FORT STEWART, Ga. (March 23, 2016) -- Soldiers, family members and civilian employees of 3rd Infantry Division celebrated Women's History Month with an observance hosted by 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Inf. Div. at Fort Stewart, Georgia, March 23.
Women's History Month is celebrated annually in March and highlights contributions of women to history and society. This year's ceremony included a guest speaker from the surrounding Fort Stewart area.
"I'm honored to be here," said Kelli Morningstar, police chief of the City of Midway. "My main message is never give up, always put your best foot forward, keep your head up, and when you hit rock bottom, hit reset."
Morningstar is a U.S. Army retiree and the first female police chief of her city. She carried her lessons from the military and transferred them to her current duties as a policewoman.
"It taught me that I need to stay focused and lead from the front," Morningstar said about her years of military service. "Having strong female leadership truly taught me that we can excel and exceed the standards that anybody puts in front of us."
According to a Department of Defense report from January 2016, women accounted for over 15 percent of the U.S. military. A majority of those serving do so in a leadership capacity and that demographic was represented at the event.
"I came up as a welder," said 1st Sgt. Lashelle Williams, senior noncommissioned officer of Forward Support Company, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd IBCT. "Every section I've ever been in, I was the only female in the section."
Williams said if she were to enlist newly today she would choose the same path, but was glad women have more opportunities in the military with recent advances towards gender integration.
"There's a lot of things females can do and now they're actually giving them the chance to do it," Williams said. "There have been women doing great things that haven't been recognized so I think it's time that they recognized some of those things."
"I feel like women have progressed significantly in the military," said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Alicia Nelson, mobility officer, 2nd IBCT. "We now hold a lot of positions which were once only held by men so we have made great strides."
When Morningstar was asked to reflected on the changes since her time in service she said, "I think we've come full circle as far as being able to achieve everything that we set our minds to."
"Female leaders a lot of times get overlooked, but if we're true leaders, then we're respected as well," Morningstar concluded. "I just want them to never give up."
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