BY E.M POWER IN WASHINGTON, DC

‘IT’S HUGE UNTAPPED resource. Up till now women have not been called upon to die in their tens of thousands for their country, the way men have. That’s all changing; I’ve seen the ultra secret protocol paperwork. Empowerment is terrific. But power costs, and this is how you pay for it.”

These are the words of leading academic Bill Kilgore, speaking from his office in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, where he is studying the progress of forced recruitment and what it means for modern war.

“The casualties here are sobering,” he says. “We’ve been used to small conflicts with minimal loss of life, comparatively speaking. We haven’t seen this kind of thing for decades. And it’s scary. They’re having to pull people off the streets here.”

He adds that the Pentagon and US politicians have been able to plan for mass female conscription only because of the terrific work done by the feminist movement over the years. “We have to thank that selfless group for opening the doors to us. This was taboo before they did their work. Now, it’s virtually unavoidable.

“Indeed, one of the drivers of the proposed new legislation is the sheer volume of single childless women now available for military service. It can’t be ignored and it would be insulting to women to do so. Watching the losses in Ukraine, where women – although some do choose to fight – are not subject to conscription, has forged a tenuous idea into a fact. Perhaps if Ukraine had decided to draft its single childless women, it’s army would be vastly larger than it is now and maybe it would be doing better against the Russians. But that’s in the past. We in America will not be caught short when, and if, the time comes. And trans men identifying as women will not be left behind, I assure them. Their choice will be respected.

“Look, a war against Russia, or China, or both might see our dead in the millions. We simply have to be prepared for that. It’s fortuitous that gender equality has chosen this age to entrust itself to us. And we will be worthy of that trust. Of course, women – or anyone for that matter – who get pregnant to avoid service will be treated the same way as soldiers who shoot themselves in the foot. And sentences might be harsh, depending on circumstances. But for an army of maybe fifty million, it’s a small price to pay.”