A new study commissioned by the Marine Corps recommends that troops stop using the terms “sir” or “ma’am” to address drill instructors in order to “de-emphasize gender.”
SO WHAT
The U.S. military is getting increasingly woke.
THE DETAILS
“Instead of saying ‘ma’am’ or ‘sir,’ recruits in [the Army, Navy and Coast Guard] refer to their drill instructors using their ranks or roles followed by their last names. Gendered identifiers prime recruits to think about or visually search for a drill instructor’s gender first, before their rank or role,” wrote University of Pittsburgh researchers, who were awarded $2 million by the Corps in 2020 to study the issue.
- The 738-page report found that half of the armed services branches have already abolished gendered identifiers for training staff.
- A Marine Corps leadership team is considering the researchers’ recommendation as part of an effort to “integrate boot camp,” Marine Corps Times reported Tuesday.
- But Col. Howard Hall, the chief of staff for Marine Corps Training and Education Command, said leaders have reservations: “It’s not something we would change overnight.”
THE KICKER
A Reagan Institute survey released last month found that Americans’ trust in the military has precipitously declined — from 70% in 2018 to 48% in 2022 — with majorities of respondents saying the military has become “overly politicized” and “woke.”
