Penna Dexter

Every year, Congress funds the military by passing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill is again working its way through Congress, with a disturbing twist. The House version contains a provision that requires all women ages 18-35 to register for the Selective Service, just as men are required to do. The Senate Armed Services Committee has agreed to a similar amendment. The full Senate has not yet voted. Currently, only “male persons” are required to register with the Selective Service. The Left, in an effort to eliminate all gender distinctions and gendered language from U.S. law, is seeking to eliminate the word “male” and to require all “persons” to register. This momentous change is being included in a must-pass bill that includes a troop pay raise — every patriotic senator wants to support that. But conservative senators considering a yes vote on the NDAA will also be approving the draft-our-daughters provision that’s been stuffed into this bill. The purpose of conscription is to provide for the rapid replacement of troops killed or wounded in combat. The chief impediment to requiring women to register for the draft has been their ability to perform well in combat positions. In 1981 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Congress’ mandate that draft registration be limited to men. Nonetheless, in 2015, the Obama Administration opened all of the military’s ground-combat forces to women. Defense Secretary Ash Carter told National Review, that women could serve in Army and Marine Corps Infantry units “as long as they qualify and meet the standards.” The U.S. Supreme Court declined to rule on a challenge to the Obama/Carter policy, rightly signaling this is a decision that belongs in Congress. But lawmakers should not try to sneak this watershed policy into a must-pass bill. It requires robust national discussion. Women are valuable military assets. However, we need our military to be at maximum strength and lethality. Placing women in combat undermines that goal.