LTG Caslen Attends Social Inequality Discussion

LTG Caslen participated in the discussion on pregnancy discrimination and biases against hiring applicants of color due to ethnic sounding names. CDT Monous lead the discussion. She highlighted the current challenges still faced by women in the workforce such as losing their jobs due to pregnancy and the impact of lack of medical care and employment has on poor and working poor families. She also raised the specter of a former commander in Iraq who threatened to court martial soldiers who were sent back to the rear from Iraq due to pregnancy. LTG Caslen offered insights and perspectives from his time as a combatant commander in Iraq and discussed policies he supported for dual military couples during the Iraq/Afghanistan conflicts. Finally, CDT Monous raised the issue of the lack of awards such as Academy Awards in Hollywood is not a question of talent but a question of opportunity: actors of color are repeatedly white washed or offered fewer roles and thus are not eligible for many prestigious awards.