Women have served in the military in many different roles throughout history. During the American Revolutionary War and the Civil War, women served in the US Army in both traditional (nurses, seamstresses and cooks for troops in camp) and nontraditional roles.
Some courageous women served in combat alongside their husbands or disguised as men, while others operated as spies. Deborah Sampson, a Massachusetts woman disguised herself as a man in order to serve in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Whether in uniform or not in uniform, women shared soldiers’ hardships, including inadequate housing and little compensation.
In 1948, the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act enabled women to serve as permanent, regular members of the armed forces. In 1976, the United States Military Academy at West Point admitted the first group of women. Between 1990 and 1991, the American military deployed 40,000 women during the Gulf War operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. However, no women served in combat.
Women not only make up more than 50% of the US population but also make up an increasingly larger percentage of the US military. According to the Defense Department, women now make up 20% of the Air Force, 19% of the Navy, 15% of the Army and almost 9% of the Marine Corps.
In 2008, Ann Dunwoody became the first four star general in the US Army. There were 28 female generals in the Air Force, 19 in the Army, 1 in the Marine Corps and 21 female admirals in the Navy. Remember your career in the military begins with getting a top score on the ASVAB exam https://asvabtesthq.com/.
I am grateful and thankful for all of the brave women past and present who serve our country.