Former US Sen. Jim Webb may lose an award for past comments on women

Several Naval Academy alumni have asked the alumni association to rescind an award planned for former U.S. Sen. James Webb because of his decades-old essay questioning the decision to admit women into military service academies.

Webb, who also served as Secretary of the Navy, wrote the 7,000-word essay "Women Can't Fight" for Washingtonian Magazine in 1979.

"There is a place for women in our military, but not in combat. And their presence at institutions dedicated to the preparation of men for combat command is poisoning that preparation," Webb wrote.

He called the dormitory Bancroft Hall "a horny woman's dream" and quoted former male alumni arguing that attending the academy is "scarring many women in ways they may not comprehend for years."

The essay has been described by several alumni as a "manifesto" that potentially empowered male midshipmen to harass their female counterparts.

Retired Navy Cmdr. Laureen Miklos, a 1981 graduate, wrote in an email that the decision by the Naval Academy Alumni Association to give its Distinguished Graduate Award to Webb was "a hit to the gut." She taught at the academy from 1998 to 2001 and described Webb's essay as a "living document" still referenced by mids.

Miklos wrote the Annapolis-based association, arguing Webb's essay validated those who thought women didn't belong at the academy. She recalled an upperclassmen ordering a female classmate during her time at the academy to stand at attention at meals and shout "I am not a horny woman, Sir."

Webb plans to be be present Friday when the association holds its Distinguished Graduate Award Ceremony. The award is given to alumni who have "personal character which epitomizes the traits we expect in our officer corps" and have made "significant contributions" as officers or leaders in industry or government.

Related: This book chronicles how women served alongside special ops in combat

Webb, who graduated from the academy in 1968, served as a rifle platoon and company commander during the Vietnam War. He earned the Navy Cross for "extraordinary heroism" and two Purple Hearts for injuries that ended his active-duty career.

Webb released a statement to The Capital on March 27, 2017, saying he wrote a "strongly argumentative magazine article" during the intense national debate of women serving in combat.

"Clearly, if I had been a more mature individual, there are things that I would not have said in that magazine article," he wrote in the statement. "To the extent that this article subjected women at the academy or the armed forces to undue hardship, I remain profoundly sorry."

But Webb, who ran a brief campaign for the presidency as a Democrat in 2016, said he doesn't regret debating the "long-term process of properly assimilating women" into the military. He said he is "deeply proud" of the contributions he made as Secretary of the Navy and a senator from Virginia. He cited the Navy-wide study he commission as secretary, which he said "opened up more positions to women than any secretary in history."

Retired Adm. Robert Natter, chairman of the Board of Trustees for the association, said in a statement that Webb's most recent comments "reflect how his views have evolved since that article 38 years ago." Natter said Webb was selected by an independent selection chaired by retired Adm. Mike Mullen, a classmate of Webb's and a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"His many years of service are a matter of very public record, and on that entire record he was selected as a Distinguished Graduate," Natter wrote.

Retired Capt. Jack Reape, a 1984 graduate, said an upperclassmen handed him a copy of the essay as a plebe. Reape said he and his classmates didn't "support the women at the academy" during his time but that has since apologized to several of his female classmates.

Reape said he doesn't see the point of taking the award from Webb because he "couldn't name anyone else on that list." He also said the award doesn't have a big impact.

"He wouldn't have been on my list of people," Reape said. "We were in the Navy, we're used to things not going to our way and pressing on. It's the way it goes."

Kelly Henry, a 1984 graduate, also wrote the association with criticism of the award. Henry said Webb's essay was highly-circulated while she was in Annapolis and it caused "harm" to many of her classmates.

"The women will tell you that article was like throwing gasoline on the fire," she said.

Henry said she was one of the "lucky" ones during her time at the academy and was in a company that welcomed the female mids. She said she was surprised to see Webb honored with the award, since 2016 marked the 40th year of women attending the Naval Academy.

She attended the academy's celebration in the fall.

"At that celebration I felt we were embraced in the community," Henry said. "We are no longer seen as something that tainted it, but now to see this? It completely takes away that feeling."

Other 2017 Distinguished Graduates

—Retired Adm. Harry D. Train II '49 — Train served as NATO supreme allied commander Atlantic and was also commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet from 1978 to 1982. He retired in 1982 and became involved in civic affairs in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

— Milledge A. "Mitch" Hart '56 — Hart is the founder/co-founder of seven companies. After serving as a Marine in Oklahoma and Okinawa, he worked with alumnus Ross Perot to found Electronic Data Systems, a information technology equipment and services company. He later co-founded Home Depot, which became the second-largest retailer in the country.

—Retired Vice Adm. Cutler Dawson '70 — Dawson is president and CEO of the Navy Federal Credit Union and was in the Navy for about 35 years. Under Dawson, the Enterprise Battle Group conducted strikes for Operation Desert Fox in the Arabian Gulf and Operation Allied for in the Adriatic Sea. He retired from the military in 2004 and became president of the Vienna, Virginia-based credit union.

—Retired Adm. Eric T. Olson '73 — Olson is the former commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command. He's the first Navy SEAL to reach three- and four-star rank and the first naval officer to lead Special Operations Command. He retired in 2011 after serving for 38 years. After retiring, he founded ETO Group, an independent national security consulting firm.