Firing of Female Marine Raises Questions About Equality in the Military
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Lt. Col. Kate Germano, who led the Marine Corps' only all-female recruit battalion, was relieved of her duties earlier this summer after her leadership style was found to be "hostile, unprofessional, and abusive," according to a Marine Corps command investigation.
Lt. Col. Germano (pictured below) served as a commanding officer of the 4th Recruit Training Battalion at Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, South Carolina when she was dismissed from her post at the end of June. Germano was accused by some of her female recruits of being too blunt and aggressive.
But Germano says she was working to better the physical test results and tactical training of her recruits, just like any other leader in the Marines—male or female—would do.
"When I looked at the statistical data from the previous decade on how the female recruits had performed, what I found was on that on every instance, they had underperformed compared to their male counterparts," she tells The Takeaway. "I believe that there was a specific group of Marines who were not receptive to change and who did not like my leadership style."
She goes on to say that members of senior leadership were willing to stand up for disgruntled female recruits and act as their "protectors."
"I was told I was too aggressive, I was too blunt, I was too direct, and that I sounded pompous when I offered advice on recruiting, despite the fact that I had been there twice and was very successful," Germano says. "And I, in my career of 19 years, what I found was that my counterparts would not be told those things."
Takeaway Host John Hockenberry asks Germano whether female recruits are being set up to fail. Though deflecting the question, Germano says, "unless we fix what's happening before they get into the training pipeline and improve their physical fitness and mental strength, we are going to struggle to get to a point where the data will say or show women are capable of filling these combat arms roles."
What does the Marine Corps make of Lt. Col. Germano's accusations?
"We expect our leaders, women and men, to accomplish the mission while taking care of their people," Col. Jeffrey W. Fultz, chief of staff, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Eastern Recruiting Region, Parris Island, told The Takeaway in a prepared statement. "Being overly aggressive and creating a harmful or toxic environment is never acceptable. Lt. Col. Germano was relieved due to a loss of trust and confidence in her ability to serve in command following numerous formal and informal complaints from her Marines (officers and enlisted, not recruits) and a command investigation.
"The investigation substantiated Lt. Col. Germano abused her authority and lacked the ability to maintain the working relationships required to effectively lead. The decision to relieve a commander is never taken lightly but, in this case, it was deemed necessary. Our people, Marines, and recruits, deserve a constructive command climate that fosters good order and discipline."
When asked about the integration of women into the Marine Corps, Col. Fultz issued the following statement to The Takeaway:
"It is important to note, Lt. Col. Germano's former command, Fourth Recruit Training Battalion, is not incorporated into the current Marine Corps Force Integration Program. The role of Fourth Recruit Training Battalion and all training battalions on Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island is to continue to uphold the existing standards, not change or create new policy."
Marine Corps Spokesman Major Anton T. Semelroth also provided The Takeaway with the following prepared statement when asked if the Marine Corps is prepared for the integration of women into combat roles:
"At the service level, we are using the time afforded by the Secretary of Defense to take a systematic approach to integrating women into combat arms specialties by research, assessment and validation of current occupational standards.
"As we move forward with this process, our focus remains on combat readiness and generating combat-ready units while simultaneously allowing each Marine the opportunity to succeed; it's simply the right thing to do. Our ongoing deliberate, measured and responsible approach will integrate female Marines in the ground combat element to the maximum extent possible."
