Fighting Sexism in the Military here ♦ The Six Triple Eight here ♦
Veterans of the Six Triple Eight marching in Birmingham, Alabama, 1945
Fighting Sexism in the Military
“The salary inequality between male and female soldiers, the sexual trauma, the rape: they know it’s happening, but they don’t care,” said comrade Ana, a military veteran. She and I are part of a collective organizing ICWP’s military work.
We compared her military experience as a woman with my military experience as a man. We agreed that it is our responsibility as communists to discuss these issues among servicemen and -women that are now serving, just as we did when we were on active duty.
We must fight against all sexist practices in and outside the military. To be successful in a communist revolution, we need to strategically organize workers in basic industry, young people, and soldiers. That will require the unity of men and women.
Ana was introduced to communist politics after serving in the military. She had witnessed first-hand the harsh realities that women in the US military have long endured.
Ana said that she had to work twice as hard to prove herself in an extremely competitive rank structure that did not acknowledge a woman’s strong work ethic. Nonetheless, she was able to gain the genuine respect of one male buddy.
Amidst this oppressive and sexist environment, Ana said, she found camaraderie with a few “good men that are really rare.” In the workspace they shared, “we were equal.” This indicates the potential for ICWP to organize social and political relationships with and among male and female soldiers in the belly of the beast. A military has all the basic requirements to build camaraderie among a diverse group of workers.
I was a communist when I joined the military to organize. During my active-duty service, sexism became a point of contention even when there were no female soldiers among my ethnically diverse friend group. It had white, Black, and Latino soldiers, all males. Our social relationships had clear boundaries between men and women.
In 2022, 82.5% of US military personnel were men, and 17.5% women. These are the conditions that Ana and I experienced. It creates the same contradictions that men and women face now in the military.
Among my male soldier buddies, society’s sexist ideas surfaced in sexist attitudes that I had to stand up against. My roommate in the barracks always made very deliberate sexist comments against the women in our barracks and the women he dated. I clearly remember opposing his views of women. I called him out when we were alone. I explained that these women are from our own working class; they are class sisters.
An odd tension is always created when a male calls out another man on his sexist attitudes. But what comes next is a deeper understanding of the relationship being built. It is not an argument; it is a struggle. This struggle desperately needs to occur among men in the military. My speaking up in a friendly but principled way against sexist language changed the atmosphere in the barracks where we lived next door to women soldiers.
As a communist soldier, it was one of my top missions to build a strong political base with my battle buddies. I was able to distribute our communist literature to these buddies, and three traveled to Washington, DC for our annual May Day march.
Imagine if Ana and I had worked in the same unit. We would be an unstoppable communist organizing force. Capitalism already, inevitably, creates the sexist and oppressive conditions that we must always fight against. ICWP has multi-generational experience of organizing in the military. This is essential in building a communist revolution.
And it can only be done with the international solidarity of men and women. We must increase the recruitment of high school students, family members, and all military servicemen and women to rebuild our international Red Army. I look forward to the work that Ana and I will be doing with other Party comrades to build our military collective internationally.
—Red Veteran
Read our pamphlets:
The Communist Fight Against Sexism here
To Defeat Racism, Mobilize the Masses for Communism here
The Six Triple Eight: A Story of Triumph and a Call to Recruit Red Soldiers
The Six Triple Eight is a historical film. It details the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion during World War II. It tells the untold story of the first all-Black, all-female battalion in the US Army. Its vital mission was to restore morale by clearing massive amounts of undelivered mail for US troops in Europe.
It captures the resilience, ingenuity, and unity of these women. It also raises broader questions about the value of labor, the fight for equality, and the potential for collective action in building a communist world.
From a Black communist perspective, The Six Triple Eight highlights a contradiction at the heart of their service. These women made great achievements under a system that devalued their humanity. They fought for recognition and respect within an imperialist war machine. Even as that machine demanded their loyalty, it refused to grant them full equality.
The women had to prove themselves to their white male superiors. Those men often tolerated but never truly respected them. This mirrors the broader struggles of workers and soldiers of all backgrounds within the capitalist system.
Captain Charity Adams is portrayed with strength and nuance. She embodies this call for leadership and vision. She refused to accept the limitations imposed on her. That, plus her ability to inspire and lead her battalion, shows how to organize and unite workers against oppression.
Imperialist armies are still influenced by sexism, xenophobia, and systemic racism. Adams’ leadership reminds us that true representation means challenging what seems normal to build a better future.
War films have long been used as propaganda for the “one percent.” But we challenge viewers to consider the hard work shown by the women in the film.
What if it were not used for survival within capitalism, but for the creation of a new world? What could the talents and determination of these women, and others like them, achieve in a communist society that values all workers equally? That rejects divisions based on “race,” sex, or national origin?
Let’s not be persuaded by this film as war propaganda. Instead, the working class should critique the systems that these women served.
Imperialist armies and governments often co-opt the narratives of marginalized groups. They celebrate their contributions while continuing to practice exploitation and division. Today, these same systems push xenophobic and fascist ideologies to pit workers against one another across borders.
To get them to fight Chinese, or Syrians, or Palestinians, or whoever, they need that racism, sexism, and xenophobia ensuring their domination. The Six Triple Eight highlights how Black female soldiers broke barriers. But their achievements also underscore the need for communist revolution which includes workers of all colors.
Collective Dedication Can Do the “Impossible”
Even under capitalist military discipline, these Black female soldiers were able to inspire other soldiers to do the ‘impossible.’ That’s admirable!
Imagine what we can accomplish with the love and comradeship of communist relations. With the full participation of all soldiers in reviewing problems collectively and then agreeing on a plan which they carry out together.
To honor the legacy of the 6888th Battalion, we must mobilize for more than symbolic victories. Their story serves as a rallying cry for workers of all “races,” genders, and national origins to unite against systems that thrive on division.
The bravery and ingenuity displayed by these women in completing their mission are the same qualities needed to build an international Red Army.
—Black comrade in the US
Read our Pamphlet:
Soldiers, Sailors and Marines: Crucial for Communist Workers’ Revolution here