Senior military leaders express support for women in the military after Fox News hosted Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson NYT Criticizes Tucker Carlson For Attacking Journalist The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented By Facebook – Lawmakers Face Capitol Threat As Senators Draft Votes For Relief Law Tucker Carlson Pounds CNN, Claims It’s More ‘Destructive’ Than QAnon MORE complained about his show about recent changes designed to attract and retain more female service workers.
“Women lead our most lethal units of character,” tweeted Sgt. Maj. From the army Michael Grinston, the top recruited chief of the service. “They will dominate EVERY future battlefield we have to fight on. @ TuckerCarlson’s words are divisive, do not reflect our values. We have THE MOST professional, skilled, agile and strongest [noncommissioned officer] Corps in the world. “
On Monday, President Biden
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The next night, Carlson protested those attempts.
“So we have new hairstyles and maternity flight suits. Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It’s a mockery of the US military,” Carlson said.
“While the Chinese military is getting more masculine because it has assembled the largest navy in the world, our military, as Joe Biden says, needs to become more feminine, which means more feminine,” he continued.
Tucker delivered the monologue alongside a photo of an Air Force officer wearing an artificial hump and modeling a flight suit designed for pregnant women.
The changes Carlson focused on were initiated during the Trump administration.
The Air Force has been working on purchasing maternity flight suits after announcing in 2019 that pilots would be able to continue flying longer in their pregnancies without a waiver.
Meanwhile, in January, the military unveiled new grooming standards recommended in December, including allowing longer ponytails and wider braids, cornrows or twists. While grooming prescriptions are meant to reinforce uniformity, many colored women have complained that the strict rules do not allow braids or other hairstyles that are easier on those with different textures and hair lengths.
Asked about Carlson’s comments Thursday, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
Lloyd Austin Overnight: House passes .9T COVID-19 relief bill | McConnell says Capitol security reminds him of ‘last visit to Kabul’ | Austin, Blinken Heading to South Korea, Japan on First Foreign Trips Pentagon Announces Climate Working Group Top Biden Officials to Meet Chinese in Alaska MORE‘s “dislike” on the segment.
“What we absolutely won’t do is get personnel advice from a talk show host or the Chinese military, and maybe those people feel like they have something to prove, that’s their fault,” Kirby told reporters.
But Kirby also said the American Forces Network (AFN), which broadcasts to overseas troops, would continue to show Carlson’s show.
“By instruction, we are required to broadcast and make available abroad the same kind of content, news, information and sports content for men and women and their families who can get their fellow citizens, so his show will be broadcast on AFN,” Kirby said. .
“I hope that in the response he sees, and hopefully in our response here today, he will realize the mistake he has made and express some regret for the way he basically humiliated the entire US military, and how we and how we serve this country, ”he added.
Fox News spokespersons did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the backlash against Carlson’s segment among military leaders.
Several senior army officers took to Twitter to hit back at Carlson.
“Thousands of women serve honorably around the world every day”, tweeted Gene. Paul Funk, Commander of the Army Training and Doctrine Command. “They are beacons of freedom and they prove Carlson wrong through determination and dedication. We are lucky that they serve with us. “
Funk’s Deputy, Lieutenant General Ted Martin, posted a photo of his daughter in combat gear and said “contrary to what you may hear, these WOMEN & thousands of WOMEN like her are NOT ‘making fun of our army’.
“You wish your daughter was just as AMAZING as mine! so go back, ”added Martin.
Major General Pat Donahoe, Commander of Fort Benning and the Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, posted a video of himself leading a re-entry ceremony for a female soldier as “a reminder that @TuckerCarlson couldn’t be more wrong.”
Commando Sgt. Major Rocky Carr, the senior enlisted leader in Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, posted a picture of him and his wife after a three mile race near Fort Hood and noted that she was the top finisher overall.
“Side note: she was 12 weeks pregnant with our daughter. #soHooah, ”Carr tweeted.
The military’s official Twitter account also appeared to be wading into controversy on Thursday, tweeting several photos of female soldiers alongside posts about their capabilities, though the tweets weren’t addressed directly to Carlson.
“I am an American soldier. I am ready to deploy, attack and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat,” read a tweet that included a photo of a woman operating an M2 .50 caliber machine gun.
The senior enlisted leader of the US Space Command, Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sgt. Scott Stalker, meanwhile, dismissed Carlson’s comments as “based on zero days of military service.”
The military’s maternity policy, which Stalker insisted was informed by medical professionals, “is actually making a more deadly and fit force,” he said in a video posted on Twitter Thursday.
Ellen Mitchell contributed to this report, which was updated at 12:28 p.m.