Redefining leadership on the brink of US Army force integration

Abstract

The 1994 Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule excluded women from specific assignments and occupational specialties that carried a high probability for direct contact and engagement with hostile enemy forces in ground combat. In January 2013, Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin E. Dempsey announced the elimination of the 1994 Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule. The US Armed Forces' plan to integrate women into previously closed duty positions and military units will go into effect no later than January 1, 2016. In a separate memorandum, General Dempsey expressed the commitment of the Joint Chiefs to ensuring that all service members would be granted equal opportunity to succeed in their chosen career fields, and called for the reexamination of occupational performance standards across the board. During this time of significant institutional change, army soldiers of all ranks are called upon to reconsider and redefine their concept of leadership, particularly in the all-male combat arms branches. Further analysis of army rhetoric reveals ingrained obstacles to force integration and diversification. This thesis examines army rhetoric in terms of the linguistic processes we use to define, categorize, and evaluate what we perceive in our environment, and aims to determine the extant challenges associated with force integration beyond the superficial physiological differences between men and women.