Senior military leaders have condemned the viral comments made by Tucker Carlson in his program on women in uniform. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shares the “repulsion” many leaders have expressed about the monologue.
Carlson said during his program on Tuesday that new standards of preparation and inclusive military uniforms for women were mocking the U.S. military. In a monologue, Carlson said China’s army has become “more masculine,” while “our army must be, as Joe Biden says, more feminine.”
On Monday, International Women’s Day, President Joe Biden presented the nominees for fighter commands who would be the second and third women to ever run fighter commands. He spoke of the measures the military is taking such as updating preparedness standards, how to allow short ponytails, to make the environment of all forces more inclusive.
Carlson called these measures a “mockery of the U.S. military.”
Kirby said Thursday that “what we absolutely will not do is receive the advice of staff from a talk show host or the Chinese military.”
Kirby was asked if Carlson should apologize and Kirby said he hopes Carlson realizes the mistake he has made in the comments that “essentially degraded the entire U.S. military and how we defend and we serve this country “.
Carlson responded with a nine-minute monologue Thursday night, saying “the Department of Defense launched a large, coordinated public relations offensive against this program.”
“Since when has the Pentagon declared war on a national news operation? I don’t remember this ever happening,” Carlson said.
Other senior members of the U.S. military intervened Thursday in Carlson’s comments. In a viral clip, U.S. Marine Corps Master Artillery Sergeant Scott Stalker, the senior enlisted leader of the U.S. space command, said Carlson’s opinion “is really based on zero days in the United States. armed services “. He also asked the military to “get back to work” and said “remember that those opinions were made by a person who has never served a day in his life.”
“Let me offer you my opinion, my opinion is based on 28 years of actual service in the army, 28 years in the Marine Corps and combat operations at sea and in the garrison,” he said. “And so I was talking specifically about pregnant women in today’s armed forces and how it makes us less lethal, less fit and less prepared. Let me tell you how wrong it is. These decisions were made by medical professionals. , commanders and our civilian leadership that allows women to have more time with their children, recover, get in shape and prepare, take the time that our medical professionals know is necessary, which it actually makes us a more lethal, prepared and fit force. Ready to adapt to the wars of today and tomorrow. ”
On Twitter, the U.S. military did not respond directly to Carlson’s comments, but it did posted an image of a uniformed woman with the text “I am an American soldier. I will never accept defeat. I will never give up.”
Numerous women veterans responded to Carlson’s comments on Twitter, including Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who was one of the first women in the military to do combat missions during the Iraq war.
“F *** Tucker Carlson,” tweeted Duckworth from his campaign account.
While deploying in Iraq in 2004, Duckworth flew a helicopter that was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). Duckworth lost both legs and partial use of his right arm in the incident.
“As she practiced her two steps, America’s warriors sought out al-Qaeda and demonstrated the strength of American women,” Duckworth said. he tweeted, referring to Carlson’s appearance on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” in 2006. “Happy International Women’s Day took everyone except Tucker, who even I can dance better than.”
Twitter user Heather Tregle, who, according to her biography, is an officer in the Army’s Defense General Judge (JAG), said being a mother while serving “is no mockery of the military.”
“I had two children while serving in the army, deployed to 2 combat zones, advised commanders at home and in war, and graduated from Naval War College,” he said. “I can assure you that my presence is no mockery of the military. If you are looking for a mockery, look in the mirror.”
Another person tweeted that her comments “mostly annoyed” her and took the opportunity to post a photo of her since October 1999, when she was in Army basic training at Fort Jackson. , South Carolina.
General Jacqueline Van Ovost, commander of the Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, did not refer directly to Carlson, but tweeted about the “Air Force” women they have served.
“There are almost 70,000 qualified and hot #USAF #Airmen women,” Van Ovost said he tweeted. “For years we have evolved and will continue to evolve, eliminating outdated policies that prevent any woman from reaching her full potential.”
“Inclusion is our strength,” tweeted the general, “it will be the difference between winning and losing.”
Van Ovost is Mr. Biden’s choice to lead the U.S. Transportation Command. When he announced Van Ovost and his selection for the Southern Commander of the United States, Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson, Mr. Biden said, “We need girls and boys, both of whom have grown up dreaming of serving their country, to know this is what the generals do in the United States Armed Forces seem. ”