Cover Story: Women’s History Month & Their Groundbreaking Spirit of Military Service
March is Women’s History Month and WeSalute would like to celebrate women in the military and their great contributions. Women are the fastest growing group in the veteran population in the United States, with more than 2 million female veterans living today.
More than 3 million women have served this nation since the American Revolution. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, women veterans made up just 4% of the veteran population in 2000, but by 2040, they are projected to make up 18% of all veterans.
By branch, the estimated number of female veterans are Army: 916,948; Air Force: 464,069; Navy: 409,586; Marines: 124,169; Reserve: 157,385; Non-defense: 28,900. Though women found ways to serve in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, it wasn’t until June 1948 that President Harry S. Truman signed the Women's Armed Service Integration Act, allowing women to receive regular permanent status in the armed forces.
“I think we should make our decisions, not based on gender, but on the requirements of the job,” said Brigadier General Wilma L. Vaught in 2003. “And I think we should give maximum flexibility to the commanders to use their troops however they see they need to at a given point in time.” She is one of many women who lived a string of “firsts.” Serving in the Air Force for more than 28 years, Vaught was one of the few military women in the Vietnam War who was not a nurse. In 1966, she became the first woman to deploy with a Strategic Air Command bombardment wing on an operational deployment. In 1972, she was the first female Air Force officer to attend the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. In 1980, she became the first woman promoted to Brigadier General in the comptroller career field.
She is currently President Emeritus of Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Inc. She headed a movement to create the memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, which was an 11-year, $20 million effort to recognize women’s wartime contributions, which opened in October 1997.
Admiral Lisa Franchetti became the first woman to lead the U.S. Navy. Her nomination in 2023 marked the first time a woman has been put forward to head a Pentagon military service branch. She was sworn in as the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations in early November 2023.
“One of the things she said is, ‘I learned a long time ago that you do not have to sacrifice your femininity or your gender identity to be a good leader in the Navy. In other words, you don’t have to lower your voice. You don’t have to yell. You don’t have to use bad language. You can just lead. You can be an effective leader by listening to your people, caring for your people, understanding your people, [and] knowing something about your people. That’s leadership, and it has nothing to do with gender,” reported retired Admiral James Foggo.
Another “first” was Lt. General Nadja West. She was the first black U.S. Army Surgeon General and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Command, and the Army’s first black female lieutenant general. She is the highest ranking female to have ever graduated from West Point.
One of the first women to go directly from college into Air Force pilot training, Col. Eileen Marie Collins earned a BA in mathematics and economics at Syracuse University.
"When the Vietnam War was over, and I was older, I started reading about the Vietnam War, and the pilots really became my heroes. As I got older, I started wondering why we didn’t have women in these fields," she said. "With a great desire to join the military, I decided to join, whether I got to fly airplanes or not."
Many women military members refuse to be defined by gender.
"For 30 years, I had developed an identity of being a physician and Army officer who happened to be a woman,” said Brigadier General Loree K. Sutton, New York City’s former Commissioner of Veterans' Affairs. “My role models in leadership were always those kinds of leaders who did not dissect various aspects of one's racial, gender, religious, or ethnic makeup, but had a holistic view of who we are as people and led on that basis."
“When I come into the ready room right now, I’m a pilot first, a person second, and my gender really isn’t an issue,” said Navy Lt. Amanda Lee, who in 2022, was selected by the famed Blue Angels as their first female F/A-18E/F demo pilot.
Honorable mentions: Other notables for Women’s History Month
Read more about these and other military women recognized by WeSalure, which was co-founded by a woman:
