US military female combat commander nominated one after another… “I’ll delay my promotion in case I’ll refuse Trump

On the 8th (local time), World Women’s Day, the second and third female combat commander nominees in the history of the U.S. military were born at once. The main characters are Air Force Captain Jacqueline Van Orvost, who was chosen as the transport commander, and Lt. General Laura Richardson, who was appointed Southern Commander.

On the 8th (local time), US President Joe Biden held a nomination ceremony at the East Room of the White House, saying, “These are warriors and patriots of great qualities.” I have to do it.”

The first female combat commander of the U.S. military was Rory Robinson, who served as commander-in-chief of the North from 2016 to 2018.

Captain Orvost is the only woman among 43 US four-star generals. Upon passing the Senate approval, it will lead the Transportation Command, which oversees the global transport of US troops. Lieutenant General Richardson is a three-star general who will oversee US forces in Latin America at the joint base of Antonio, Texas.

Earlier last month, the New York Times (NYT) reported that’the executives of the Department of Defense deliberately decided to delay their promotion in the fall of last year’. The reason was “to protect the careers of both soldiers.” He said he was concerned about the possibility that Donald Trump, who has shown prejudice against women, will not be pleased with their appointment. It was the decision of the then-defense Minister Mark Esper and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milly.

“They were on the list because they were the best officers for the job,” Esper told NYT. “I didn’t want someone in the White House to question my recommendation or to break their promotions because the Pentagon decided it was a political decision.” said. At the time, former Minister of Esper was confronted with Trump over the issue of putting troops into protests against racial discrimination and had’ugly hairs’ embedded in them.

But there was also a debate among military personnel over Esper’s choice, NYT said.

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Bindman, who left the military in June of last year, told Lofair, a national security blog, “I should have fought against Trump by revealing the process of appointing important positions in the country (rather than hiding it from the military commander).” “Keeping on the politics doesn’t mean avoiding difficult arguments,” he criticized. On the other hand, supporters of the Ministry of Defense’s decision refute that “President Trump always opposed the decision of Esper and the Ministry of Defense and should take into account that there was prejudice against women.”

Reporter Jeong Eun-hye [email protected]