'Go along' military commanders doomed their units, says Donnelly

A military watchdog says military commanders who lead special operations units let their men down by not fighting the push for women in front-line combat.

"Where were the commanders?"  asks Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness. "I'll tell you where they were: they were being naive about this whole thing."

Donnelly is referring to the coming plan by the Pentagon, and pushed by President Obama, to open up infantry units such as artillery and tanks to women.

That controversial allowance, which comes January 1, also includes the most demanding special-operations units in the U.S. military, such as the Navy SEALS and the U.S. Army Special Forces.

A survey conducted by the Rand Corporation found that more than 7,600 personnel currently in those special operations units said allowing women into units will lower standards and hurt their effectiveness.

Meanwhile, says Donnelly, the commanders of those men have made "ludicrous" statements to Congress that remind her of a prisoner of war forced to make statements that are untrue and hurt their own cause.

"Well," she says, "that's what came to mind when I saw these special operations commanders testifying, Oh, we're going to make this work and it's going to be great."

The failure rate for SEAL training, known as BUD/S Training, is as high as 80 percent. 

CNN and other media outlets reported in August that two women completed the army's Ranger School, the first to do so, but a story came afterward alleging the school was pressured to ensure that women graduated.

A third female candidate, Major Lisa Jaster (pictured above), graduated in October. 

Donnelly has told OneNewsNow in past weeks that the Pentagon will force military units to lower standards, even though Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has claimed that won't happen.