Breaking barriers

By Delonte HarrodMarch 2, 2016

Lynise Wright
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Today, Wright is the director of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Network Enterprise Center and NEC National Capital Region deputy director. In 1976, she was an active duty Soldier -- a private -- who had enlisted for the college money. After Congress ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
U.S. Army Capt. Lauran D. Glover
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If there was a coin that stood for integrity, withstanding adversity under intense pressure while still maintaining dignity and honor, it would have pictures of two women on either side: Lynise Wright and U.S. Army Capt. Lauran D. Glover.

Both women have overcome racial and gender discrimination to advance and reach key leadership positions in the Federal government and in the Army.

Women at West Point

Wright recalled that in 1976, while stationed at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., a first sergeant announced that the Department of Defense was interested in sending women to attend the cadet's training program at Camp Buckner Military Reserve, a West Point training camp.

The training was designed to last for four weeks and it was specifically for women.

"Only females who had successfully completed basic training could volunteer," said Wright.

Today, Wright is the director of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Network Enterprise Center and NEC National Capital Region deputy director. In 1976, she was an active duty Soldier -- a private -- who had enlisted for the college money. After Congress passed legislation allowing women to attend the military service academies, she found herself as one of 10 women to attend the experimental training program at the U.S. Military Academy.

Before 1976, only men were allowed to attend West Point. The DoD began asking for women to volunteer for to receive basic training for attendance at the academies, a first attempt at allowing women to be enrolled at the traditionally all-male schools.

Wright said the Air Force and Army academies wanted to know if women could endure the rigorous training that was originally designed for men. They would use that information to design a training program for women at the individual academies.

"At Camp Buckner, the second year cadets spent June to July training in the six branches of combat arms (infantry, armor, field artillery, air defense, Army aviation, and special forces), with regular and reserve Army service members," explained Wright.

She said the program was "very tough." There were times she felt as if she wasn't going to make it--but it was her friends that helped her through. Wright had forged a bond with other African-American women who came with her to West Point.

"There was a collective determination that we were all going to do this," explained Wright.

"There were certain instances that occurred when we really had to give each other courage and support."

Wright recalled a time she and her colleagues were required to go down a zip line, an inclined cable or rope in which a person uses a handle attached to a mini-wheel to slide down, normally dozens of feet above a manmade pool of water.

Wright said they were instructed to follow the signs given by their instructors. While coming down the zip line, an instructor would signal to them when it was time for them to release and fall into the pit of water below the line.

Her friend was apprehensive of zooming down a long cable line to fall into the water.

"[She] was terrified of water," Wright said.

Wright said they were required to go back to their rooms after this particular session, but she didn't. Instead, she hid in the nearby bushes. She wanted to encourage her scared friend as she came down the zip line.

While she was going down the zip line, Wright said she yelled out to her friend: "you can do this." When they gave the signal, she dropped in the water, according to Wright.

"I started to cry," she recalled. "It was so good to see her get through that. It just reinforced our bond."

It was that collective strength that helped Wright to successfully finish her training. Her success in completing the program is one thing that encouraged West Point to ask the band of women to attend their prep school and then the academy. But she declined--and some of the other women did as well, according to Wright. Instead, she opted to go White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, where she was assigned after she completed her second year at Fort Jackson.

"I went into the military to get money for education," said Wright. "I wanted to go to school…I thought that, 'This is not what I wanted to do for the next 10 years of my life,' and I didn't want to be obligated to do it."

Despite some of the challenges, Wright said she considers it an honor to have served in the military at that time. She said the male cadets were supportive in helping them make it through the program. She said she believed that once the women showed the male cadets they were there to succeed' all the discrimination just "went by the wayside" and the notion of women cadets changed for the better.

After her service, Wright has traveled the world. She worked in multiple branches of the government and earned three degrees, one from the U.S. Naval War College.

African-American women in the military

African-American women serving in the military isn't an anomaly. Their legacy predates the Civil War. Various government sources show that African-American women have served in every major war in the U.S. history.

For example, Harriet Tubman served in the Union Army as a nurse, a cook and a spy, according to the Library of Congress. There is also evidence that some African-American women dressed up as men to participate in the Civil War. However, as time progressed and as the military forces became more inclusive of women participation, their status moved from servant positions to leadership positions.

Paving a path for future military women

Wright's contributions to the military helped to pave the way for Glover and other female service members to enter the military with greater opportunities.

Glover joined the military after obtaining a bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of Findlay in Ohio. She said she wanted an opportunity to serve.

"I wanted to work with military personnel, not necessarily be a practitioner in the military," she said.

She graduated from Officer Training School in 2012. Two years later, she became the first woman commander of The U.S. Army Drill Team.

Glover's experience of discrimination mirrors that of Wright, but like her, she hasn't allowed it to slow her down. She said she is proud to walk in the steps of those African-American women who served their country against all the odds.

Glover said she remembered a time when an older African-American woman hugged her and whispered in her ear, "this is why we sat on those buses."

"I'm assuming she was sharing her experience during the Civil Rights Movement," said Glover. "All I could do was thank her. Without her and others like her, there would be no me."

The Pentagram asked Glover if she had any advice to give to younger African-American women, and women in general, who would like to join the military.

"The military is not easy, but serving is worth it," she said. "You'll grow as a person, and what you do will matter. Being in the Army has been the hardest thing I've done in my life--but it's also the most rewarding."

Pentagram Staff Writer Delonte Harrod can be reached at dharrod@dcmilitary.com.