The newly formed Federation launched a campaign to promote the role of women in the armed forces, arguing that women medics should be given commissions in order to maintain discipline in military hospitals.[6] Concerns about women included fears about their physical abilities and the absence of suitable accommodation, and especially the attitude that women should not command men and fear that any concession might initiate a movement for officer-status on the behalf of other women serving in branches of the military.[6] The Federation collected testimonies and excellent records, but despite their petitioning and campaigning the War Office remained reluctant to grant women equal status.[6]