A panel appointed by the Pentagon to look into how to improve relations between the sexes in America's armed forces has concluded that they should be segregated in training.

The panel of 11 civilians was established in the wake of repeated reports of sexual abuse, largely between male training instructors and female recruits.

Its verdict was that increasing integration between the sexes was actually damaging attempts to ensure that female recruits were being treated with equality and dignity. The present system in the army, navy and air force, the panel concluded, is resulting in more disciplinary problems, less unit cohesion and more distraction from the training.

The panel recommended instead that recruits should live in totally separate barracks and that even the basic military units such as the platoon should be segregated.

Unisex parade drills could become a thing of the past

This is contrary to the received wisdom of the last two decades, which said that the only way to achieve sexual equality in the armed forces was to integrate as much as possible.

The head of the panel, former Senator Nancy Kassebaum-Baker, stressed that this should not be seen as a step backwards, but said that female recruits tended to be more confident and had better esprit de corps in all-female units.

At present only the Marines train their men and women separately. The Defence Secretary William Cohen has given the Services 90 days to respond to the study.

Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage	©