thedrifter
08-26-04, 06:00 AM
Women's place is in the Corps
August 26,2004
ERIC STEINKOPFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Americans cheered this month when female Olympians competing in Greece won the gold medal for beach volleyball.
At New River Air Station on Wednesday, some of the world's other top women athletes fought for a chance to represent the Marine Corps in the military's upcoming interservice games. These women are leaders in today's Marine Corps - but it wasn't always that way.
Today is Women's Equality Day, established by Congress in 1971 to commemorate the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. It's one of eight ethnic observations mandated annually by the Department of Defense. Commanders are compelled to acknowledge or celebrate each with some form of military function.
Officials at Camp Lejeune will hold a professional military education seminar at 11:30 a.m. at the Staff Noncommissioned Officer's Club. Guest speakers include retired Sgt. Maj. Mary Sabourin and base Headquarters and Support Battalion adjutant, 1st Lt. Cheryl A. Armstrong.
But how far have we come since Susan B. Anthony?
Eighty-four years after obtaining the right to vote, many women on many different levels still seek unconditional equality with their male counterparts. Some professionals have found it in classrooms, in boardrooms and on playing fields. Still others wonder whether they'll one day see it on the battlefield.
Doubtless, women's status within the military has risen over the years. Warming up before Wednesday's tryout, a handful of the Corps' softball elite contemplated the workplace dynamic among today's Marines.
"Initially, they see you as a girl, so you have to constantly prove yourself at every unit," said Gunnery Sgt. Gail Saylor, 37, a military police officer stationed at Miramar Air Station, Calif. She's been in the Corps for 18 years and believes the biggest challenge for fellow female troops is to get "the guys to see you as an equal."
There was a time when only men served on Navy ships, she noted. But that has changed, Saylor said, for the better.
"There are more deployment opportunities now," she said, recounting her own time spent board amphibious assault ships. "I didn't like ship food, but there were no problems billeting females. There weren't any problems when I went out."
Saylor's teammate, 42-year-old Gunnery Sgt. Eileen Grier, an aviation electronics supervisor stationed at Beaufort Air Station, S.C., has served aboard aircraft carriers.
"It has changed over the years," said Grier, a 19-year Marine Corps veteran. "It used to be - if there was a female in the office - they were always a secretary."
Two of the younger athletes have observed other day-to-day challenges.
"In the last unit, it was just me and 45 guys," said Lance Cpl. Ninya Ybarra, 24, a communications specialist assigned to Communications Company, 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune.
"They would step in and try to do things for me, but I had to tell them that I could do it."
"(It's difficult) being a (noncommissioned officer) when all the lance corporals are guys," said Cpl. Jamie Bailey, 21, an ordnance technician stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. She's been in two and a half years.
"I had to get them to respect me the same as the male NCOs."
Although the infantry is still primarily a man's world, today's global war on terrorism has blurred the frontlines and the roles that women play in combat.
"If you ask me if I think there will be women in an infantry battalion, I'd say no," Saylor said. "But we're all Marines and basic riflemen."
http://www.jacksonvilledailynews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=25090&Section=News
Ellie
August 26,2004
ERIC STEINKOPFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Americans cheered this month when female Olympians competing in Greece won the gold medal for beach volleyball.
At New River Air Station on Wednesday, some of the world's other top women athletes fought for a chance to represent the Marine Corps in the military's upcoming interservice games. These women are leaders in today's Marine Corps - but it wasn't always that way.
Today is Women's Equality Day, established by Congress in 1971 to commemorate the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. It's one of eight ethnic observations mandated annually by the Department of Defense. Commanders are compelled to acknowledge or celebrate each with some form of military function.
Officials at Camp Lejeune will hold a professional military education seminar at 11:30 a.m. at the Staff Noncommissioned Officer's Club. Guest speakers include retired Sgt. Maj. Mary Sabourin and base Headquarters and Support Battalion adjutant, 1st Lt. Cheryl A. Armstrong.
But how far have we come since Susan B. Anthony?
Eighty-four years after obtaining the right to vote, many women on many different levels still seek unconditional equality with their male counterparts. Some professionals have found it in classrooms, in boardrooms and on playing fields. Still others wonder whether they'll one day see it on the battlefield.
Doubtless, women's status within the military has risen over the years. Warming up before Wednesday's tryout, a handful of the Corps' softball elite contemplated the workplace dynamic among today's Marines.
"Initially, they see you as a girl, so you have to constantly prove yourself at every unit," said Gunnery Sgt. Gail Saylor, 37, a military police officer stationed at Miramar Air Station, Calif. She's been in the Corps for 18 years and believes the biggest challenge for fellow female troops is to get "the guys to see you as an equal."
There was a time when only men served on Navy ships, she noted. But that has changed, Saylor said, for the better.
"There are more deployment opportunities now," she said, recounting her own time spent board amphibious assault ships. "I didn't like ship food, but there were no problems billeting females. There weren't any problems when I went out."
Saylor's teammate, 42-year-old Gunnery Sgt. Eileen Grier, an aviation electronics supervisor stationed at Beaufort Air Station, S.C., has served aboard aircraft carriers.
"It has changed over the years," said Grier, a 19-year Marine Corps veteran. "It used to be - if there was a female in the office - they were always a secretary."
Two of the younger athletes have observed other day-to-day challenges.
"In the last unit, it was just me and 45 guys," said Lance Cpl. Ninya Ybarra, 24, a communications specialist assigned to Communications Company, 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune.
"They would step in and try to do things for me, but I had to tell them that I could do it."
"(It's difficult) being a (noncommissioned officer) when all the lance corporals are guys," said Cpl. Jamie Bailey, 21, an ordnance technician stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. She's been in two and a half years.
"I had to get them to respect me the same as the male NCOs."
Although the infantry is still primarily a man's world, today's global war on terrorism has blurred the frontlines and the roles that women play in combat.
"If you ask me if I think there will be women in an infantry battalion, I'd say no," Saylor said. "But we're all Marines and basic riflemen."
http://www.jacksonvilledailynews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=25090&Section=News
Ellie