Army officer says rank insignia on chest leads to sexual harassment for females

A female field officer in the United States Army is demanding yet another change to the uniform, claiming that the placement of one’s rank in the center of the chest is harmful to female Soldiers- particularly during promotion ceremonies.

LTC Rachael Hoagland, who attends the Army’s War College, believes the rank should once again be moved back to the collar of US Army uniforms.

The rank was moved to the chest in 2004, when the Army transitioned from the Battle Dress Uniform to the much-maligned Army Combat Uniform.

According to the lieutenant colonel, the placement of rank in the center of the uniform blouse “effectively gives service members and civilians a free pass to ogle a woman’s breasts,” and “has had unforeseen consequences in creating a possible sexual harassment and assault factor.”

Hoagland stated that female officers have been asked by male leaders if pinning rank on them would be appropriate.

“Asking this in public can put the soldier in a position where she feels like she cannot say no, even if she is uncomfortable with the touching,” the lieutenant colonel stated.

Hoagland, who has twenty years in service and is an acquisition officer, is apparently not alone in her thinking.

According to the Daily Mail, Navy Sailors also complained in 2019 after their rank was also moved to the center of the chest.

It should be noted that many militaries around the world have their rank in the center of the uniform blouse.

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