By Bradley Graham
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 17, 1998; Page A10

Defense Secretary William S. Cohen yesterday sidestepped a recommendation to segregate male and female recruits during basic training, ordering a set of less controversial "corrective measures" in training and living conditions to reduce gender-related problems in the ranks.

Cohen gave the services 30 days to come up with plans to increase the number of female recruiters and trainers, and improve screening procedures for selecting all trainers. He also called for greater emphasis on "core military values" in training and told the services to "develop more consistent training standards between the genders."

Pulled between an independent panel that recommended segregation of men and women during part of basic training, and the military chiefs who opposed such action, Cohen said he would "reserve judgment" on the segregation issue and wait to see the effect of the changes announced yesterday before making a final decision.

He also declined to mandate separate buildings for men and women, another panel recommendation. But he ordered the Army, Navy and Air Force to improve security and supervision in existing housing arrangements. He complained that even though male and female trainees live in separate quarters or on separate floors, doors had been removed at some sites and privacy was insufficient.

"There has been an attitude of a lack of discipline," Cohen said. "And so what we want to do is maintain the separation during those first weeks of basic training to make sure their focus is on the military aspects and not the social."

Cohen also said he would push the military chiefs to go further than they had been willing to go in toughening physical fitness standards, a move meant to address a widespread belief that the physical requirements for women are too low and that standards for men vary illogically between the services.

The initiatives marked the Pentagon's latest effort to address some of the shortfalls highlighted by the 1996 scandal at the Army's advanced training base at Aberdeen, Md., where male drill sergeants sexually assaulted female recruits. In the aftermath of Aberdeen and evidence of similar violations at other military training facilities, Cohen commissioned the independent study, led by former senator Nancy Kassebaum Baker (R-Kan.).

The panel stopped short of urging the complete segregation of men and women during basic training. But it recommended that male and female recruits undergo separate training at the core level – the platoon in the Army, the division in the Navy and the flight in the Air Force – in order to avoid an erosion of discipline.

That recommendation drew criticism from some members of Congress and others, who said it would undercut the role of women in the ranks. Military leaders agreed and, in reports submitted to Cohen last week, advised against segregating the sexes during basic training. They also expressed reservations about housing male and female students in separate barracks, saying such a move would be too costly, disrupt unit cohesion and complicate supervision.

Kassebaum Baker expressed satisfaction with Cohen's action.

"It indicates he is serious about implementing change," she said in an interview. "He is implementing a large portion of our recommendations, and I think he's serious about continuing to evaluate the steps taken."

But the initiatives received mixed reactions on Capitol Hill.

"I think Secretary Cohen chose the best possible path," said Rep. Tillie Fowler (R-Fla.), a member of the House National Security Committee. "I think we are getting on the right track."

By contrast, Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-Md.) said he was "extremely disappointed" by Cohen's refusal to segregate the sexes in military training, and said the decision "represents a lack of intestinal fortitude."

At a Pentagon news conference, Cohen indicated a preference for placing men and women in separate barracks, but he acknowledged the difficulty of achieving such separation at many military facilities. "What we want to do is to foster an environment in which there is privacy that is maintained, in which there is a secure living arrangement for men and women," he said.

Currently, housing conditions for recruits vary widely from base to base. Some live in separate buildings, and when they are in the same barracks, they often have quarters on separate floors.

But the barriers in such mixed-sex barracks are sometimes thin, and the supervision less than adequate. Cohen said he would insist on 24-hour supervision and barriers "that cannot be easily transgressed," such as one-way doors with alarms.

He said he wanted recruits to focus during basic training on "becoming warriors" and "not on any kind of social integration." Asked about the military's standard position that it wants to train men and women together because that is how they will fight, Cohen quipped, "They don't have to sleep together."

Cohen acknowledged that increasing the number of female trainers and recruiters would take time. He said the services had failed to put enough emphasis on attracting women to these jobs in the past, adding that more women were needed in these positions to serve as "role models" for female students. Women make up about 14 percent of the 1.45 million members of the U.S. military.

Among the other changes he announced, Cohen also ordered the services to develop "a system of rewards and incentives" to raise the importance of training jobs and "counter any notion that a training assignment is detrimental to a military career." A senior defense official said that in the Army and Navy, in particular, training jobs have tended to be regarded as detours rather than paths to a successful career.

"These men and women are making extraordinary efforts to train our recruits, working sometimes 90 to 100 hours a week, making enormous sacrifices," Cohen said. "And the actions I'm outlining today are intended to help them do a better job, to make sure that their value is recognized."