Fight Like a Girl: The Truth Behind How Female Marines Are Trained

by Kate Germano, Kelly Kennedy

One woman's professional battle against systemic gender bias in the Marines and the lessons it holds for all of us.

The Marine Corps continues to be the only service where men and women train separately in boot camp or basic training. This segregation negatively affects interaction with male marines later on, and, lower expectations of female recruits are actively maintained and encouraged. But Lieutenant Colonel Kate Germano arrived at the Fourth Recruit Training Battalion at Parris Island--which exclusively trains female recruits--convinced that if she expected more of the women just coming into Corps, she could raise historically low standards for female performance and make women better Marines. And, after one year, shooting qualifications of the women under her command equaled those of men, injuries had decreased, and unit morale had noticeably improved.

Then the Marines fired her.

This is the story of Germano's struggle to achieve equality of performance and opportunity for female Marines against an entrenched male-dominated status quo. It is also a universal tale of the effects of systemic gender bias. Germano charges that the men above her in the chain of command were too invested in perpetuating the subordinate role of women in the Corps to allow her to prove that the female Marine can be equal to her male counterpart. She notes that the Marine Corps' $35-million gender-integration study, which shows that all-male squads perform at a higher level than mixed male-female squads, flies in the face of the results she demonstrated with the all-female Fourth Battalion and raises questions about the Marine Corps' willingness to let women succeed.

At a time when women are fighting sexism and systemic bias in many sectors of society, Germano's experience has wide-ranging implications and lessons--not just for the military but also for corporate America, the labor force, education, and government.

Genres: Nonfiction, Military Fiction, Feminism, Memoir, War, History, Biography

304 pages, Paperback

First published April 3, 2018

Reviews

[Hoolia · Rating 2 out of 5]

1) This book is poorly-written and poorly-edited. It sounds like it was taken from a bunch of audio interviews and just transcribed with zero editing. This is roughshod work from authors who claim to be professionals.
2) LtCol Germano has valid arguments about gender discrimination in the Marine Corps. And she did institute policies that had results. However, neither of those two things preclude her from being a toxic leader, which the command investigation (which is available to the public) clearly shows that she was.
3) Anyone who claims to be a champion of women and then tells young women, "Don't make yourself a target," when talking about sexual assault is so clearly on a different planet that there is just no point in trying to have a discussion with them.
4) Significantly fewer of her actions would have been perceived as "toxic" had she been a man, that's true. That doesn't change the fact that it is completely unprofessional and, in fact, disgraceful, to insult officers in front of their subordinates, to not return the salutes of your subordinates, and to hold petty grudges over minor mistakes that had no effect on the endstate of the mission. Male officers do get relieved for making similar comments.
5) The first female infantry officer in the USMC had her name kept private AT HER OWN REQUEST. It is shameful to try and expose her name and bring attention to her when SHE DOESN'T WANT IT. She just wants to do her job, without attention from people she doesn't know from Adam--including these authors.
6) This book could have been a lot better. With more attention to detail, more diving into the statistics, less repetition of the same tired argument, less throwing everyone else under the bus, perhaps this book would have been a credible argument against her firing. As it stands, it isn't, and barely succeeds in its other arguments. There are better books about gender integration in the military out there. Go find them and don't spend your money on this one.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book in two days; I couldn’t put it down. As I read page after page I couldn’t believe the things she wrote were actually happening. What a disappointment that an esteemed branch of our country’s military worked so hard to limit the potential and the opportunities available for women who have selflessly chosen to chosen to serve. The writing felt a little disorganized at times but Kate’s message was clear: we need to do more for and expect more from our female servicewomen, not only for the success of those servicewomen, but for those who serve with and the success of the entire organization.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Germano was treated unfairly by the institution to which she committed her life in service of our country.
Had she stuck to the facts, it could have been a great book.
I wonder what made her think that writing about her her trials as if the book were one long snarky blog post would be a good idea? It really cheapens her message. And unfortunately, it makes her sound like the drama queen she insists women in the Marine corps are unfairly accused of being.

[Derek C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful, honest, and a must-read.

[Lili · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bloody shocking and yet somehow not surprising. Germano's story is one worth reading, even if you aren't enamoured with the Marines, or even American.

[notabattlechick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important book, great story and a damning critique of USMC culture re: gender integration and training. The book’s style, though, was not my favorite. It was repetitive at many points and the author’s choice to write in short episodic moments and directly addressing the reader in asides and informalities was grating. At the same time, this allows the author’s voice to really come through—there’s no mistaking it for an analytical/objective/academic piece.

[Emylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so frustrated as I read this book--the sheer amount of BS she had to deal with made me have to put it down a few times. I am grateful she was not alone throughout-I appreciated her husband's chapters and of course the cat. I will be recommending this one to women and men.

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because there were times it got repetitive so I wasn't sure if I had slapped my bookmark in the wrong place or was re-reading the same bit.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Shows how gender bias is real and still enforced. At our military levels and everywhere. LtCol Germano did everything right to prove that women were just as worthy to be in the marines as men are. Increasing their physical and intellectual skills across the board, but the higher ups in the government wanted her to fail and when she succeeded they fired her. Great story and told from a few different points of view.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Germano was a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marines when she was assigned to Paris Island training unit. She found the Marines trained women and men separately and the men's training was much better than the women's. She decided to improve the women's performances and was subsequently fired by the marines. This is her side of the story and it's pretty clear the good old boy's network closed ranks and weren't happy that the women were improving so efficiently. Many improvements have been made since this happened but there is still a great deal of improvement needed in the acceptance of women in the corp.

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please let me begin by saying that I have never served in the military. And, although several members of my family have served, I did not become closely acquainted with any branch of the military until I was an adult. Even today, my experience with the military is tertiary. My grandfather served before I was born. Likewise several of my uncles. Numerous of my cousins have served, though I lived in another state from them and did not communicate closely through their time. My brother-in-law has been in the Army for more than a decade, often living in other states. And my husband is a retired Airman, but we got together well after he completed Basic.

All that to say that I came into "Fight Like a Girl" as all but a tabula rasa. I have no direct experience with what military training is like, no preconceived notions that I'm consciously aware of, and no personal experience coloring my perspective of what Kate's story portrays. I am not really an inductee to the military family. I'm more of the third cousin twice removed who gets invited to family gatherings just to be polite. So when I read Kate's book, I looked at it with eyes that, to the best of my knowledge, are unshaded by immediate defense of the military and its dogma.

What I read horrified me. And inspired me. And outraged me. And humbled me. And humiliated me. And comforted me. It is an incredibly powerful story that I truly believe will become legend one day.

The things that people are capable with the right training and inspiration will never cease to amaze me. What Kate did at her recruitment post was combine all the right ingredients to allow the people there to thrive. When given the right tools and the space to do so, I cannot think of a time when people just refused to thrive. But it takes a very strong, diligent, and intelligent leader to ensure all the right ingredients are in place and that people are allowed to do what they need to do. I think that Kate's results in recruitment underscore what a phenomenal leader she is. Had one of her recruiters contacted me as I graduated high school, I am absolutely certain I would have joined the Marines and done my best to follow in Kate's footsteps.

I did consider the military after high school, by the way. I went to recruiting stations for two different branches and in both places I was told the same thing - "Don't worry about fighting. You'll get through Basic and be set up in a cushy office with air conditioning and have the easiest jobs." My immediate reaction was, "What is the point of that? If I'm not able to do more than that in the military, why bother at all?" Nobody told me that I could do more. Nobody told me I could advance, that I could be great. That I was expected to be great. I wish I had had Kate Germano or one of her people to talk to at that time.

By the time Kate arrived at Parris Island to the Fourth Recruit Training Battalion, I had little doubt that she was capable of creating the necessary changes there to make women successful in the Marines. It was not surprising to read how the women's scores increased dramatically once Kate's changes were implemented. It was also not surprising to read that there were detractors. There always are. There will always be those who are dependent upon the status quo for what it means for them, personally. Those who have no regard as to the ethical nature of a circumstance, no cares given for justice or fairness. They simply want for themselves and have no regard for others. We can mostly ignore these people, until they get into positions of power and use their authority to promote their own selfish wishes over the good of the people they're responsible for. We can ignore the man with multiple failing businesses until investors give him the means to become an actual authority and run other peoples' lives into the ground. We can ignore the self-righteous woman who stridently preaches her beliefs and cuts down those who don't agree with her, until she crosses a criminal line and costs those around her hundreds of thousands of dollars. But I digress.

Knowing that there are always those who will fight for the status quo that works for them, I was not surprised to read that Kate had detractors. I was shocked that her commanders allowed those detractors to sow such seeds of unrest, to sabotage, and that the commanders themselves failed at their jobs, failed Kate, failed the Marines. And they blamed Kate? I am completely flabbergasted, purely and simply because I expected so much more from the military. These are our elite men and women, who strive for the very best results. It just does not compute that the Marines - the MARINES - would turn their back on great results simply because they didn't think those results were possible from women.

So what if their presumptions were wrong? So what if they were wrong for decades? We now have concrete proof that women can do far better than expected. That it's straight forward to achieve those better results. That those results can be attained in a very reasonable time frame. That is the best kind of thing to be wrong about! Implementing Kate's changes across the board would result in stronger, better, faster, more competent female Marines. Those female Marines, in turn, strengthen the Marine Corps overall. That should be something that everybody in and connected to the Marines wants. It genuinely should not matter who identifies the changes needed to achieve results. It could be Kate Germano, or Archibald Henderson, or the Dalai Lama. So long as the methodology is backed by empirical evidence, the Command Staff should, quite frankly, be on board.

I feel a need to be better informed on what is happening with women in every military branch. Not just women, though. Minority groups, as well. How are our people really doing out there? Is our country's military training recruits the best they can be? Are our military personnel truly prepared for their jobs? How many excellent people have we lost due to narrow-mindedness and unwillingness to change or be wrong or grow?

I purchased an extra copy of this book and left it in a public space. I cannot think of a single person or group that would not benefit from reading "Fight Like a Girl." I hope you pick it up, too.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lt.Col. Kate Germano pulls no punches in exposing the Marine Corps for what it is, a misogynistic organization masquerading like it isn't. The Marine Corps has real gender bias issues that they try to cover by allowing women into Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island. However, once there the Corps keeps females segregated from their male counterparts in all forms of training because of a belief that women cannot perform as well as men. Lt.Col. Germano proves this narrative false as she makes changes in her battalion to address the real causes of different training results, which increases women's scores in all aspects of recruit training.

"Fight Like a Girl' exposes Col. Daniel Haas, BG Terry Williams, and General Joseph Dunford's extreme bias against women being allowed to hold infantry combat billets, even after being ordered to do so.

This book illustrates, in detail, how the Marine Corps is so far behind every other branch of the United States Armed Forces in fully integrating women into their service branch. A must-read for all Americans.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly felt Germano's anger throughout this book. No one should be fired for simply doing there job, especially as spectacularly as she has. Probably in the middle of the book, I almost thought I couldn't read anymore. The complaining was starting to drain on me. But I continued reading and I am glad I did. Writing this book took a lot of courage. She stood up for herself and brought to light the gender bias in the marines.

[Aubrey Braddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected this book to be a memoir, but instead got a powerful and exhaustive look into how the Marine Corps trains its men and women. Although it seems there was a lot of complaining, I took a lot of lessons out of this book, especially as a female serving in the armed forces.

[Dannan Tavona · Rating 4 out of 5]

For women interested in military service

Nonfiction, military life, gender discrimination, institutional intransigence

This book was hard to read at times, and the reasons had nothing to do with the author. I usually devour books, but this took me a few days. First, I'm a military BRAT (born, raised, and trapped). Besides my father, my grandfather and uncle served. Second, I've always admired those who serve, and it was a knee injury when I was 17 the kept me from serving. Third, when I was nine, my Dad walked out and left my mother to raise three kids alone, and soon without him paying child support because that's who he was. While oblivious for most of my teen years, I soon came to realize social inequalities around me. Color, sexual preferences, and gender discrimination. In 1982 I had my first Women's Studies class, the only man in a class of thirty two.

The author's writing is clear and direct, and the situation and its unfortunate aftermath were all succinctly reported. That the author suffered mental and emotional trauma was hard because this wasn't fiction, it was real. The fact that the author had critical support as many supposed friends abandoned her was palpable. Yet, it was also unsurprising. The military services have always been conservative, and that's especially true with social changes.

It's a fact that saints had hard lives, and partly because those in power, whether individuals or institutions, resist change, and saints often saw change was necessary, and were, in their lifetime, labeled a troublemaker, and all too frequently, paid in blood, suffering, and sometimes with their lives. It took three centuries for the evil of slavery to be recognized and in America, it also took four years of bloody conflict to resolve -- at least legally. Blacks still encounter discrimination, violence, and death over the color of their skin. Sexual discrimination has been with humanity for millennia, and that transcends issues of color; even in societies that get along, women half to work twice as hard to get recognized.

Most aren't aware, but the first Army veteran to be recognized was Deborah Sampson. Dressed as a man to fight in the American Revolution, she served several years in combat, and it was only when a bullet wound became infected that she was discovered and forced to exit the Army. She was the only woman to receive a veterans pension. In the Civil War, dozens of women fought on both sides of the conflict. At the same time, women struggled to be recognized, desired to have some control over their lives, own their own property, even to vote in elections. In traditional fields of medicine and law, the first women doctors and attorneys struggled for acceptance, and it took generations. Women couldn't have their credit cards until the 1960s. Despite the heroic efforts of the Massachusetts 54th in the Civil War, blacks in the Army were still segregated in WW1 into the Rainbow Division, and it took FDR to order it for the services in WW2, and even then, they were often given menial or support jobs like cooks and laundry workers. America still struggles with color issues, nearly half a century after Brown v Board of Education and the March to Selma. In some ways, the color issue sidelines efforts to equalize rights, privileges, and expectations between men and women.

There has been some progress since the author's experiences in the Corps took place, and women have a somewhat better experience while serving, and this book and other stories written by women combat veterans have helped. The wants an accounting for her treatment, but that's unlikely to happen. In academia and science, theories are adopted, and despite claims of adherence to facts and the truth, new discoveries eliciting new theories to account for the new knowledge often meet similar social rejection. Max Planck noted daily that science advances on grave at a time; i.e., a sufficient number of the old guard has to die off before new theories are accepted. There is still color issues in the military, but generally it's better these days. Women likewise have more recognition, but assaults, rapes, and discrimination still happen, and as the author pointed out, the numbers are much higher than official figures.

Still, this is a landmark book. While the Corps refuses to recognize the author's efforts to affect positive change, even while later implementing some of those change. The book will help solidify the need in the American social conscience that equality isn't just needed, it is becoming expected. And that's a good thing.

Had the author not been forced out, she might not have been as motivated to see the changes realized, a point she herself makes.

Another benefit to her leaving is Lejeune is a failed Super fund toxic cleanup site. How much did the toxins play in her MS worsening?

Excellent editing. Recommended.

[Edvin Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review of “Fight Like a Girl”

1. Introduction

In this book review, I am going to inform you about “Fight Like a Girl: The Truth Behind How Female Marines Are Trained”. This is a non-fiction book Kate Germano and Kelly Kennedy published in 2018. I will tell you what my opinion is of this book, and whether it is worth a read.

2. A Summary

First, however, I would like to give you the following summary of this book:

The Marine Corps continues to be the only service where men and women train separately in boot camp or basic training. This segregation negatively affects interaction with male marines later on, and, lower expectations of female recruits are actively maintained and encouraged. But Lieutenant Colonel Kate Germano arrived at the Fourth Recruit Training Battalion at Parris Island--which exclusively trains female recruits--convinced that if she expected more of the women just coming into Corps, she could raise historically low standards for female performance and make women better Marines. And, after one year, shooting qualifications of the women under her command equaled those of men, injuries had decreased, and unit morale had noticeably improved.

Then the Marines fired her.

This is the story of Germano's struggle to achieve equality of performance and opportunity for female Marines against an entrenched male-dominated status quo. It is also a universal tale of the effects of systemic gender bias.

At a time when women are fighting sexism and systemic bias in many sectors of society, Germano's experience has wide-ranging implications and lessons--not just for the military but also for corporate America, the labor force, education, and government.

3. Strengths

I loved the following ten things about this book:

Firstly, you don’t have to be a US marine to read the book. The authors explain the marine jargon while they’re telling the story. There is also a wordlist at the end of the book, which is handy.

Secondly, this book contains an elaborate depiction of how hard it is to bring about change within an institution which does not want it.

Thirdly, I liked that some parts of the book were funny. This book contains humor, and I had some good laughs while reading this book.

Fourthly, I loved reading about Kate Germano’s childhood. It was great she wrote about it because it made her more human and real, especially to someone like me who is not a marine. Since she opened up about herself, it was easier to relate to her and her story.

Fifthly, this book was an eye-opener. I always thought life as a white heterosexual woman was a lot easier than my life as black and gay, but as it turns out, white privilege is pretty restricted to white heterosexual men, at least in the USA.

Sixthly, I liked the honesty in this book. Kate Germano both writes about achievements and things she wished she had done better. She even tells the reader she did things she was not proud of.

Seventhly, this book gives a great insight in the world of Marines. It tells you what it is, and what it should be and could be. Sure, you could argue that the authors give a subjective view . I believe, however, that they have considerable expertise in this field, and that what they write is right on the mark.

Eighthly, “Fight Like a Girl” is not a book full of complaints. It is a book filled with hope for a better future for female marines.

Ninthly, “Fight Like a Girl” is an inspiring story for everyone in a leadership position, including teachers. Reading it has given me as a teacher a lot of strength and support.

Last but not least, I loved the sections written by Kate Germano’s husband Joe Plenzler. They contained warmth, humor, and felt very personal. He’s a good writer.

4. Weakness and Conclusion

My first point of criticism of two would be the fact that the publisher could have run a second spell check. I did find some spelling errors and grammar mistakes in the book. I had not expected them as this is a traditionally-published book.

Besides, the authors could have repeated themselves fewer times. There was quite a lot of repetition in this book, and that damaged the high quality of it.

Nevertheless, these two points do not take away the fact that “Fight Like a Girl” is an important and great book about gender equality which I recommend everyone to read. So, congratulations on a job well done.

[C. S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, the book was somewhat disorganized and repetitive. I'm giving it five stars anyway.

It was hard to read for another reason, too. It was hard to face the cold hard truth that even now, over thirty years since my own U.S. Navy basic training, there is still a completely hostile and deeply ingrained undercurrent of sexism and misogyny running through our military. And yes, I do believe that it is worse in the Marine Corps than even in the other services, although it is plenty bad enough all over.

Even way back in my day Navy basic training was more integrated than what the Marine Corps system is now. I had no idea that women were so isolated on Parris Island, even down to separate messing facilities. We (female sailors of my generation) were housed and largely trained separately from the men, but they saw us marching, drilling with rifles, running - going through the exact same training that they were. We were held to the same standard in everything except, at that time, the physical fitness test, and they knew it. It was still a fight to earn respect, but I can't imagine how much harder it would have been if male sailors had been allowed to believe that we had it so much easier than them. If we had been hidden away and then dropped unceremoniously into integrated follow-on training after weeks of being told that we couldn't do what the men did so no point in even really trying? It is unbelievable. But I do believe it.

I still work closely with the Marine Corps and I still see it the results of systemic sexism every day - and I am blessed to work with a command that has strong, supportive leadership that does not tolerate discriminatory nonsense. How much worse must it be in commands that do not have that? I prefer not to imagine. Btut I don't have to imaging. LtCol Germano makes it painfully clear.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a 23 year U. S. military veteran (active and reserve), I am one who strongly believes in everyone having equitable chances wherever and whenever possible (male and female). I was blown away by reading Kate Germano's story of how she was railroaded out of the U. S. Marines basically because she was a woman and was training women to be "real" Marines, not just poster board Marines. The tale is too long to relate here, but she was an accomplished Marine Corps officer who had a stellar record in Recruiting Command (raising her area beyond anyone's wildest expectations), and was doing the same when assigned to Recruit Depot Parris Island. Taking the 4th Battalion, at Parris Island (all female) from the bottom of the barrel to a top notch organization, she incurred the wrath of her immediate superior (full bird colonel), and other senior people up to and including General Dunford...Commandant of the USMC at the time. What occurred was much arm twisting, lies, gossip, and character assassination on her personally and her career. It blows my mind to read how senior people not only lied to get her out of the Marines, but threatened any supporters that she had with ending their careers. If you are military this is a good, but aggravating read. Her immediate supervisor, a COL Haas, gave her the highest of marks, on her fitness reports, yet, towards the end, he wrote in comments that she was the "worst O-5 that he'd ever supervised." How a fitness report could get through a review process is beyond me, but Haas's immediate supervisor, a Brigadier General, approved it. It goes on and on. When the other services were moving towards allowing females wide open opportunities, the Marines were dragging the anchor part of their "eagle, globe, and anchor."

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, and the author gave a good rundown on her views that led to her relief of command. Germano led the female training battalion at Parris Island, she details the toxic culture she entered, from the brigade commander down to the individual drill instructors. While I sense that much of her perspective is spot on (the toxic environment in the Brigade would lead to the death of a recruit from hazing), there were a couple of anecdotes where I thought the author's perspective may have been off.
The firing of one of Germano's company commanders is one instance. As a general rule, senior raters get to fire subordinates, not raters. Battalion commanders can fire a platoon leader, brigade commanders tend to hold authority to fire company commanders. Germano doing this largely on her own seemed out of place (It was BG Williams, Germano's senior rater that fired her) thus led me to take the book with a grain of salt (hence 3-stars and not 4). Anytime a leader states that everything they do, and every decision they make is the right one, I tend to have doubts, and that is really my only issue of the book.
I certainly recommend this book, as a study in leadership at the tactical level, and even as a method of professional development, as many of the anecdotes can spark discussion on various ways to approach problems ranging from personality conflicts to witnessing unethical behavior.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good tough read as it made my hair go on fire. Why isn't basic training integrated across the board in the US military in this day and age? There are ZERO reasons for it not to be. It is also unconscionable that LCol (Ret'd) Germano was relieved of Command for her tough stands on the lowered standards, gender bias and expectations for female recruits and marines and for taking steps to overcome those. In this day men and women should be given the opportunity to follow any career path they want to pursue, if they can meet the standards, and then celebrated when they achieve it.
Favourite quote in the book: " Be careful in dealing with a man who cares nothing for comfort or promotion, but is simply determined to do what he believes to be right. He is a dangerous uncomfortable enemy, because his body, which you can always conquer, gives you little purchase upon his soul." (Gilbert Murray) Moral courage is something we seek to cultivate in our leaders but I can attest that it is often not practised when careerism becomes a priority. I'd thank LCol (Ret'd) Germano if I was to meet her in person for her moral courage in taking a stand, especially in the face of the overwhelming and pervasive anachronistic attitudes of some in the upper echelons of the Marine Corp towards women in Combat roles. Those attitudes not only belong in the past, they are dangerously pervasive and will erode unit cohesiveness and esprit de corps.

[Jim D · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book. It is basically a defense of the author who was relieved of command at the Marine Corp training depot at Paris Island South Carolina. She believes she was relieved as she bucked the system and wanted to train females to higher standards so they could be integrated into all specialties including combat, something the hierarchy was not in favor of. In the book she discusses in great detail how female marines are trained and integrated into the Corps. It was most enlightening. I have no doubt that she was a very capable and dedicated officer who clearly ran afoul of powerful people with whom she had little patience. My criticism was that it came across that she was always the best and the most correct, and others just didn't get it. For military veterans this will resonate and bring back many memories . I would love to know what the real story is here. Is she the scapegoat as she paints herself to be, or someone who challenged authority and paid the price... or both.

[Marya · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the end of the day, this book damns the patriarchy. Without the presence of females in their midst, Germano argues it is all too easy for male marines at boot camp to define those missing women as "other" and thus, "inferior". But at the same time, without males in their midst, it is all too easy for women marines at boot camp to fall prey to society's (lowered) expectations of them. They cry at inappropriate times. They bake cookies at inappropriate times. They do not act like professional marines. But then, what is a professional marine? Is that something neutral, or is that itself defined as hyper masculine? Sure, it's easy to say that separate-but-equal facilities never create equal facilities, ever. And Germano does argue that point bluntly. But beyond that, what are the implications of gendered segregation in an institution where failure can literally mean death? Can gendered education ever work to correct the inequities of the past (i.e. Girl Scouts)? Or is it doomed to merely reinforce the patriarchy?

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a retired Marine Corps officer, I found myself torn between feeling outraged at the lack of leadership and duplicity shown by Lt Col Germano's superiors, and doubt that so many Marines, male and female, officer and enlisted, would all oppose her leadership style. She comes across as someone who finds a way to piss you off even when you agree with her.
I am also haunted by a mistake. On page 114, she calls the Crucible, the final training exercise of boot camp, the brainchild of Marine Corps Commandant General Victor Krulak in the 1990s. I don't understand how a Marine officer can make such a glaring error. General Victor Krulak was never our Commandant. His son, General Charles Krulak, was Commandant in the 90s. He was the designer of the Crucible. Marines know their history. Krulak is one of the most honored names in our history, and this error, in my opinion, really hurt the credibility of the book.

[Molly L Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of WWP book club and was privileged to meet Kate during a Zoom call with other service women from all branches. I served in the Army Corps of Engingers for 22 years and rose to the rank of Major. I did face some sexism but from old white guys who weren't performers in their assignments and they were removed. The Marine Corps is outdated. The Generals at the Pentagon dont want women in their Infantry despite what President Obama's legislative action required of their branch. It shouldn't have required Kate to make the changes and to be fired publicly to get everyone looking at the sexist, outdated branch of service that really should be shut down based on their lack of discipline to train all Marines to the same standards. The Marine Corp leadership lack of discipline to train all Marines equally is selfish. Americans lost their lives on the battle field because of lack of training and for that, the Marine Corp should disbanded.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an army brat, daughter of a Colonel, the military always interests me. I was extremely disgusted (but not surprised) at the way Germano was treated and pushed aside by the boys club. Being tough and being a Marine go together ... it is not just the men who need to be tough. I have to admit the repetition all through the book got on my nerves but I gave it 4 stars because it is so important a book and because I support her message whole heatedly. I am sick to death of sexual misconduct and assault everywhere but ESPECIALLY in the military where having your buddies back is so key to success. If you can train to be physically fit you can train not to be an a-hole. Train the women equally, unsegregated and those who pass pass and those who don't don't. It's that simple! Thanks Germano ... you go girl.

[Katherina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh man this was the worst book I read all year. I love reading memoirs from women in the military but this was just awful. The author wrote in circles repeating the same things over and over and over. Just random stories of how she was wronged and then she will tell them in a different way. I think its awful how women are treated in the military (Marine Corps) and how she was treated but please, be a decent writer. Organize your thoughts. Don't repeat the same message. Have some kind of timeline. I also would have appreciated names (even made up Alias') vs "the colonel, the colonel lieutenant etc". This read to me like a statemer in front of a military hearing. Like i said, I regularly read female military memoirs and I enjoy them. This one, not so much.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very interesting story, and, more power to this woman, Kate Germano who battled the USMC in trying to get the Fourth Battallion up to speed. Shame on her superior officers who wanted her to improve the female corps, but did nothing to empower her to do so, in fact, created more than a few obstacles.

It is really time for the male establishment to move on. I honestly did scan more than read (though the last two chapters I did read closely). I only wish the best for the Kate Germano's future, and, what a loss to our military, the Marines, and the female Marines in particular that she was let go.

[Sriya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style and actual prose leaves a lot to be desired. However, the events, characters, and systems described fascinated me. I remember feeling so angry at some points based on reactions or actions described.

I don’t agree with the idea of a military, but since we have one (and we pay for it), I think it’s important to ensure they meet basic standards (like having equal requirements for women!).

At the end of the day, I learned a lot about a system I had a very rudimentary understanding of. I’m glad I plowed through it and learned about a badass woman who stood up to the system and continues to fight it.

[Glenda Schillinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating

Intriguing and fascinating. Kate’s humorous yet self-deprecating way of writing allowed me to become immersed in her book and feel a connection. I had the honor to meet her after reading her book and she was exactly as she represented herself. Having spent 12 years in the USAF Nurse Corp, which is quite different from the marines, not surprised (still horrified and sad) by her treatment and observations.

[Callie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, and found the first few chapters fascinating. Overall though, the writing style made it kind of hard to get though. The information was repetitive and the storytelling piece was very disorganized. That being said, it definitely made me want to learn more about women in the military, and I will absolutely be on the lookout for more books on this topic! The courage and tenacity of this woman is amazing.

[Alex Busch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title is a huge turn off, I never read the book because of it, however this is a clear example of “don’t judge a book by its cover”. Great book, completely true, valid, and relatable. As a Marine myself I feel this deeply in my core and although improvements are being made, there is still a lot of work to be done. I’m sure LtCol Germano’s story and this book assisted in creating (forcing) the conversation for action and change.