Female American Soldiers Sacrifice Safety for Islamic Customs in Afghanistan

Women serving the United States armed forces in Afghanistan are sacrificing the protection their kevlar helmet offers to comply with Islamic customs. They have been asked to cover part of their heads with a scarf known as hijab. No, I am not kidding. Political correctness is once again playing havoc on the United States military.

The Daily Caller reports:

In an effort to get closer to the local population, American female soldiers stationed in Afghanistan are being encouraged to wear a Muslim headscarf when interacting with civilians. But some question whether the practice constitutes cultural sensitivity or a form of appeasement that is degrading to U.S. soldiers.

Major Kyndra Rotunda, executive director of the Military Law and Policy Institute and AMVETS Legal Clinic, told The Daily Caller that while the women are not being ordered to wear the head scarf, encouragement is tantamount to a demand.

“They say they are encouraging women to wear the headscarf when they are out and about and on patrol. But the problem is — and I think anyone who has been in the military understands that being encouraged to do something is about the same thing as being ordered — it really puts them in an uncomfortable position when their commander says, ‘We really want you to do this, technically you don’t have to, but we really want you to do this,’” she said.


There is no way, considering the hostile environment of Afghanistan, that I would allow any of my soldiers, if I was an officer, to remove their headgear. This political correctness in the military is going to result in an increase of American deaths sometime in the future. Watch and see.