Women in the military
Women have been serving their nation for hundreds of years- there have been many achievements made by women in the military, and their ability to integrate into military culture is still growing with the Department of Defense opening all combat jobs to women in 2016.
Click on the photos to learn more!
TIMELINE
1901
army nurse corp. established
1901
Navy nurse corp. established
1917-1918
World War I
Woman served as nurses and support staff.
1917-1918
Women's Armed Service Integration
Woman are permitted to serve as permanent members of the military
1934-1963
U.S. Army COlonel Ruby Bradley
1941-1945
WORLD WAR ii
Over 400,000 women served in non-combat
roles, including mechanics, pilots, clerks,
nurses, etc.
1941-1945
U.S. Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Carmen (Contreras) Bozak
American Red Cross,
World War II
Army Nurse Corp,
World War I
WOMEN'S ARMY CORP (WAC),
World War II
1945
Rosy THe Riveter
Training Women for War Production
1937-1943
The NYA trains girls to sew, to make military and civil defense posters and signs, to prepare food, and to assist in hospital work (feeding and massaging patients, sterilizing instruments, making x-ray pictures, etc.). Women learn to operate machine tools (drill presses, lathes, etc) in an airplane plant, to weld sheet metal, to solder and drill radio parts, and to inspect finished work. Eleanor Roosevelt introduces and narrates the film.
1950-1953
Korean War
Approx 50,000 women served in the military, many as Army nurses in forward deployed M.A.S.H units and aboard ships
1962-1972
Vietnam War
Approx 11,000 military women are deployed to Vietnam, 90% of whom served as nurses.
1991-1992
dESERT sTORM
Approx 41,000 servicewomen deploy to the Middle East
1975-2012
Ret. U.S. Army Gen Ann Elizabeth Dunwoody
1982-2019
U.S. Army
Leitenant General Nadja West
1975-1984 Army enlisted mint green summer uniform
2001-2011
Afghanistan war
The role of women in the military grew significantly post 9/11. By the end of the War in Afghanistan over 203,000 females served in the military, or 14.5% of active duty military personnel.
1998
Female Fighter pilots
.Females fly combat missions for the first time during a four day Iraqi bombing mission
USAF Service Dress uniform
Late 20th Century
2003
First Lioness Teams
Three female soldiers are taken prisoner of war during the invasion of Iraq. The first Lioness teams, the precursors to Female Engagement Teams, form and deploy to Iraq.
2003-2014
iraq war
Approx 41,000 servicewomen deploy to the Middle East
Female officer dress white
1986-Present
CA Army National Guard
Maj. Gen. Laura L. Yeager
2009
The role of women on the battlefield expands with the establishment of the U.S. Military's Female Engagement Team, which are tasked with building relationships with Afghan Women.
2016
First females become Army Rangers
Griest and Haver become the first females to complete Ranger School, alongside 94 male peers.
