The reporting on this incident is making the Marine Corps training for females look pretty bad. On June 30, 2015, LtCol Kate Germano, an eighteen year veteran of the USMC, was relieved of her command at 4^th Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina. Reasons cited for her firing were that she created a toxic environment where she bullied her subordinates and created a climate where females would be afraid to report incidents of sexual assault. The findings supporting her firing, with lots of redactions, can be found here. The witness statements are heavily weighted against Germano, but the few statements in her favor are extremely positive.

Fourth Battalion is the exclusive location in the U.S. where all female enlistees go for Marine Corps recruit training. LtCol Germano had been the battalion commander for only one year, taking command last June 2014. In that time she reportedly implemented new approaches to physical and marksmanship training that showed impressive results (she raised rifle qualification from 79% to 95% – comparable to the male qualification scores). She also apparently told the women in her command that getting drunk would contribute to them becoming victims of sexual assault and that if the females weren’t able to meet the same standards as men then men wouldn’t respect them as leaders. Sometimes the truth hurts.

Some subordinate female officers appear to have been the most offended at this approach and complained up the chain of command, though descriptions of Germano’s brash remarks and chilly interactions with other Marines are pretty consistently reported. At least two investigations were launched which appear not to have found any wrongdoing with her approach to training, but seem to focus on Germano’s interpersonal skills. A shady sounding “command climate” survey which only some in the command submitted (and some submitted more than once) appears to have influenced the Commanding General of MCRD Parris Island, Terry Williams, to determine that he had lost confidence in LtCol Germano’s ability to lead the battalion.

LtCol Germano doesn’t seem to be a shrinking violet either with regard to taking care of her Marines and that appears to have initiated part of the tension between her and the regiment. She rightly evaluated the stress that drill instructors (DIs) face during training and attempted to provide some relief to the individual DIs by increasing the number available for each platoon. Female platoons usually have three DIs, while male platoons usually have four or five. Drill instructors are with their recruits 24 hours per day for the entire training cycle of about 13 weeks. There is little time off, but even more importantly, DIs are under a profound amount of pressure to perform – both themselves individually, and through the performance of their recruits. Fourth Battalion also faces issues no other male battalion faces – pregnancy of personnel. Each and every drill instructor is important to maintaining staffing levels for the recruits, and when one or more go down, it is very tough to keep up with safety and administration. At one point during her command, at least eight drill instructors and one officer were pregnant, which clearly would have been problematic for operations.

Watching after the mental health of your Marines doing this job is paramount. Parris Island is no stranger to suicides or substance abuse problems. Further, preventing training accidents is obviously a high priority, so the DIs must always be alert and anticipating any number of problems that may arise. It seems LtCol Germano was a little too vocal about evening out the training assignments for this duty, which annoyed the regiment commander, Col Daniel Haas, who admits they were not on the best of terms. Her previous experience as a Recruiting Station commander also prompted her to directly contact recruiters to let them know how to better prepare their enlistees for when they arrive boot camp. Her superior officers felt she went outside the chain of command through this action.

Not to diminish the complaints against Germano for behavior termed unprofessional, but when she came into the command last year it was already in a state of low morale. It was reported that the previous commanding officer distrusted the other Marines in the command, that she rarely visited the recruits and drill instructors outside of the battalion buildings, and that standards for what was right and what was wrong was mutable. With uncertainty about the rules, recruit abuse and hazing of new drill instructors was becoming problematic.

In contrast, Germano made it a point to visit at least one or two platoons daily while they were doing outside training at the rifle range and drill field. She implemented bimonthly leadership meetings for all command leadership, and she conducted intensive one-on-one counseling for certain Marines that were experiencing personal problems. At one point she even paid for yoga classes for the DIs to help them de-stress. Germano also participated in the end of training hike during the final test known as the Crucible. She always wore the gear that was mandated for males. It doesn’t look like she ever asked anything of her Marines that she wasn’t willing to do herself.

Despite her struggles, Germano exhibited humility and graciousness with a final letter to the command upon being relieved. Here is the ending passage:

LtCol Germano has submitted retirement papers as well as petitioned Congress for redress. But from the information available thus far, it seems like LtCol Germano took seriously the Department of Defense charge that the services should be ready to integrate females into combat arms positions by 2016, or else provide an explanation why they cannot. LtCol Germano appears to have been working toward that goal and making extraordinary strides in order to provide the fleet with females who would be fully capable of taking their place alongside men within demanding combat assignments.

It makes one wonder if the real problem was that she was doing her job too well.

ADDED: 7/15/15 12:18pm EST:

While accusations against LtCol Germano of condescension towards subordinates seem substantiated, it is very disappointing that those who felt slighted, particularly the company grade female officers, did not address the problem with her directly. That is also leadership. Instead, except for perhaps one isolated incident, they went around her up the chain of command to literally cry and complain. It is further disheartening that the male chain of command did not afford LtCol Germano the same consideration that they ostensibly claim she should have provided to her Marines. There is no mention in the VERY long record of this event that any of her superior officers took her aside for any mentoring or advice whatsoever. They relied solely on a suspect command survey and numerous witness accounts that read like victim statements. It appears that LtCol Germano’s original impression of holding lower expectations for females has been proven.

Even if LtCol Germano could improve her interpersonal skills, I cannot fathom how some people think females should be integrated into combat arms assignments if they cannot stand up to this environment. I can fully understand that company grade officers may have had some beefs with her, but it takes two to tango. The side that prevailed in this instance isn’t the side that I’d choose to have with me in my foxhole.