US Marines may soon stop using the words 'sir' and 'ma'am' to address their senior officers, a new report has revealed - as part of a sweeping effort to avoid 'misgendering' drill instructors.
The recommendation came in a recently completed academic report from the University of Pittsburgh, which was commissioned by the Corps in 2020.
Completed this year, the report offers a detailed independent study on gender-integration at boot camp, and suggests measures Marines should take to make both genders feel more at ease when hearing responses from aspiring privates.
At a whopping 738 pages, the in-depth study highlights a host of prospective changes the 247-year-old institution can implement to make drill instructors of both genders feel more comfortable when being addressed by cadets - with the most pronounced being the nixing of gender-specific titles.
Instead, PhDs Bradley C. Nindl and Mita Lovalekar recommend aspiring privates call their superiors by their last names - and some service leaders are already skeptical of such a guidance.
Replies
Tell these dumb as*s to mind their own business, BTW, get rid of Gen Smally!