Fort Sill honors contributions of women to military, nation

By Lt. Col. Toni Rieke, 100th Brigade Support BattalionAugust 25, 2016

Lt. Col. Rieke
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FORT SILL, Okla. (Aug. 25, 2016) -- Women's Equality Day gives us a fantastic opportunity to reflect on the achievements of all women, and the rights and freedoms earned by those who have come before us. This is an annual event in the United States, observed on Aug. 26 every year since its inception in 1971, marking American women's advancements toward equality with men.

I do not expect anything to be given to me based on gender. I have expectations that I am selected or not selected based on my abilities as a person and as a Soldier. However, after extensive research and soul-searching, I say thank you to pioneers of women's equality for opportunities we have today, from the softball field to the battlefield.

As a college athlete, my university disbanded the wrestling team to meet the Title IX requirement of having an equal number of women's sports programs. Back then, I didn't think much of it. I was a long-standing supporter and friends with many of them. I felt bad for their disbandment, but grateful I could have the experience of being a collegiate, and later professional athlete.

From the founding of the United States, women were almost universally excluded from voting. The movement for women's suffrage started in the early 19th century during the agitation against slavery. We owe recognition to women like Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Stanton, who led the initial charge rallying the troops for conventions and issuing a declaration that called for women's suffrage and for women's rights to educational and employment opportunities. In 1852, the dynamic suffragist leader Susan B. Anthony joined the fight. Together these figures led the American suffragist movement for the next 50 years.

Amendments to the federal Constitution concerning women's suffrage had been introduced into Congress in 1878 and 1914, but the 1878 amendment had been overwhelmingly defeated, and the 1914 amendment narrowly failed to gain even a simple majority of votes in Congress.

Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on Aug. 18, 1920, the 19th amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote. On Aug. 26, the 19th Amendment was proclaimed by Congress as being part of the Constitution of the United States. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle; victory took decades of agitation and protest. Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of women's suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change of the Constitution. Few early supporters lived to see final victory in 1920.

The 19th Amendment opened a door to women serving in the military. A provision of the Army Reorganization Act (1920) granted military nurses the status of officers, with "relative rank" from second lieutenant to major. Although the act allowed Army nurses to wear the insignia of the relative rank, the secretary of War did not prescribe full rights and privileges such as base pay, for nurses equal to that of an officer of comparable grade.

As an Army Fellow in 2010, I had the distinct privilege of working with the Women's Bureau in the Department of Labor. The bureau was given the power to promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency and advance their opportunities for profitable employment. I was asked to participate on a women's veterans panel, an eye-opening experience. I was the youngest member on the panel with only 14 years of service. Most of the members had served in the military in the 1970s to the 1980s where they experienced gender discrimination such as restrictions on certain jobs, and men who did not believe women were considered equal in the military.

Over the past seven decades the U.S. military has consistently changed and adapted to the women's equality movement:

1940s

1942 - The Army established the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, which was converted to the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in 1943. More than 150,000 women serve as WACs during the war; thousands were sent to European and Pacific theaters.

1948 - President Harry Truman signed into law the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, granting women permanent status in the regular and Reserve forces of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as in the newly created Air Force.

1950s

The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services was created to advise on the recruitment of military women for the Korean War. The committee's recommendations were instrumental in effecting changes to laws and policies pertaining to military women.

1960s

President John Kennedy established the Commission on the Status of Women to explore women's issues. The commission documented substantial discrimination against women in the workplace and made specific recommendations.

1970s

The Department of Defense reversed policies and provided pregnant women the option of electing discharge or remaining on active duty. Previous policies required women to be discharged upon pregnancy or the adoption of children. The U.S. Coast Guard opened all assignments to women.

1980s

The first women graduated from service academies as a result of Public Law 94-106, signed by President Gerald Ford. Sixty-six percent of the women in the first co-educational classes graduated, compared to 70 percent of the men, whose attrition rate due to the academic failure was twice that of the women.

During the Revolutionary War, women followed their husbands to war out of necessity. Many served in military camps as laundresses, cooks, and nurses, but only with permission from the commanding officers and only if they proved they were helpful.

From 1782-1783, Deborah Sampson served in Gen. George Washington's army, disguised as a man. After being wounded, her gender was discovered and she was honorably discharged. Later, she received a military pension from the Continental Congress.

From 1846-1848, during the Mexican War, Elizabeth Newcom enlisted in the Missouri Volunteer Infantry as 'Bill Newcom' and marched 600 miles to winter camp in Colorado before being discovered and discharged.

For her actions during the Civil War, Mary Walker, of Oswego, N.Y., was the first woman to be awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest decoration for bravery. Working as a civilian doctor for the Union forces because she could not serve in the Army as a doctor due to her gender, Walker worked as a surgeon at a temporary hospital in Washington, D.C. While there she crossed over enemy lines to treat wounded civilians. Her actions resulted in her capture and arrest by Confederate forces as a spy. She was a prisoner of war in Richmond, Va., until freed in a prisoner exchange.

World War I played a major role in securing women's rights and broke down most of the remaining opposition to women's suffrage. During the last two years of the war, when women were allowed to join the military, 33,000 women served as nurses and support staff officially in the military; 400 died in the line of duty and 88 were prisoners of war. More than 400,000 women served at home and abroad as mechanics, ambulance drivers, pilots, administrators, nurses, and other noncombat roles.

During the Korean War 50,000 women served, including more than 500 Army nurses who served in combat. In 1973, the military draft (only for males) ended and an all-volunteer military was formed, creating more opportunities for women.

In my 19 years of service, starting as a private and now a lieutenant colonel, I have seen the Army change in women's equality and treatment.

According to the Department of Defense, today there are more than 68,000 women serving in the Army and more than 200,000 women serving in the military. As of December, the secretary of the Army, chief of staff, and sergeant major of the Army signed a memorandum for full integration of women into all military occupational specialties in the Army. The first female students graduated from Ranger school -- 1st Lt. Shaye Haver and Capt. Kristen Griest, both graduates of the U.S. Military Academy.

The combat military occupational specialty is not for everyone. Maybe 10 years ago I would have considered it, but I'm happy to be a logistician. More importantly are the opportunities provided for those who wish to serve in those capacities, creating an equal playing field for all Soldiers.

To find outstanding examples of female leadership we at Fort Sill do not have to look very far. This past spring, Pfc. Katherine Beatty earned the title of Distinguished Honor Graduate in her advanced individual training class and became the Army's first female cannon crewmember. Cpl. Erica Gunter, a graduate of the 13M Multiple Launcher Rocket System AIT at Fort Sill, earned her promotion to the rank of noncommissioned officer and became the first female launcher chief in the storied history of the Army Field Artillery Corps.

One of my proudest moments as a Soldier was hearing that I made the battalion command selection list.

There are not many honors greater than being given the opportunity to train and lead American Soldiers into combat. When I first heard that I would be coming to Fort Sill to command the 100th Brigade Support Battalion, I did some research on the unit's history and found that I had some pretty big shoes to fill.

Retired Gen. Ann Dunwoody, whose career highlights include being the first female deputy of Army Materiel Command, Deputy Chief of Staff for the Army G4, Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM) commander, and first female four- star general in the Army, completed her first tour of duty in the battalion that I was to take command of.

After serving as a platoon leader and company commander of the 266th Maintenance Company, 100th Supply and Services Battalion at Fort Sill, Dunwoody's career took off and she became an inspiration to female Soldiers across the military.

While Dunwoody's accomplishments and rank are matched by very few Soldiers across the Army, there are women in our ranks who provide leadership and make positive impacts on the lives of their Soldiers and defend our nation honorably every single day.

I was one of those Soldiers she impacted. I remember standing on the parade field at Fort Bragg, N. C. when Dunwoody assumed command of the 1st Corps Sup-port Command (COSCOM). The feeling as a young lieutenant of seeing a female one-star in charge of the COSCOM made me want to do more and stay in the Army.

Through my career I have embraced the idea that everyone is a Soldier. This brand new second lieutenant learned quickly that not everyone thought that way.

During my first platoon field training exercise, my platoon sergeant came to me stating we were doing a female run back to the rear for showers. Questioning this, I was told, "Well we're females and we have to have showers." My response was "You're a Soldier and we train as such and are not granted special treatments for gender. I do remember being the most hated platoon leader with that mindset."

I have seen the military change over the years with the inclusion of all genders. I could see a difference in working with my military brothers and how, over time, I became just another brother to them. I have been fortunate to have encountered gender bias that impacted my job only once in my career. Once again, I proved myself off abilities and not gender, being a gunner for more than 35 convoys.

In the 96 years since the 19th Amendment was ratified, women have made great strides in every facet of American life, and we have learned that our country succeeds when women succeed. Investing in gender equality and women's empowerment can unlock human potential on a transformational scale.