What would be your gender-neutral alternative to referring to all Air Force members as "airmen"?

Skywarrior, Skywarrior First Class, Skywar Specialist

Somebody please put the knife through the jugular on this post. It is a waste of oxygen. Time to stop the breathing and start the bleeding

since the current Administration is about to become history, maybe we can forget about this nonsense, 99.99% of our military were not complaining (and who cares about folks outside the military), let's get on to more serious topics

I would like to focus on more important things such as the overwhelming debt, the fact the world is on fire, and that our own countrymen are losing their patriotism. If these things are not fixed, we will not have to worry about being politically correct, just learning a new language under a new regime.

I am going to take a different vector on this topic... If anyone is still Active duty, and has some pull at their Command level, Pentagon, JCS, etc., This is what really NEEDS to be said:

At what time in modern military history, has gender neutrality TRULY mattered when it comes to Mission effectiveness, unit cohesion, leadership and discipline in the ranks, or esprit de corps?

This politically-correct nonsense is tinkering with the very heart and soul of the Armed Forces. The last time I swore my oath to "support and DEFEND the Constitution against ALL enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC," I drew a line in the sand.

With graying hair and some wisdom learned in my advancing years, I realize that asymmetric warfare comes in subtle nuances, cyber assaults, etc.

These subtle and not-so subtle skirmishes that seek to unravel the fabric of our nation's warriors through dissension, factionalizing, marginalizing, polarizing, adverse rationalizing and the narcissistic attitude behind all this nonsense is just as treacherous in my book, as the Tokyo Rose broadcasts of Japanese propaganda were aimed at undermining/subverting the morale of our troops in WWII.

Psyops is nothing new, but it is most insidious when it is a tactic applied within the ranks or from above them. As a Oath-keeping veteran, my responsibilities did not cease when my enlistment ended. I am responsible for what I know, and to do something about it!

When I enlisted 37.7 years ago, neither the JCS, NCA nor the Secretary of the Air Air Force came to my barracks to ask me how they should run MY Air Force. Why? Because it is ***NOT*** "MY Air Force!" I became part of a Mission-oriented TEAM in which my part was intended to seamlessly connect and integrate into the tapestry of that team.

One of the 3 pillars of the US Air Force is: "Service before self." That deals a death-blow to this narcissistic, self-importance-at-the-expense-of-all-else-because-I'm-entitled rationale. Whatever and whoever is behind propagating all of this nonsense is an ideological enemy of our military institutions.

Of course, to counter such a threat, we must take scaled and appropriate measures to stop this insidious attack against the very fabric of our Armed Forces' ability to stand united. Our voice, a pen or a keyboard can be sufficient enough to accomplish victory in such a battle.

So, from the least of the enlisted ranks, to the highest ranking officers, I am sounding a call to stand up and call this nonsense into account, and to neutralize this threat into non-existence. The core of our calling is to be uncompromisingly focused where we all started: With the Oath and our Constitution. This is where the buck stops for us as well.

You are free to re-post, share, and publicize what I have said on one condition: WHEN, not IF these protagonists come to attack me, I expect you who are also Oath-keepers to stand with me to watch/keep my back.

The subtlety of this matter may seem innocuous for now and even humorous, but given time, you will see the truth of their intentions. Let's be a proactive deterrent of this issue NOW, rather than find ourselves on the defensive down the road. The current battle for gender-neutral bathrooms should be enough of a forewarning!

Let's rumble and roll!

MD "Doc" Severson :-)

Leave it the way it is, the only problem is, is if you decide to make it one!

From the Dictionary. Man- noun; A human being of either sex, a person. Verb; work at, run, or operate (a place, or piece of equipment) or defend (a fortification).
An aircraft is manned, meaning it has a human operating it. A person who operates an aircraft is called an Airman. The term is already gender neutral.

" Airholes"

I wish some of these radical feminists could understand that "man" in airman, fire man, police man, corpsman, etc etc, is more intended a designation of being human, than gender specific, and if they are so hyper sensitive of their feelings to feel slighted and their delicate self esteems just be crushed from such woeful abuse, perhaps they are too delicate with withstand the rigors of military service (or common adulthood even).

If we are truly going there I would say aerospace warrior