Integrity
The GCEITF ("The Experiment") was the greatest social and cultural experiment in the Marine Corps.Colonel Matt St.Clair, Commanding Officer, GCEITF In the previous post, I explored the origins of the Marine Corps' gender Experiment. It wanted to build a unit, approximately battalion-sized (700+ individuals). They wanted to test women in ground combat specialties - infantry, … Continue reading What Was The Experiment Really All About?
When the first women graduated from the enlisted infantry course in November 2013, I was exuberant. Deployed to Afghanistan at the time, I remember adding this to my list of updates for our morning staff meeting. None of the men at the staff meeting seemed as excited as I was. Perhaps I should not have … Continue reading Origins of the Ground Combat Element Integrated Task Force (GCEITF)
Of all the visits MCFIO conducted in 2014, Australia was the only country I did not get to visit. I never learned the reason. Perhaps they wanted to give another person the chance at a cool international trip. Perhaps I had made an unknown mistake. Regardless, I stayed home. So everything in this post is … Continue reading Australia: Women in Combat
Of the four countries we visited in 2014, the United Kingdom was the only one not permitting women in ground combat specialties. At the time, I didn't think anything of it. I assumed we were there for a reason. We were visiting these countries to understand better their experience with women in ground combat specialties. … Continue reading United Kingdom: Women in Combat
Marines who exceed weight and body fat standards are a detriment to and detract from the combat readiness of their unit . . . Simply put, Marines who do not present a suitable military appearance fail to possess the qualities necessary to effectively lead Marines. This is especially true for Marines in a leadership or … Continue reading The Weigh-in
Every country the team visited in 2014 had a different perspective and experience of integrating women into the infantry. When we visited Canada in October that year, we found that women had been serving in the infantry for nearly 25 years. Whereas Israel conscripted women primarily out of military necessity, Canada permitted women in ground … Continue reading Canada: Women in Combat
Women's suffering power is bigger. They reach into a world that we don't (have access to).IDF Leader, 2014 My grandmother said, "Do it for me too, because I wanted to be a fighter too."Caracal Battalion soldier, 2014 As the Marine Corps began researching women's integration into ground combat roles, it sought to better understand other … Continue reading Israel: Women in Combat
Breaking Into the Brotherhood 