Cross-dressing soldiers! They could be the next new normal!
An ROTC cadet at Temple University is allegedly complaining that his entire batallion was forced to wear red high heels instead of boots with their combat uniforms and march in university-sponsored "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" event designed to demonstrate male solidarity with victims of sexual violence. Attendance, according to the cadet was mandatory
"So I just spent $16 on a pair of high heels that I have to spray-paint red later only to throw them in the trash after 300 of us embarrass the Army tomorrow," the cadet allegedly wrote on Reddit.
Now, this story hasn't been verified–either whether there was a genuine ROTC command or whether the complainer was really a ROTC cadet at Temple.
But one thing is certain: There are photos all over the Internet of young men in camo-patterened combat uniforms and red high heels marching along with Temple students in civvies at the April 1 event.
So it doesn't matter whether the femme footwear was donned by the cadets voluntarily or on orders from an officer. The issue is: What the hay were those cadets in uniform doing in those high heels?
For one thing, Army regulations are very specific about the kind of shoes to be worn with a combat uniform: standard-issue Army combat boots (described in detail in the regulations), which are part of the uniform itself. The regulations spell out a tiny handful of exceptions: commercial-issue boots that look just like standard-issue boots if the commander permits, and certain kinds of safety footwear to be worn under certain hazardous circumstances.
Red high heels are not on the list.
Second, what do red high heels on a male soldier say about an organization that purports to be defending the lives and freedoms of Americans around the world?
Did I hear the word "laughingstock"?