Sadly the history of women in the military is not taught in schools and colleges - women's studies programs ignore the "military-minded" woman - even though many of the battles in antiquity were led by women warriors. A few misconceptions are - either that we have always had women in service - or that they just appeared recently. For your edification here's the official dateline on U.S. military women. Until the 20th Century there was nothing official about women in uniform...they were not recognized until 1901. The women who served in other than nursing capacities in WWI were not considered an integral part of their respective services - even though 30,000 served in the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Nurse Corps.

2 February 1901 - The Army Nurse Corps

13 May 1908 - The Navy Nurse Corps

15 May 1942 - WAAC - Women's Army Auxiliary Corps

30 Juy 1942 - WAVES - Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service

23 Nov 1942 - SPARS - Coast Guard

14 Feb 1943 - Marine Corps Women's Reserve

1 Jul 1943 - WAC - Women's Army Corps

5 Aug 1943 - WASP - with no official status

16 April 1947 - Women's Medical Specialist Corps

12 June 1948 - Women's Armed Services Integration Act Enacted

16 Jun 1948 - WAF - Women in the Air Force

1 Jul 1949 - Air Force Nurse Corps

8 Nov 1967 - Women first became eligible for promotion to Admiral/General

11 Jun 1970 - First Women promoted to Brigadier (one star) General -Anna Mae Hays, Army Nurse Corps and Elizabeth Hoisington, WAC.

1 Jun 1973 - First woman promoted to Major (two star) General -Air Force General Jeanne M. Holm

7 October 1975 - Public Law 94-106 - Admitting Women to the Service Academies

1976-78 - Disestablishment of the WAF, WAC, WAVES, SPARS and Women Marines as separate entities - full integration of women into their respective services.

1 Sep 1979 - First African American female promoted to General - Hazel Johnson-Brown

27 May 1993 - The US Air Force opens all aircraft to women.

15 Feb 1994 - First Air Force woman completes combat pilot training.

5 Mar 1994 - U.S. Navy assigns first women aboard a combat ship - the U.S.S. Eisenhower

17 Jul 1996 - First woman promoted to 3 star rank -Vice Admiral Patricia Tracey

22 Mar 1996 - First woman assigned to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - Army Sgt Heather Johnson

22 Jul 1999 - First woman commanded a Space Shuttle - Col. Eileen Collins, USAF

2000 - The first woman pilot in the Air Force is promoted to Brigadier General and the first Coast Guard women are promoted to flag officer rank - Admiral - and the National Guard names it's first female Major General.

2001: The Army promoted the first woman to Brigadier General in the Judge Advocate General's Corps.

2002 - The Army National Guard promoted an African-American woman to the rank of Brigadier General.

2003 - Military women are performing combat roles on land, at sea and in the air in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan and Operation Iraqui Freedom in Iraq.

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