{"id":74091,"date":"2023-11-22T20:29:28","date_gmt":"2023-11-22T20:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/11\/22\/the-pentagons-new-opportunity-to-boost-readiness-among-female-troops\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:02:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:02:17","slug":"the-pentagons-new-opportunity-to-boost-readiness-among-female-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/2023\/11\/22\/the-pentagons-new-opportunity-to-boost-readiness-among-female-troops\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pentagon\u2019s new opportunity to boost readiness among female troops"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First lady Jill Biden on Nov. 13 announced the launch of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/speeches-remarks\/2023\/11\/13\/remarks-as-prepared-for-delivery-by-first-lady-jill-biden-on-a-press-call-announcing-white-house-initiative-on-womens-health-research\/\" target=\"_blank\">White House Initiative on Women\u2019s Health Research<\/a> to highlight the goal of fundamentally changing the way women\u2019s health is approached and funded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The effort is designed to provide opportunities to improve health and performance outcomes for all women, including \u2014 perhaps most importantly \u2014 women in the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamanetworkopen\/fullarticle\/2737103?widget=personalizedcontent&#038;previousarticle=0\" target=\"_blank\">scarcity of research<\/a> on women\u2019s health is not a new problem. In medical and human performance research, women are frequently <a href=\"https:\/\/scielo.isciii.es\/pdf\/pharmacy\/v14n1\/revision.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">omitted <\/a>from the data. When women are included, they are regularly treated as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rand.org\/pubs\/commentary\/2022\/02\/underfunding-of-research-in-womens-health-issues-is.html\" target=\"_blank\">interchangeable <\/a>with men. Yet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fasttalklabs.com\/fast-talk\/why-women-are-not-small-men-with-dr-stacy-sims\/\" target=\"_blank\">women are not small men<\/a> \u2014 they have different physiological and hormonal requirements yielding distinct <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.2165\/11593180-000000000-00000\" target=\"_blank\">nutritional<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/08\/05\/health\/women-acl-injury-prevention-world-cup\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">injury prevention<\/a>, training and recovery needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"836\" height=\"556\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8091354.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"Mackenzie Turner, 30th Medical Group women\u2019s health clinic nurse practitioner, conducts a regular patient check-up for U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Cinthia Cortes, 30th MDG medical technician, Sept. 27, 2023, at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.\" class=\"wp-image-107760\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8091354.jpg.jpg 836w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8091354.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8091354.jpg.jpg?resize=768,511 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 836px) 100vw, 836px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A nurse practitioner conducts a check-up for an airman on Sept. 27, 2023, at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. (Senior Airman Kadielle Shaw\/Space Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now is the moment for the federal government to invest in optimizing women\u2019s health and performance in the military. Women <a href=\"https:\/\/download.militaryonesource.mil\/12038\/MOS\/Reports\/2021-demographics-report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">currently comprise<\/a> 17.3% of the total active duty force, 19.2% of the officer corps, and 17% of the enlisted corps (with variation across services).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Post-9\/11 era, more than 300,000 women <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rand.org\/pubs\/periodicals\/health-quarterly\/issues\/v10\/n2\/10.html\" target=\"_blank\">deployed <\/a>to Iraq and Afghanistan, a number comprising 11% of all deployed service members. More than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2015\/08\/31\/women-in-combat-silver-stars-combat-action-badges-casualties.html\" target=\"_blank\">9,000 women<\/a> earned Combat Action Badges in Iraq and Afghanistan \u2014 many prior to the lifting of combat job restrictions on women. What\u2019s more, the services are increasingly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2023\/01\/26\/experts-data-point-to-women-as-best-military-recruiting-pool\/\" target=\"_blank\">turning to women<\/a> as qualified military recruits in the wake of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2023\/10\/13\/big-bonuses-relaxed-policies-new-slogan-none-of-it-saved-military-recruiting-crisis-2023.html\" target=\"_blank\">challenging <\/a>recruiting environment. Female high school students are more likely to meet the standards for military service, as they <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/high-school-graduation-rate-boys-c7b8dff33221e0ded2d1369397d96455\" target=\"_blank\">graduate high school<\/a> at higher rates than their male counterparts and are less likely to have a <a href=\"https:\/\/ojjdp.ojp.gov\/publications\/trends-in-youth-arrests.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">criminal record<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lack of research attention given to the health and performance optimization of women in the military yields suboptimal results for both the military services and women in uniform. The U.S. military observes outcome data indicating women are at higher risk for <a href=\"https:\/\/militaryhealth.bmj.com\/content\/169\/1\/57\" target=\"_blank\">musculoskeletal injuries<\/a>, particularly during basic training. The data on female service members\u2019 injury rates has, at times, been used to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/women-dont-belong-in-combat-units-11547411638\" target=\"_blank\">justify <\/a>why women should not be allowed to enter into combat roles. Yet what such information fails to capture are the ways existing policies, practices, and equipment hinder female performance optimization in the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, military-issued protective gear \u2014 including body armor \u2014 was designed for male physiologies. As such, women in uniform are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.soc.mil\/wia\/women-in-arsof-report-2023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">subject to ill-fitting equipment<\/a>, resulting in gaps in coverage and an improper balance of weight on women\u2019s musculoskeletal frames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Further, women in the military use oral contraceptives <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC2940458\/#:~:text=OC%20use%20was%20higher%20in,%25%2C%20p%20%3C%200.05).\" target=\"_blank\">at higher rates than their civilian counterparts<\/a>, in part to ensure that women\u2019s natural menstrual cycles do not affect their ability to train at the same pace as their male peers. A growing body of <a href=\"https:\/\/bjsm.bmj.com\/content\/bjsports\/37\/4\/315.full.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">research<\/a> is examining the potential impacts of the use of oral contraceptives on the physical performance of women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Weight standards \u2014 measured every six months, in addition to physical fitness testing standards \u2014 are associated with a prevalence of <a href=\"https:\/\/taskandpurpose.com\/military-life\/military-eating-disorders\/\" target=\"_blank\">eating disorders<\/a> and disordered eating among women in uniform. In an effort to meet height and weight standards based on male physiology, some women in uniform are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rand.org\/pubs\/research_reports\/RRA1189-1.html\" target=\"_blank\">trading away strength<\/a> in order to \u201cmake tape.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The question of the moment is not whether the challenges facing women in the military should preclude their participation, but whether and how new approaches to female-specific research on health and performance optimization might improve the readiness and lethality of our female troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The military need look no further than the ways in which U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usopc.org\/high-performance-programs\" target=\"_blank\">Olympic<\/a>, professional, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.org\/sports\/2013\/11\/22\/nutrition-and-performance-resources.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">collegiate <\/a>athletic organizations approach their research, evaluation, and protocols for individual athletes: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vevu.hr\/upload\/kol_33\/50Nutrition_and_Athletic_Performance.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">tailored nutrition<\/a> and recovery protocols, custom equipment, and training cycles that account for the impact of hormonal cycles on performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An improved approach to health and performance optimization research on women in the military doesn\u2019t just benefit female service members; it fundamentally changes the paradigm of the data, metrics, training, and treatment research necessary to optimize the performance of all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ta-lb.org\/intelligence\/women-warriors\" target=\"_blank\">tactical athletes<\/a> at the individual level \u2014 men and women alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The White House\u2019s focus on women\u2019s health research presents an opportunity for the entire Department of Defense to identify ways in which their own research can better harness and unleash the readiness and lethality of the growing number of women in uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i><b>Katherine Kuzminski is the deputy director of studies and the director of the Military, Veterans, and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Have an opinion?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This article is an Op-Ed and as such, the opinions expressed are those of the author.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, or submit an editorial of your own, please email <\/i><a href=\"mailto:opinions@militarytimes.com\"><i>opinions@militarytimes.com<\/i><\/a><i> for Military Times or our services sites.<\/i> <i>Please email <\/i><a href=\"mailto:opinion@defensenews.com\"><i>opinion@defensenews.com<\/i><\/a><i> to reach <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/\"><i>Defense News<\/i><\/a><i>, <\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/*%20Please%20email%20it%20to%C2%A0opinions%40militarytimes.com%C2%A0for%20Military%20Times%20or%20Army,%20Navy,%20Air%20Force%20or%20Marine%20Corps%20Times.%E2%80%A8Please%20email%C2%A0opinion@defensenews.com%20to%20reach%20defense%20news%2C%20c4isrnet%20or%20federal%20times.%20%2A%20https\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/\"><i>C4ISRNet <\/i><\/a><i>or <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/\"><i>Federal Times<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i> <i>Want more perspectives like this sent straight to you? <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/link.militarytimes.com\/join\/5b9\/sign-up-opinion\"><i>Subscribe to get our Commentary &amp; Opinion newsletter<\/i><\/a><i> once a week.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The White House initiative on Women\u2019s Health Research provides an opportunity to improve health and performance outcomes for women in the military.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":107755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":18,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[75,101,24,26,18],"tags":[],"coauthors":[5432],"class_list":["post-74091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-newsletters","category-opinion"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"75GZTB2AHVF3BBDRTWESHGAZNQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/2023\/11\/22\/the-pentagons-new-opportunity-to-boost-readiness-among-female-troops\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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