CMR Notes
Saturday, July 7, 2001

CMR has learned that then-Secretary Cohen selected an Executive Committee and eight new members for the 2001 Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. In recent decades the controversial 33-member DACOWITS, which was formed during the Korean War era to encourage the recruitment and retention of military women, has been operating as a tax-funded power base for civilian feminists and social engineers who want to transform the culture of the military.

This is a non-statutory committee, and members serve solely at the discretion of the secretary of defense. It was not appropriate for Cohen to saddle his successor with "advisers" not of his choice. Three weeks after the Inauguration, high-level Clinton-Cohen holdovers took advantage of the situation by using the automatic signature pen of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to ratify his predecessor's actions. This was done without the knowledge of the current Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) - until it was too late.

As a result of this brazen act of institutional arrogance, done by people who don't even know what the word "insubordination" means, eight new members are now serving on the DACOWITS. All are civilian women selected by President Bill Clinton's secretary of defense, with the exception of one who was added in consultation with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., after a Cohen selectee dropped out.

By showing itself to be irresponsible in its practices as well as radical in its recommendations, the DACOWITS has made the best case yet for its own demise.

DACOWITS Deception

In the fall of 1999 CMR surveyed presidential primary candidates to ascertain their positions on military personnel policies, including their willingness to abolish the DACOWITS. The committee's name was not well-known, but its unanimous push for women on submarines drew a storm of criticism in 2000. The wrong-headed recommendation raised the profile of DACOWITS as a primary force behind social engineering in the military during the Clinton-Gore years.

George W. Bush won the election with strong support from military voters. But in December 2000, Defense Secretary Cohen issued two news releases announcing his selections for the 2001 DACOWITS committee. Somehow these releases escaped public notice. Even Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, failed to mention them in a recent letter on this subject addressed to CMR's Elaine Donnelly. This year no news releases were posted on the DACOWITS' Web site (http://www.dtic.mil/dacowits) until April 17. By contrast, new leaders and members of the DACOWITS were announced last year on Feb. 17, 2000.

Without prior notice to the current OSD, Cohen-selected members participated in a February 2001 orientation session in Washington, D.C. On Feb. 12, 2001, the auto-penned signature of Secretary Rumsfeld was inscribed on the new members' certificates of appointment, which were presented to them at DACOWITS' 50th anniversary dinner on April 20.

The dinner was hosted by Clinton-Cohen holdover Charles L. Cragin, acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Cragin, who maintained that it was not unusual to select new members in December, was himself a member of the DACOWITS in 1986, which overlapped the three-year term of Elaine Donnelly. She was asked to serve in the spring of 1984, and her certificate of appointment was inscribed with the name of then-Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger on May 1, 1984.

Regardless of precedent, failure to inform the incoming secretary of defense, and to announce the appointment of new members and leaders on the DACOWITS Web site, was questionable at best and deceitful at worst.

Most political appointees are expected to resign when a new administration takes office. Even if Clinton holdovers involved in this incident were asked to stay temporarily, it was wrong to exploit that trust by misusing Secretary Rumsfeld's autopen. These activities constitute bad faith and insubordination that must not be tolerated by the Bush-Cheney administration.

Uncontrollable Committee

Earlier this year The Center for Military Readiness, the Heritage Foundation, the American Conservative Union and many others advised Rumsfeld he would be wise to avoid appointing new members to the DACOWITS, pending a full review of all Department of Defense (DoD) advisory committees. Because of its tightly controlled institutional structure and doctrinaire mission, the obscure but noisy DACOWITS is beyond "fixing." Regardless of which party controls the White House, it has always functioned as a tax-funded power base for feminists and self-interested female officers with radical agendas to push.

Committee members enjoy the protocol status of three-star generals and admirals, even though most are civilian women with little or no military experience. DACOWITS meetings feature field trips, evening social events with military entertainment, and several rounds of briefings from all the services. Despite the prestigious trappings of influence, the committee is obsolete and locked in a 50-year-old time warp. Now that significant numbers of women are serving in positions of high rank, the very existence of a separate committee devoted to women alone has become an embarrassing anachronism.

Three subcommittees issue repetitious rounds of "requests for information," but the "silk and chiffon generals" clearly are not interested in facts that conflict with their feminist agenda. With usually unanimous votes, the committee submits "continuing concerns" and recommendations promoting everything from co-ed basic training to gender integration in land combat units and submarines. Contrary advice from military experts is frequently ignored, dissenting views are rarely heard, and institutional procedures do not permit objective review of the consequences of previous recommendations.

Committee leaders historically have used a combination of intimidation, flattery, and relentless nagging to get their way in incremental steps. Since the only important items left on the DACOWITS wish list are radical and extreme, the risk of serious mischief is greater than ever. Clinton is gone, but the demoralizing policies that he championed could advance nonetheless.

Radical Agenda

Even if Secretary Rumsfeld had appointed one-third of the DACOWITS members to replace the one-third whose terms expired last year, any attempt to modify or rescind extreme elements of the DACOWITS agenda would have failed on a vote of at least 2 to 1. Thanks to the Clinton-Cohen holdovers, DACOWITS members voted 33-0 on almost every issue that came up during their April 18-22 spring meeting.

Actions taken indicate that the committee's agenda is more doctrinaire than ever. The current goal is to rewrite the definition of "Direct Ground Combat," which stands in the way of DACOWITS' long-term agenda. Redefining the term could force the gender integration of special operations helicopters, multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) and other units that "co-locate" with land combat units.

Having misused the autopen of the secretary of defense at least once, it is entirely possible that DACOWITS members and Clinton holdovers may be emboldened to instigate even more controversial policy changes that would be difficult to reverse. This is a matter of concern, since only submarines are protected from unilateral administrative orders for gender-integration, thanks to legislation passed last year that mandates sufficient time for review by Congress.

Nothing prevents high-ranking officers and Pentagon civilians from going along with DACOWITS' demands. Incremental steps to advance the committee's agenda would trigger lavish praise from feminists, but betray the interests of the armed forces. The ultimate price would be paid by the majority of enlisted women who oppose mandatory combat assignments, young women who are currently exempt from draft registration, and members of the armed forces who were led to believe that "help" was on the way. The Bush administration and Congress must act to prevent this from happening.

Excerpted from CMR Notes, Copyright May/June, 2001 - Reprinted with permission. The Center for Military Readiness, headed by Elaine Donnelly, is an independent, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) public policy organization that specializes in military personnel issues. For more information, go to www.cmrlink.org. For a samply copy of CMR Notes, call 202-347-5333. Future editions of CMR Notes for one year can be obtained by contributing $25 or more to the Center for Military Readiness, P.O. Box 51600, Livonia, MI 48151. Contributions are tax-deductible.

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