WGS 350-S Dr. Dutt Final Research Paper Amelia Abe Women have always been involved in war efforts to support the military in some capacity, serving as nurses or working in factories to build machinery and more recently, as soldiers. Women have been serving specifically in the US military since 1775 and after the army became an all-volunteer force in 1972, began taking more active duty roles and serving as soldiers. The first female soldiers were deployed overseas in 1991, during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield. Reading Solider Girls opened my eyes to the struggles that many women, especially those that are mothers, face while serving in the military. Reading the story of Desma, who experienced two deployments as a single mother to three children, one of whom ended up in jail, made me question the impacts of deployment on families and more specifically, children. Since the War on Terror is relatively recent, beginning in 2001 after the September 11th attacks on New York City, there has not been a significant amount of research done on the children who have grown up with parents being deployed. Using the research that has been done however, this paper seeks to explore the impacts of deployment on families, especially children. There are currently about 214,000 women serving as active duty military, with another about 118,000 women in the reserves and about 470,000 women in the National Guard. In 2015, women represented about 15% of the total US
To begin with, many women worked or fought in World War II. In World War II, many women went to fight or they stayed at home. They also worked in the factories to help the men. They were serving in the armed forces which was at home or abroad. Women also volunteered in the emergency services (History.com-staff). Women fought for their life and for their
War II. About 70% of women who served in military WWII held traditionally female jobs. After the men had
Women have served the military in one fashion or another since the Revolutionary War, in recent years the status of women serving in the military has changed dramatically. Traditionally women have always served in administrative or medical roles. With the advancement of views and the sheer determination of many women, we are seeing women serving in combat and fighting alongside their male counterparts. Training schools such as the Army Ranger school, Marine Infantry training, and pilot training within the Navy and Air Force have opened and began training women to fight. The history of some accomplishments women have made while serving in the military has paved the way for the future of women soldiers to follow.
In 1973, women began to grow in numbers in the 'All-Volunteer Force' implemented under President Nixon. “In February 1988, Department of Defense (DoD) codified the Combat
World War II was the first time that women served in the United States military in an official size. In 6 years, 1939-1945, more than 350,000 women served in the military.1 Women even had their own branches of service: Woman 's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), the Woman 's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP), and the Women Accepted for Volunteer Military Services (WAVES)2. As a branch of the Army, the Woman 's Auxiliary Corps were the first women, other than nurses, to serve in the rankings of the United States Army. May 27, 1942 was the opening day of registration for the Woman 's Army Auxiliary Corps. More than 13,000 volunteers signed up to contribute their skills to the war effort. The WAAC training center in Des Moines, Iowa was known to the media as Fort Lipstick. "They 're a damn sight better than we ever expected they would be. I honestly didn 't believe they could do it," said Colonel Don C. Faith, a
Women serving in the military is a topic that most people have very strong convictions on. Rather you are for or against women serving, you can find strong opinions that support both sides in this contentious dispute. Women have struggled to fit into the military life for years. Even though woman have fought alongside men in each key battle from the start of the American Revolution, they still find it hard to shake the stereo types about woman who serve. Woman have always had to cloak themselves in a masquerade of sorts to serve alongside men. When woman were finally accepted into the military, they were given secondary roles to the men. The Pentagon has just recently began to realize that gender really do not matter on the battlefield. Since the Pentagons enlightenment, one can now see progress in the integration of women in all expanding military careers. Women have always proven that they are not only an asset to the military but they are the strength of the America’s military.
During World War II, about 350,000 women served in the U.S. Armed Forces, both at home and abroad. They included the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, who on March 10, 2010, were awarded the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal (History.com). Women in uniform
Women continued to serve overseas through 1945 and at one point there were over 2000 WACs serving in North Africa alone. From there women were sent to Italy to serve with the 5th Army and these women moved all over Italy during the Italian campaign handling the
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.
Some women served in the armed forces as nurses, radio controllers and secretaries. This further aided the men during war as the women offered a helping hand in the time of war.
In the beginning, the United States’ Government was against involving women in their military forces. Before the war, it was commonly believed that a working man was the main provider in a household. Therefore, any woman who took a job that was
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
Did you know women served in combat ever since the American Revolution, but often disguised as men? Many females go in disguise to go into combat, such as Mulan. In my opinion, letting women serve in battle is a victorious idea. Imagine girls being inspired by the females in combat. Many people believe females going in battle is unacceptable because they do not think females are capable of doing what men can do. Females may be stronger and powerful than how they appear to be.
One study (Binkin & Bach) found that many NATO and several WARSAW PACT countries employed women in combat roles during World War II. Russia was reported as using military women on the front lines. In Israel, where they are actually conscripted, women have also experienced armed combat. (Binkin & Bach) found that in the first phase of Israel’s war of Liberation, one out of every five soldiers was female and they shared equality in both offensive and defensive battle situations. Holm found that some 7,500 military women served in S.E. Asia during the Vietnam War. She maintains that these women proved the modern American military woman is fully capable of functioning effectively in a military role in a combat environment, even under direct hostile fire.
Ninety percent of all military occupations in the military include all genders, but the top ten percent of roles are excluded to women. Women have already felt the misogyny with unequal pay and unfair treatment by men, now women have to face the discrimination for fighting for our country. Women should be able to serve in the front lines because it makes the military stronger as a whole with more diversity, women in other countries fight on the front lines and women have made significant contributions in the military so far.