Army observes Women's History Month on Capitol Hill

By J.D. LeipoldMarch 22, 2016

Women's History Month on Capitol Hill
The Army helped observed Women's History Month on Capitol Hill March 21, providing a panel of senior leaders to discuss their experiences. From left to right: Army General Counsel Alissa Starzak, Army JAG Lt. Gen. Flora Darpino; Chief of Legislative ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 21, 20116) -- The U.S. Senate hosted a panel, March 17, to discuss the role women have played in public service and Defense by inviting senior Army women to speak about their experiences.

Before they assembled for the panel, senior leaders mingled with fellow Soldiers and Senate staffers, offering their thoughts on the importance of remembering just how far women have come since suffrage.

Less than a century ago, women didn't have the right to vote, even though they had served in the military as far back as the American Revolution.

"I think as we lift barriers on people, you'll see them flourish over time and move forward," said Army Chief of Legislative Liaison Maj. Gen. Laura Richardson. She added that women have no interest in seeing standards changed to accommodate them.

This year, the Army is opening all military occupational specialties to women and the service has established gender-neutral standards for combat arms positions.

"The first thing you want to know is if your buddy on your left and on your right can do the job, and it has nothing to do with gender," Richardson said.

"That's very important for women, that standards are not changed," she continued. "You will hear the loudest voices on that subject coming from women … we want to earn it as it's supposed to be and with the requirements that are as they are."

Over the course of the country's wars, women have served in the military as nurses, office and factory workers, as truckers and pilots and even spies, but until recently they were not permitted by law to fight directly alongside men as combatants.

"I think with over 52 percent of our population being women, that it's really important to reach out and recognize the talent that exists inside the whole nation," said Maj. Gen. Camille Nichols, director of the Defense Department Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office.

Nichols was a member of the second class at West Point to have women graduates in 1981. "I think because we are more than half the population that we're sometimes just taken for granted many times … this ceremony helps put a spotlight on the fact that there are still some inequities in our society and that we need to address those."

Nichols added, "One of the most powerful things that got me to join the military, then stay in the military, was that I got equal pay, so I think we need to take a long hard look at how we can take the talent and pay the talent for what they are worth."

During World War II, about 60,000 women joined the Army Nurse Corps and while they were awarded commissions as second lieutenants, they weren't considered part of the regular Army and received half the pay of their male counterparts. It wasn't until February 1944 that Congress passed a bill granting Army and Navy nurses actual military rank for the remainder of the war plus six months.

The speakers this year also included:

-- Army General Counsel Alissa Starzak

-- Army Judge Advocate General Lt. Gen. Flora Darpino

-- Vice Director of the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency Maj. Gen. Julie Bentz

-- Director of the U.S. Army Women's Museum, Francoise Bonnell, who served as the panel moderator.

One Soldier in the audience was Spc. Kayla McCullough, 23, a three-year member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), who joined the Army after serving in her junior ROTC unit in high school. She said she thought it was important to celebrate and remember how far women have come, not just in the in the military, but in all careers.

"I think the Army itself has come a long way as far as women standing equal in the service -- it's a wonderful thing that I'm able to be a part of it," she said. "I have a very young daughter who when she's older, I'll explain to her and make sure she understands that she can do and be anything she wants to be and that all she'll have to do is put her mind to it and strive to be the best she can be… I'll try to be her best example."

Like McCullough, Spc. Natalie Xavier is also in her third year with the Army and Old Guard and is in human resources to ensure Soldiers' personnel records are up-to-date. At 31 and a mother of three with a civilian husband who supports her steadfastly, she intends to make a career of the Army.

"I think it's really phenomenal how far women have come … there are a lot of mentally tough really strong women out there who can compete against men and even beat them … it's wonderful we have this opportunity to do anything in the Army," Xavier said. "It's really important that we take time out to reflect on the changes the Army is making and recognize the positive direction we're moving in."

In 1981 Congress issued a resolution authorizing the president to proclaim March 7, 1982 as the start to "Women's History Week." Then in 1987 Congress declared March as "Women's History Month" in perpetuity.

Related Links:

Army News Service

Army.mil: Human Interest news

STAND-TO!: Women's History Month

Army.mil: Women in the U.S. Army