A Marine officer who led the service's only all-female recruit battalion was fired amid complaints of a toxic leadership environment — but her supporters say she was only trying to make the unit better by holding women to tougher standards.
Lt. Col. Kate Germano, the former commanding officer of 4th Recruit Training Battalion at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, was found to be "hostile, unprofessional and abusive," according to a command investigation obtained by Marine Corps Times. She was relieved for cause on June 30 by Brig. Gen. Terry Williams, Parris Island's commanding general.
But officers who served with her say she was a blunt reformer who spearheaded efforts to improve recruit training regardless of gender, and that a vocal minority in the battalion undercut her achievements. Germano's tactics, for example, dramatically improved range qualification rates for female recruits.
A "hostile and abusive" environment at a Marine Corps boot camp? Oh, the horror. I had the Army's version of "break 'em down and rebuild them" so I have a faint idea of what the Marine version would be, which is, I suspect, about three times worse. But anybody seeking that life should know what they're getting into, you would think. They keep assuring us that, as they ease women into combat training, the standards won't be lowered. Ain't buying it yet.
