It is easy to dismiss former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch as a lightweight in military history.  She was only a 19 year-old, 5’3” passenger in a military vehicle under rocket grenade assault in Iraq, carrying a rifle that jammed before she and several others were captured.  Somehow a vivid legend was spun up—portraying her as a teenage woman-warrior—shot, stabbed, and taken prisoner only after she had emptied her weapon, killing Iraqis.

The “G.I. Jessica” image captivated the world, even though it was thinly sourced by someone in the Pentagon and hastily headlined by the Washington Post.  Advocates of women in combat celebrated apparent evidence that women could be the equals of men in close, hand-to-hand combat.  The story was soon discredited, but questions persist about what really happened, and why the public had been so misinformed. . . Read More

After months of secrecy and media diversion, now we know that former prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch was brutally raped by Iraqi thugs, shortly after she survived the horrific ambush of her 507th Maintenance Unit in Iraq. We need brave women in the military, but no one’s daughter should have to suffer an ordeal comparable to that experienced by the 19 year-old Lynch—Not in the name of women’s careers, men’s resentment, military necessity, or anything else. . . Read More

The Center for Military Readiness is pleased to report that a lawsuit intended to impose Selective Service obligations on young women has been dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. ¹In an 8-page opinion, U.S. Senior District Judge Edward F. Harrington upheld the right of Congress to exempt women from Selective Service registration for a possible future draft. In doing so, the Court frequently cited the landmark 1981 decision  . . . Read More

Feminist activists and their friends in the media keep insisting that military women strongly desire the “opportunity” to serve in land combat units.  But is that true?  Opinion surveys done by the Army indicate that the majority of military women are strongly opposedto combat assignments—especially if it means being forced into combat on an “equal” basis with men.

According to the General Accounting Office (GAO), quoting a study done by the Rand Corporation in 1998, only 10% of female privates and corporals agreed that “women should be treated exactly like men and serve in the combat arms just like men.” . . Read More

Response to Dana Priest

Washington Post reporter Dana Priest, primary author of a June 17, 2003, article regarding former prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch, has taken issue with the CMR article titled “Did Feminist Bias Distort Washington Post Story on Jessica Lynch,” which was posted on the CMR website, www.cmrlink.org, on June 24.

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