Women in the Military

Women have been involved in the military since 1775 but during the earlier years they were more involved in civilian duties such as nursing, laundering, and fixing clothes.  Since then women have come along way in terms of the military, but there has still been a double standard when it comes to men and women in the military.

In 1917, Loretta Walsh was the first woman to enlist in the military. World War I and World War II were when women began to get more involved in the military.  In World War I, many of these women were still just serving as nurses, but some were serving in the Navy.  World War II was when women’s military careers took off even more.  My own nana served in the Army during World War II.  More than 150,000 women were serving in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC).  Women were being sent all over the world and working in all branches of the military but they still did not have the same rights as men.  It took until 1948 for a law to be passed to make women a permanent part of military services  and the Regular and Reserve forces in Army,Navy, Marines, and also  the newly created Air Force. The women that were in the Reserves were able to serve in Korea and Vietnam.  It took until 1976 for women to be granted access to service academies such West Point. Women were able to serve but it took them many years until they were able to attend these prestigious military schools.  It has taken until 2013 for women to be allowed the same combat arms.  Women are even being asked to partake in special training options now.  This year, 33,000 positions that were previously not available for women are now opening up to them and will hopefully be filled by women by April 2014.  There may even be Army Ranger training for women by the end of 2016.  The fact that this is not already for women is disgraceful.  If women want to defend their country, they should be able to do so in the same way that men are able to.  By the end of 2016, the military hopes that women will be...