Armed Forces News

The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service (DACOWITS) presented Congress with its 2017 report March 1, offering a host of suggestions, aimed at inspiring women to enter and remain in the armed forces. Among them:

* Marketing campaigns should offer women “salient reasons” to join the service.
* Dual-Military couples need more official help when seeking co-location of duty stations — particularly when their children are involved.
* Pentagon leadership should study why women are more prone to leave the service at mid-career than their male colleagues.
* More could be done to facilitate transition from one service branch to another.
* Service leaders should study strategies foreign militaries use to recruit and retain female service members.
* The services should share lessons learned among each other, in terms of gender-integration implementation.
* The military academies should continue to promote gender-integrated boxing programs, with a focus on safety.
* The entire Defense Department should follow the Air Force’s lead when nominating members to serve as aides and military assistants.
* Physical training and nutrition regimens should be tailored to fit the specific needs of men and women.
* Childcare services should be expanded to provide 24-hour care to more service members who need it.
* The Family Care Plan Instruction should be used to support operational readiness. Other uses should be stopped.
* Pentagon leadership still has work to do in implementing earlier DACOWITS suggestions about the impact of social media — particularly as it pertains to sexual harassment.
* Military parents should be granted flexible parental leave when they need it.
* The same rules for parental leave should apply to both married and unmarried parents.