In the months since officials first desegregated Army, Navy and Air Force troops to appease feminists demanding an androgynous military, incidents of sexual intimidation and assaults have multiplied. In addition, increased sexual activity has crippled some units so severely that some commanders have resorted to prohibiting male and female recruits from speaking to one another without a witness present. Living in co-ed tents, even troops serving in Bosnia have also seen higher rates of pregnancy.
While the Pentagon panel has chosen an easy and obvious remedy to the predicament, its recommendation effectively avoids the problem rather than fixing the situation. The establishment of separate barracks would furthermore yield a new set of problems.
For instance, by simply removing women from male living quarters, the military would fail to communicate to male troops that the armed forces will not tolerate sexual harassment or assault. Instead, a return to separate barracks would engender a tacit acceptance of sexual force and would perpetuate an antagonistic climate toward female recruits. A return to gender segregation would implicity fuel the irrational argument that the military erred in its decision to integrate female recruits.
In addition, the failure to completely amalgamate women into all aspects of basic training would yield division among troops and would place women into a separate class. Such division constitutes a step backward for females' efforts to excel within the military, potentially mirroring on a smaller scale the separate-but-equal status bestowed upon the black community earlier this century. Though the panel contends in its report that separate quarters would not affect joint training, the failure of units to share a common experience would undoubtedly diminish their cohesiveness.
While the experiment of mixing all troops into co-ed barracks has seen a troubled beginning, the military must explore methods of improving the existing situation - perhaps by stepping up its current training in sensitivity and gender differences. The segregation of troops, though it might immediately decrease assaults, harassment and increased sexual activity, would deal a harsh blow to the ability of women to advance - and even be accepted - in the military. The Pentagon and the armed forces must remain committed to effecting social change.