Full Description
This handbook provides the reader with an historical and contemporary overview of the service by women in all branches of the U.S. military, tracing the causes and effects of evolving policies, issues, structural barriers, and cultural challenges on the record and in the future of the accomplishments by women warriors.
Women in the United States Armed Forces: A Guide to the Issues covers over a century of accomplishments of military women, from the Civil War to the current wars in the Middle East. Readers will learn, for example, that during World War II, 565 women in the Women's Army Corps stationed in the Pacific theater received combat decorations, proving that women had the courage, strength, and stamina to perform in a combat environment. They will also learn that, perhaps surprisingly, it wasn't until the mid- to late 1970s that women had their first opportunities to serve at sea and as aviators (crew as well as pilots), albeit on noncombatant ships and aircraft.
The book's final four chapters discuss the issues that continue to plague women in the military, including sexual harassment, noting that women's performance in America's two-front wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have made a positive difference in attitudes. The handbook closes with an epilogue that is at once a summary of the issues and a call for action.
Contents
Foreword by Vincent W. Patton III, MCPOCG (ret), EdD
Preface
Abbreviations
Chapter 1 Historical Overview through 1990
Chapter 2 Rescinding the Combat Exclusion Laws
Chapter 3 Citizenship Rights, Responsibilities, and Women in Ground Combat
Chapter 4 Women Are Heroes, Too
Chapter 5 Gender, Sexuality, and Harassment
Chapter 6 Balancing Life in the Military
Epilogue
Appendix I: Important Policy Decisions, Court Cases, and Legislation for Military Women
Appendix II: The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ): Articles Relating to Sexual Harassment
Appendix III: Ships Named for Women
Appendix IV: General and Flag Officer Firsts
Chronology
Annotated Bibliography
Index
