Customer Reviews

GROUND ZERO: The Gender Wars in the Military

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If you want a classic example of a book where the conclusions are written first, then selected facts, statistics, and anecdotes are assembled to support it, this book is for you. If, however, you're looking for an objective assessment of how well gender integration has proceeded (and how far it should proceed), there are far better books around.

Compared to the slightly more recent "A Kinder, Gentler Military" by Stephanie Gutmann, Francke's book pales in comparison. Gutmann, like Francke, is a civilian female who had little contact with the military before researching her topic. She really got her hands dirty, going to army posts, watching basic training firsthand, going aboard Navy ships, talking to the "grunts" all the while. Anyone who deals with ANY military will tell you getting "down and dirty" with enlisted personnel and junior officers is the only way to get straightforward, honest answers, and Gutmann paints a picture that often argues against further forced gender integration.

Francke, on the other hand, appears to have researched her book completely within the confines of the beltway. Her information seems drawn totally from other books and journals, congressional and other government-appointed committees, and other like-minded groups and individuals in the feminist community. Needless to say, her book lacks first-hand credibility and frequently degenerates into outright male-bashing.

Bottom line: Francke's book is every bit as biased and distorted as the ultraconservative Brian Mitchell's works, "Weak Link" and "Women in the Military: Flirting With Disaster." Like most assessments of gender integration issues, Francke's is hopelessly tainted by a left-wing bias that distorts the book from the first page.

Here's the perfect companion to Brian Mitchell's notorious "Flirting With Disaster"! Male-bashing against misogyny... well, turnabout may be fair play, but it doesn't make for enlightened reading. Punch for punch, Francke takes on Mitchell in his own arena. Like her nemesis, she employs carefully selected and suspisciously skewed statistics to prove her point, which is that women are indeed qualified for any and all military roles. And that any and all problems in the gender-integrated service are exclusively the result of male sexism and promiscuity. Francke capably counters Mitchell's employment of anecdote, albeit here favorably toward servicewomen. But she also puts heavy PostFeminist emphasis on "victimization", unwittingly supplying ammo to her opponant's charge that women cannot cope in a "warrior culture". Unlike Mitchell, Francke does not attempt to couch her gender prejudices in a witty writing style. Her book's very angry tone is difficult to read. That's unfortunate. "Ground Zero" has some worthwhile insight into an important topic, but unfortunately most of it gets lost in the "Gender War".

Actually, the statistics are what I found most interesting in the book. The author seemed to feel that all the problems that women and the military are having are due to sexism. Other issues, such as the very high attrition rates of women, the much higher injury and disability rates, the much lower availability etc etc are all put down to some sort of sexism. Politically correct, but unfortunately a lot of untruths and truths not stated.

I'm left wondering when the author would address why it is women
who are currently in place like VMI aren't demanding their
equality to be available for the draft. If they're so gung-ho to get in and be in combat roles, why not pursue opening the draft to all? In my mind, all this who gets to do what is a mute point because when it comes right down to it women never have and never will die in anywhere near equal numbers to men because there's always more ways to opt out: not being able to be drafted and getting pregnant.
As a former grunt I often mused it was "unfair" that we had to rot in the field without a shower for weeks, but army regulations
stated that due to "feminine hygiene issues", the womenfolk got to go to the rear at least once a week.

"Ground Zero" tells it like it is. Any woman, or parents with a daughter, who wants to enter the service should read this as a primer. As a serving military officer (male), this book mirrors what I've seen and heard for the past ten years. Super writing style - a fast read that you won't put down from cover-to-cover