American Women In The Military

From Continental Army Soldier Deborah Samson to Army Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester, American ladies have been serving in the U.S. Military for several years. Women have been a piece of the war exertion since the Revolutionary War, yet in the beginning of our country they needed to mask themselves to serve alongside men. When they were acknowledged into the military, ladies were given helper or supportive parts. As the weapons and strategies for fighting changed in the late 20th century, in any case, the Pentagon started to soon understand that whether you were female or male; it mattered less on the combat zone.

Women now make up 14 percent of the active-duty military in the United States, which is up from 1.6 percent, 25 years prior. (Christian Science Monitor, 1). In 1948, President Truman signed the Women 's Armed Services Integration Act which created the role of women in the military. This law meant that each branch of the service was allowed to have one female Colonel (Byfield, 12). As of 2015, there are many women who serve as Generals and Admirals. All of these roles are non-combative. Even though some women can do anything a man can do, the vast majority can not, therefore making it an unsafe idea to place these women into combat positions.

Since then, American military women have been slowly creeping into more combat-like roles (“Two Opposing Views on Women Combat”). Women have been authorized to fly in combat missions and serve on combat ships. Furthermore, as of 2008, 16,000 women were serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Germany, Japan, and other related areas ("Timeline: Women in the U.S.

American Society has changed and evolved at a record pace over the past decade. Technology, social media, sexual orientation, and race relations have all been hotly debated topics. On January 24, 2013, when then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta rescinded the rule that restricted women from serving in combat units and directed the Armed Services to review their occupational standards and assignment policies, the discussion of women in Combat Arms was thrust into the limelight. The debate on whether to allow women in direct combat roles is an emotional topic for most and it appears the latest policy change could very well be a mistake.

During World War I the United States Navy and Marine Corps began allowing women to enlist. Over 12,000 women enlisted and more than 400 of them gave their live to fight for freedom. Women have taken an active role in the military starting in the Revolutionary War. The first female ever recorded to serve was Deborah Gannett who in 1782 used her brother’ name to enlist. After being shot, she removed the musket ball from her own thigh so the doctor would not discover her gender. Women in the military increase significantly in World War II with more than 351, 000 served. In fact the stateside Marine Corps Headquarters 85% of personnel was females. By 1991, women were allowed to serve in integrated units with in warzones. Even though women were prohibited from serving in units engaged in direct ground combat, in 2005 and 2008 two women were awarded the Silver Star for exceptional valor in close-quarters combat. As of 2013, there are close to 970,000 women who are enlisted and active or are serving as reservist.

The military has always been a predominantly male environment. However, women have been active participants since the first major war, the American Revolution. Historically, women have served as nurses in many wars including Vietnam and both World Wars. As time progressed, females started to expand into different military occupation specialties. In the middle of the 1900s the first women pilots created the WASP. This stood for Women Air Force Service Pilots and their duty was to fly and deliver the planes from the factors to the military bases. During this same time fields like factory worker, national intelligence and security started to fill with female employment. Now women make up 15.7 percent of the

In fact, World War II was the first time women served in the US military in an definite quantity (Paula). Regarding women’s roles within the army, almost all were non-combat roles. Combat was considered an individually male effort, and women were prohibited from combat duties. Still, some women’s roles were near or within combat zones, and in some instances combat came into residential areas overseas. Even if women weren’t working in combat roles, some were still killed. Working within the Navy Medical Corps as one way women participated in risky work. Nursing was a dangerous employment, there were times where women (nurses) were evacuated, and in some instances, captured (Roles). Away from combat, many women were assigned to the Ordnance Department, where women would compute velocity of bullets, mix gunpowder, load shells, and measure bomb fragments. Although they weren’t official members of the United States armed forces, Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS) contributed in critical support the our country’s war effort (World). By the end of WWII, there was a small amount of non-combat jobs that women didn’t perform, some of which that hadn’t even existed before the

Women have been part of the military since the Revolutionary War such as nurses and clerical workers, (Street, Vogt and Dutra, 2009, p. 686). While these women did have typical female jobs for that time period, women were of great help because without them, the men who were wounded may not have been taken care of as well and the paperwork may have been backlogged and unorganized. Since then, women have slowly made more entrances in the military in other areas than just medical and desk work. Currently, women occupy 80% of the military occupational specialties and 90% of the careers offered in the military, which is a huge jump from where women were back in World War II or even just a decade ago, (Weiss and DeBraber, 2013, p. 37). With this

For years women were not adequate to serve in the military however now they can be any rank, however some can be affected by someone of a different gender battling alongside each other. As an illustration, Molly M. Ginty article “All Guts, No Glory” states many times a women soldiers gave their lives, yet never were their acts of bravery acknowledged. Eventually, women were given more advanced roles in the military, before any of this they could only serve as piolets or nurses. Subsequently, about 53 percent of the military is women rather they are on reserve or new recruits, these women are serving their country by their own choice. By the way, some of these women are in the combat area, which I personally thing if anyone want to do combat

For soldiers, women being in the military has been a common thing. But females being in combat units is rare. Female soldiers deal with male soldiers hassling them around about the fact. Women should be able to have the same rights as men do. Just because we are more “sensitive” and “emotional”.

Within the military, gender roles have always been an issue. For the longest time, women weren’t allowed to serve any role in the U.S military. They would disguise themselves as men to serve on the front lines. Eventually, women gained the privilege to fight alongside men. Everyone have goals that they want to achieve. Both genders search for the same opportunity and want to better themselves. Even though the issue has become equalized, the military remains gender biased. Male and females impact the military by the skills they possess through dedication and hard work.

They have posed as men to be have the opportunity to serve like Deborah Sampson 1782-1783 under General Washington’s Army. “After being wounded in battle her gender was discovered and she was honorable discharged. Due to her service, a pension received by her from Continental Congress.” (The Colonial Williamsburg Foundations, 2008) Every major war has possess either a woman serving unknowingly as a foot soldier or spies or intentionally and a nurse or cook. In 1948 congress passed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act granting women permanent status in the military. During World War 2, women in medical duties to help aid the units. It was not an easy choice to make allowing the women in the military. There were plenty of backlash from the country and protesting about their mothers and daughters going into war. In addition, there were social issues with harassment and discrimination during this period in history. The addition of women was helpful to the mission but it was very harmful to the atmosphere in the military; Women faced scrutiny while performing their duties. Just as the EO program combated discrimination, the Army created the Sexual Harassment/ Assault Response and Prevention program for the sexual assault issues that women had to deal with while in the ranks. The Army I. A.M. Strong campaign, which mean Intervene, Act and Motivate, is an ongoing campaign to fight sexual

Women have been participating in the United States military since the Revolutionary War, where they were nurses, maids, cooks and even spies. They played vital roles in order to keep those fighting on the front lines healthier, and even a more important role in keeping commanding officers informed with private information stolen from the other side. Although the Revolutionary War took play in 1776, the first law to be passed that permanently stated that women have an official place in the military was in 1948, almost one hundred and seventy-two years later. Since that time there has been a lack of true growth when it comes to integration of females in the military. In 1994, a law was passed that tried to prohibit women from being assigned to ground combat units below the brigade level. Women are excluded from more then 25% of active combat roles within the military and only in 2013 was the ban lifted which was the final barrier to allowing women into all active roles. This has been a huge step in the direction for women being considered as being equal but there are still challenges that women face within the military. Ranging from sexual assault, discrimination, bullying, and other tactics, it is clear that for many, the military is still a “boys club.”

Women in point of fact, have been serving their country since it began - Molly Pitcher fired her cannon in 1778 without congressional sanction. In the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, women fought disguised as men. In World War One. their medical services were indispensable. During the crises of World War Two, when women were

Women have fought alongside men in the United States Military in every major battle since the American Revolution. The roles of women in the military have evolved over time to allow the incorporation of women in expanding military career fields. Women have proven themselves to be an asset to the military despite some of society believing women would weaken America’s military effectiveness. Today more than 200,000 women are active-duty military, this is about 14.5% of all military. Currently, women are involved in all branches of the Armed Forces; there are around 74,000 women in the Army, 62,000 in the Air Force, 53,000 in the Navy, and 14,000 in the Marine Corps (By the numbers: Women in the U.S. Military). Military women continue to