Title Considerations for integrating women into closed occupations in U.S. special operations forces / Thomas S. Szayna, Eric V. Larson, Angela O'Mahony, Sean Robson, Agnes Gereben Schaefer, Miriam Matthews, J. Michael Polich, Lynsay Ayer, Derek Eaton, William Marcellino, Lisa Miyashiro, Marek Posard, James Syme, Zev Winkelman, Cameron Wright, Megan Zander-Cotugno, William Welser IV

Published Santa Monica : RAND Corporation, 2016

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Description 1 online resource (81 pages) Series [Research reports] ; RR-1058-USSOCOM Research report (Rand Corporation) ; RR-1058-USSOCOM. Contents 1. Introduction -- 2. The integration of women and other excluded groups into the U.S. military: the historical experience -- 3. Physical ability and stress response differences between males and females -- 4. Implications for unit cohesion of potential integration of women into SOF units -- 5. The women in SOF survey -- 6. Insights from focus groups -- 7. A framework for establishing gender-neutral standards for SOF -- 8. Observations and implications Summary "The elimination of the Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule has opened to women some 15,500 special operations forces (SOF) positions. A RAND study helped to inform that decision and provides insight into the key factors surrounding the integration of women into SOF. The integration of women raises issues pertinent to the effectiveness of SOF teams, in terms of physical standards and ensuring readiness, cohesion, and morale. This report assesses potential challenges to the integration of women into SOF for unit cohesion and provides analytical support in validating SOF occupational standards for positions controlled by U.S. Special Operations Command. The report summarizes the history of integration of women into the U.S. armed forces, reviews the current state of knowledge about cohesion in small units, and discusses the application of gender-neutral standards to SOF. The report identifies widely agreed-on professional standards for the validation of physically demanding occupations and assists SOF service components with the application of these standards to SOF occupations. The report also discusses the primary data -- a survey of SOF personnel and a series of focus group discussions -- collected by the research team regarding the potential challenges to the integration of women into SOF. The report then presents recommendations regarding the implementation process of integrating women into SOF"--Back cover Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-234) Notes Print version record Subject Women in combat -- United States Special operations (Military science) -- United States Special forces (Military science) -- United States. SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Research. Special forces (Military science) Special operations (Military science) Women in combat United States Form Electronic book Author Larson, Eric V O'Mahony, Angela Robson, Sean Schaefer, Agnes Gereben Matthews, Miriam Polich, J. Michael Ayer, Lynsay Eaton, Derek Marcellino, William ISBN 9780833093462 0833093460

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