Women in the MilitaryHeather Harmon

Soc 270

Table of Contents

Background of Military Women Army Navy Air Force Marines Reflection

Women in Military

Women have been serving in the military since 1775, they nursed the ill & wounded, laundered & mended clothing and cooked for the troops in camp on campaign.

Women were thought to evoke sexual emotions in the male servicemen and that they couldn’t be trusted. Thus they could only help in times of war and not on a regular active duty basis.

Women’s Armed Integration Act

June 12, 1948 Enabled women to serve as permanent,

regular members of the armed forces in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.

Prior to this act women were only allowed to serve in the military in times of war, there were still some restrictions on women being on Air Force and Navy vessels or aircrafts that might engage in combat.

Restrictions continued

October 1949 Army regulation that stated women with

dependent children were ineligible to serve in the military, & already enlisted women who had children under the age of 18 were then discharged.

This was overturned by Congress in 1970s stating that even if women had dependent children that they could still serve in the armed forces.

Army

July 1948 the first enlisted women entered the regular Army & in December of the same year the first WAC officers received Regular Army appointments.

Currently women serve in 91% of all Army occupations and make up 14% of the Active Duty.

Navy

1908 – Congress established the Navy Nurse Corps, so women could help serve in times of war

1917 – Secretary of the Navy announced that the Navy would start enlisting females, but only through the reserve.

1973 – The first time a women in the Navy received her wings

1980 – First class of women graduate from the U. S. Naval Academy.

2010 – The first crew of women were trained to be able to be aboard Navy Vessels as Active servicewomen.

Navy continued.

Women can serve in all occupations in the Navy except: SEAL or SWCC, since those positions are strictly ground combat – women haven’t found their place in those ranks as of yet.

http://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedStatesNavy?v=aGcthQE4lR4&lr=1

Air Force (WAF)

Created in 1948 by President Truman to bring women into limited roles in the USAF.

Put into place because of the Women’s Armed Integration Act.

Ended in 1976 when women were accepted into the USAF on an equal basis with men.

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The United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve

Authorized on July 30, 1942 Part of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Provided women for the shore duty

jobs, so the men could be released for combat duty.

1918 – Secretary of the Navy allowed women to enlist in the Marine Corps for clerical duty.

Marines continued.

1943 – The Marine Corps Women’s Reserve was officially established.

June 12, 1948 – made women a permanent part of the Regular Marine Corps.

Women serve in 93% of all occupational fields and 6.2 of all corps strength is women.

Reflection

The reason I chose this topic is because it has always been interesting to me. I am very curious about how women are treated differently then men and how they are seen as less important as men. The more and more I read it’s amazing how women are seen as people who cannot be trusted because they will seduce the men of their squad or of the other one. Also women are not able to be in all occupations included in the Armed Forces because they are seem as weak and cannot do all that a man can do. I hope that moving forward that men and women will finally be seen as equals and that the separation between the genders will be non-existent and that it won’t even be something that we have to study about in the future.