Some Marine Corps leaders might be balking at recommendations by a new academic study to drop gender-specific salutations for drill instructors.
"That's going to take some effort," Col. Howard Hall, chief of staff for Marine Corps Training and Education Command, told the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services during its quarterly public meeting Dec. 6 in Arlington, Virginia.
"Honestly, that's not a quick fix," said Hall, according to the Military Times. "What are inculcating in our young recruits that will or will not be reinforced when they graduate and enter the fleet Marine force? So again, we want to avoid any quick-fix solutions that introduce perturbations down the line."
The USMC Gender-Integrated Recruit Training Study by the University of Pittsburgh, through a $2 million grant from the Marine Corps, was released in June. Its goal was to analyze current approaches to gender integration at recruit training, at the Marine Corps and other services, to provide alternate models that integrate men and women to the greatest extent possible while continuing to train Marines to established standards.
The study said the Army, Navy and Coast Guard deemphasize gender in integrated environments by using nongender identifiers to refer and respond to drill instructors and other training personnel.
"Instead of saying 'ma'am' or 'sir,' recruits in these services refer to their drill instructors using their ranks or roles followed by their last names," the study said. "Gendered identifiers prime recruits to think about or visually search for a drill instructor's gender first before their rank or role."
The Marine Corps has the lowest number of women on active duty as of 2021, according to the Defense Department. The study showed that training material has all male pronouns. It also showed some female drill instructors reported their peers engaged in "disparaging and sexist behavior."
"The persistence of sexism and gender-based treatment harms all in the training environment," the study said.
To fight this, the study suggested the Marine Corps do away with "sir" and "ma'am" salutations in favor in favor of "drill instructor."
"Employing gender-neutral identifiers eliminates the possibility of misgendering drill instructors, which can unintentionally offend or cause discord," the study said. "By teaching recruits to use gender-neutral identifiers for their drill instructors, services underscore the importance of respecting authoritative figures regardless of gender."
Hall told the Military Times the Marine Corps is working to change the training materials referenced by the study but expressed concern about making any moves that would put boot camp practices out of step with fleet ones.
The Military Times reported the gender identifiers proposal was one of a half-dozen recommendations the Marines' entry-level training advisory council is considering. It is not known when the service will decide which ones to pursue.
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