FORT BENNING, Ga., (April 1, 2015) -- Fort Benning celebrated women March 26 with a special observance held in honor of Women's History Month at the Benning Supper Club.
The observance honored women who have made a difference in the past, women deserving of recognition in the present day and women who are paving a path for future generations.
Maj. Gen. Scott Miller, commanding general, Maneuver Center of Excellence, spoke of women who will soon be a part of history on Fort Benning. Miller said the first gender-integrated Ranger Course in the history of the U.S. Army will be conducted April 21 and will light the way for future women of the Army to seek the tab.
"How can it not bring out anything but the best in you when you look at Soldiers raising their hand for something that's so rigorous," Miller said. "How can you not look at them with anything but admiration.
"So, while we ... remember what we're doing this month, I think you've got a new set of pioneers that are out there."
A woman commended for her lifetime achievements was guest speaker Nadine Saragosa-Griffin, supervisory social worker for the Transition and Care Management program. Saragosa-Griffin spoke of her experience growing up and facing adversity.
Saragosa-Griffen, a native of Oahu, Hawaii, and a self-proclaimed Latina, said she was raised by a single parent and was the third youngest of 10 children.
"I always had this fire, this determination that I was going to make an impact in this world," Saragosa-Griffen said. "I was surrounded by a lot of love and Family who told me that I could do it."
She said she grew up wearing her brothers' hand-me-downs and was a product of the Head Start program, food stamps and affirmative action.
"These experiences opened doors for me," she said. "They created an environment for women and other people with disadvantaged backgrounds to not only have access but to enter and participate in opportunities."
Saragosa-Griffen said she was the first in her Family to graduate from college, and has maintained a marriage to her husband, a U.S. Marine, for 30 years. She served in the Air Force and earned several awards and decorations.
"Hearing accounts of lives of ordinary women are critically important because they reveal (examples of) what women can do," she said. "Women need to give themselves and each other credit and value for their experiences and their place in society, in every level, every day."
Representing women in history, Jeannie Williams, Child, Youth and School Services chief, spoke in character as she portrayed Mary McLeod Bethune, a woman educator and life rights leader who started a private school for African-American students in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Williams told the story of Bethune's accomplishments as well as the struggles she faced.
"You can say that race was an obstacle to me, you can say that sex was an obstacle to me, but I refuse to own them in that way," Williams said.
Displayed in the room were books, photos, memorabilia and literature of iconic women for those in attendance to view.
"I think that there is a lot that women have done, are able to do and will do as we continue to grow as a nation and around the world," Miller said.
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