![\"women](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Women-Train-for-Special-Forces-640x480-e1547609630350.jpg\")
\nMARK HUMPHREY\/AP PHOTO
\n15 Jan 2019, Female soldiers train on a firing range while wearing new body armor in September in Fort Campbell, Ky.<\/p>\n
\nMARK HUMPHREY\/AP PHOTO
\n15 Jan 2019, Female soldiers train on a firing range while wearing new body armor in September in Fort Campbell, Ky.<\/p>\n
By: Kristina Wong
\nTwo Army Green Berets are fighting for their military careers after being associated with an anonymous email that accused their commanders of lowering standards to enable more soldiers \u2014 particularly female \u2014 to graduate from its prestigious Q-course.
\nThe anonymous email, signed, \u201cA concerned Green Beret,\u201d accused the leaders of the school of \u201cmoral cowardice\u201d for lowering the standards, and weakening instructors\u2019 ability to discipline students as they look to get further through the pipeline.<\/p>\n\u201c[The school] has devolved into a cesspool of toxic, exploitive, biased and self-serving senior officers who are bolstered by submissive, sycophantic, and just-as-culpable enlisted leaders,\u201d the email said. \u201cThey have doggedly succeeded in two things; furthering their careers, and ensuring that Special Forces [are] more prolific but dangerously less capable than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the specific complaints was that the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC), commonly referred to as \u201cQ-course,\u201d was restructured so that there were \u201cno physical barriers to earning the coveted Green Beret.\u201d<\/p>\n
The email, which was blasted out to the entire U.S. Army Green Beret force in November 2017, became known as the \u201cletter heard around the world.\u201d It was then published by a news site started by former special operations forces, and it generated stories from the Associated Press, NPR, and other major news outlets.<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Kurt L. Sonntag, the commander of John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, which runs the course, responded at the time that the selection process before the Q-course, known as Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS), has evolved into a \u201cproven, challenging process\u201d that allows the training regiment to predict whether a Green Beret candidate will be successful operationally.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf SFAS is correct, and we believe it is, the SFQC is not a place where high attrition rates should occur. Instead, the mission of the SFQC cadre is to train to standards,\u201d he said at the time. Sonntag also said no \u201cfundamental SF standard\u201d has been \u201cremoved,\u201d but that some comments in the email \u201cwarrant further evaluation.\u201d<\/p>\n
But in the months since, soldiers have been quietly punished for the email, according to the two Green Berets.<\/p>\n
The commander of the company of instructors was relieved around April, and later given a 15\/15 on his Officer Evaluation Report, the lowest score one can get, affecting his chances for promotion, and thus, staying in the military.<\/p>\n
The author of the email was given an Article 15 around June for disrespecting a general grade officer. An Article 15 is an administrative, non-judicial punishment, according to the United States Code of Military Justice, which hurts one\u2019s ability to be promoted and to stay in the military.<\/p>\n
Now, the two additional Green Beret instructors, Sergeant First Class Micah J. Robertson, 33, and Sergeant First Class Michael Squires, 31, say they are being punished by association.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The rest of the article may be viewed here: Breitbart.com<\/a><\/p>\n
Out of my swim lane to comment, so I’ll take this opportunity to STFU and let those with knowledge express themselves. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"