I was happy to address what has been burning in my heart –  and, as a woman who proudly served in our Armed Forces as a bomb dog handler …  I believe it is time for women to be part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Let’s break that glass ceiling.

We need to pick our battles more carefully as it relates to war, and since many of us have children of our own who could be drafted, then I believe we should be part of the strategic decisions.

You can read the entire discussion here, and was amongst 6 other women who contributed to the panel.  Here is my contribution:

 

It will be very hard for Mitt Romney to improve his image with women voters because he has reversed his stance on the pro-choice/pro-life issue too many times. His reversals make him appear like a populist politician driven by polls. Remember, Romney gave an oath to protect a woman’s right to choose until he decided to run under the Republican presidential ticket. How can a pro-choice woman trust Romney after he went back on his word? On the other hand, how can a pro-life woman trust him when his campaign recently stated that abortion “should be an option” in certain cases?

In order for Romney to garner the trust of women voters, he will have to pick a side and stick with it to the end, else mistrust will continue to pile up. Right now, women do not know what his real conviction on the issue, and we become much more considerate of politicians who stick to their convictions. As it stands, we still do not know where his heart is really at.

A woman has never served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS); therefore, any president promoting women to the JCS within his first 100 days would give many of us a sigh of relief and encouragement. So many women in the US are related to sons, daughters or relatives currently serving our armed forces, and we are feeling apprehensive and pressure with regard to the multiple wars we have been engaged in. It would be helpful knowing that more women are part of the “advisory committee”, which helps plan joint operations and resolutions of military problems because, as it stands, there appears to be too much testosterone fueling those key decisions. It would be helpful for us to see balance at a strategic leadership level.

DeeDee Garcia Blase: ‘[Romney] will have to pick a side and stick with it to the end’

DeeDee Garcia Blase is founder of Somos Republicans, and the president of the National Tequila Party Movement, which promotes Hispanic Get Out the Vote initiatives