HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) — A U.S. senator was reprimanded on Saturday by Canada’s first female military commander for raising doubts about the role of women in battle.
Sen. Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho and the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was asked on Friday if President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, should take back remarks he made stating that he believes men and women should not serve together in combat units. Gen. Jennie Carignan responded to his remarks.
Anyone who does not agree that women in battle produce some special issues that need to be handled is, in my opinion, insane. During a panel discussion at the Halifax International Security Forum on Friday, Risch stated, “I think the jury’s still out on how to do that.”
During a panel discussion on Saturday, Carignan, Canada’s chief of defense staff and the first female head of any Group of 20 or Group of Seven nation’s armed forces, criticized those comments.
I don’t want anyone to leave this forum with the impression that women are a diversion from military and national security, so if you don’t mind, I would like to start by perhaps responding to Senator Risch’s remarks regarding women in battle yesterday, Carignan added.
I can’t believe that in 2024, after 39 years of serving as a combat arms officer and putting my life in danger during several missions throughout the globe, we still need to defend the contributions made by women to their nation’s defense and service. I don’t want people to think that this is some sort of social experiment and then leave this topic.
According to Carignan, women have been battling for their country for hundreds of years, but they have never received recognition for their efforts. She pointed out that there were female military members present.
“We need to honor all the women who are sitting here in uniform, stepping up, choosing to put themselves in danger, and fighting for their country,” she said. Once more, the women themselves are not the distraction.
The forum, which draws defense and security leaders from Western democracies, gave Carignan a standing ovation.
The question of whether or not women should be permitted to serve their country by fighting on the front lines has been rekindled by Hegseth.
In both his book and interviews, the former Fox News pundit made it apparent that he does not think men and women should serve in combat units together. He could attempt to halt the Pentagon’s nearly ten-year-old policy of granting women access to all combat positions if the Senate confirms this.
There has been a flurry of acclaim and criticism for Hegseth’s comments.
After being selected by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration to become Canada’s first female defense chief, Carignan was elevated to the rank of general during the change-of-command ceremony this past summer.
Firsts are nothing new to Carignan. Throughout her career, she has been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Syria. She was also the first female commander of a combat unit in the Canadian military.
As a result of the 2021 sexual misconduct incident, she was appointed chief of professional conduct and culture, a position she has held for the past three years.
Her selection this year comes as NATO partners continue to criticize Canada for failing to allocate 2% of its GDP to defense. Recently, the Canadian government said that it would fulfill its commitment to NATO by 2032.
Risch stated on Friday that Canada has to do more and that Trump would be mocked by the country’s present military spending plans.
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