It was a historic week for military women. So what happens next?
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  1. #1
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    Exclamation It was a historic week for military women. So what happens next?

    This week saw the arrival of the first female Army infantry officer, the first female combatant commander, and the first female dean of West Point.

    Kate Germano calls all of these historic firsts exciting — for now.

    “What we’re hoping for is that in the future, we’re no longer celebrating ‘firsts’ when it comes to women,” said Germano, a incoming chief operating officer of the Service Women’s Action Network. “We want this to become the norm.”

    Advocates say the recent advances for women in the ranks shouldn’t brush aside the challenges still facing many female service members, issues that were also renewed last week with news that defense officials may have manipulated data on military sexual assault cases to undercut legislation they opposed.

    But all of this adds to a growing list of dramatic cultural changes for the military, including the defense secretary’s decision earlier this year to open all combat jobs to women.


    Of the stories that developed this past week, it was the Army’s announcement that received the most attention, in large part because of Capt. Kristen Griest’s prior accomplishments. Last summer she was one of the first women to graduate from the Army’s Ranger School, a pivotal moment for women's advocates who argued for desegregating all remaining military posts. Griest graduated from the Maneuver Captain's Career Course last week as part of her transfer from military police to infantry.

    A day later, Col. Cindy Jebb was named the first female dean at the U.S. Military Academy, five months after Brig. Gen. Diana Holland was named West Point's first female commandant of cadets.

    Germano, a Marine Corps officer, said the achievements are notable not only for the women involved but for the entire Army, distinguishing the service as one that has embraced the value of women leaders quicker than the Navy, Air Force and Marines.

    “They’re having the highest-caliber women compete with the highest-caliber men and get selected for these positions,” she said. “The hope is that ultimately all the services take the approach of including women in consideration for these jobs, and that the highest-caliber person is chosen.”

    Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson, named as the new head of U.S. Northern Command on Thursday, is the first woman to serve as a combatant commander. Supporters say that’s much more than a historical footnote.

    “For years, women were barred from combat roles, closing off their route to senior leadership,” Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., wrote earlier this month in a piece for Time naming Robinson one of the 100 most influential people of 2016. “Robinson’s appointment makes clear to every female lieutenant that the top jobs are now open to them.”


    Women nationwide also saw another military milestone this week: For the first time, a Congressional panel has voted to require women to register for the draft.

    That conversation is likely to be more theoretical than practical. No American men have been pressed into involuntary military service since 1973, and military officials have pushed back against any assertion of using the draft to fill the ranks again.

    The Service Women's Action Network supports the idea — its policy position states “men and women should be held to the same requirements and expectations in performing their civic duties” — but the group also says the issue is of much less importance than ensuring fair career advancement rules.

    “In our own membership, the younger veterans and service women already see themselves as leaders within the service,” Germano said. “They don’t see themselves as different from their male counterparts.

    “They have an expectation that if they can serve, and if they’re contributing to the force, it should be expected they’re treated the same way.”

    Advocates hope that will change with seeing not only the first women in prominent military leadership roles, but also many others to follow.

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  2. #2
    Won't be long and Naval Enlisted Women will be sporting the Dixie Cup on their head, the the button down bell bottoms.


  3. #3
    Infantry and combat MOS's will, and will always be a man's world as far as I'm concerned.


  4. #4
    The defense department admitted that they manipulated the data concerning sexual assaults etc; in the post that Rocky made. We have no way of knowing if the tests that the tests for the above women wasn't also manipulated
    Frankly, I don't trust the department of Defense, or Sec. of the Navy from not manipulating the test's, especially Ray Mabus whom I know personally.

    The positioning of women to the higher level in the Service Academies IMO is nothing but a political ploy.


  5. #5
    Do women have to stand short arm inspections?


  6. #6
    We all have our own opinions about this cultural change. History will record if it is a success or not.


  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Tennessee Top View Post
    We all have our own opinions about this cultural change. History will record if it is a success or not.
    if we survive that is,,...


  8. #8
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    I dont think so, Dollar, don' have a short arm. daa! my dad was navy, told me about that. My daughter did make a comment about having o be pregnancy tested, every month. which she thought was junk. I don't think they need o be in combat rolls either, not safe for the guys. but, there are a few women who can become very aggressive, when threatened Probably the amazon coming threw. i would be one of them, but, I wouldn't volunteer for combat, but, id dam strait, have your back if it came to that. Deb


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