Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

McCoy on the Marines and women

Former Marine Sgt. Alexander McCoy, a member of the Best Defense Council of the Former Enlisted, has a good article in the New York Times on how the Marine Corps could deal better with women.

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
3230555364_ab62b1bc79_o
3230555364_ab62b1bc79_o

 

 

Former Marine Sgt. Alexander McCoy, a member of the Best Defense Council of the Former Enlisted, has a good article in the New York Times on how the Marine Corps could deal better with women.

His conclusion: “If our leaders are serious about making the Marine Corps the best it can be, and if they want to avoid repeated scandals, they must change the culture. They should start by fully integrating recruit training, instituting gender-neutral standards and making clear up and down the chain of command that this kind of behavior isn’t a joke or a normal part of building cohesion but a weakness — and a betrayal of our core values of honor, courage and commitment.”

Photo credit: CORY SMITH/Flickr

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

Read More On Military

More from Foreign Policy

Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.
Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak

Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.

Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.
Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage

The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.

A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.
A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.

The West’s False Choice in Ukraine

The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.

Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi
Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi

The Masterminds

Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.