An academic report recommends that the US Marine Corps get rid of “gender-specific salutes” for drill instructors.
The report, commissioned in 2020 by the University of Pittsburgh Corps, was completed in 2022. It notes that other branches of the military have made strides to “de-emphasize gender” by using other names.
“The Army, Navy and Coast Guard effectively downplay gender in an integrated setting,” the 783-page report reads. “Instead of saying ‘ma’am’ or ‘sir’, recruits in these Services refer to their instructors using their ranks or roles followed by their last names. Gender identifiers make recruits think or visually search for an instructor’s gender first, before its rank or function”.
The proposal is being considered by Marine Corps leadership, but some have concerns.
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An academic report recommends that the US Marine Corps change the gender-specific terms for drill instructors.
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Marine Corps Training and Education Command Chief of Staff Col. Howard Hall shared his concerns during a Dec. 6 meeting with the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, the Military Times reported.
“Honestly, that’s not a quick fix. What are we instilling in our young recruits that will or won’t be reinforced when they graduate and enter the Navy fleet?” he said. “So again, we want to avoid any quick fixes that introduce disruption down the road.”
The report was part of an effort by the military branch to integrate the boot camp. Until 2019, all female recruits were trained in a single battalion at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. Women now train at both Marine Corps boot camps, the other being Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, but training materials have been slow to catch up with that reality, the Military Times reported.
The report focuses on how the Maines Corps elevates male Marines by using masculine language and allegedly ignoring female Marines. He discovered that the San Diego recruiting depot PowerPoint slides used all the masculine pronouns to describe leadership traits. “
“A leader who is confident in his decisions instills confidence in his Marines,” read one line.
The study also found that female Marine Corps drill instructors were sometimes treated as less important than their male counterparts. The authors suggested that ditching “sir” and “ma’am” in favor of the neutral “drill instructor” would help balance that behavior, the Times reported.
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“Gender-neutral identifiers are an unambiguous and unbiased way to circumvent these problems,” the authors wrote. “The use of gender-neutral identifiers eliminates the possibility of confusing drill instructors, which can inadvertently offend or cause discord. By teaching recruits to use gender-neutral identifiers for their drill instructors, the Services stresses the importance of respecting authorized figures regardless of gender”.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Marine Corps for comment.
