Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) and Claire McCaskill (MO) have become the faces and voices of outrage and action over the crisis of sexual assault in the military. The reason why two civilian female senators who never wore a uniform have done so is because, as members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, they had to. […]
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, upon the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s unanimous recommendation, last week signed the repeal of the combat exclusion policy of 1994, opening more than 200,000 military jobs to women. This was a military decision endorsed by politicians about military readiness, strategic decision-making, and national security. More than a year ago, the Army […]
During World War II 6% of Americans served in uniform. The war effort was ever-present in the daily lives of the remaining 94% of Americans. The nation as a whole shared in the sacrifices of the war — men entered the military, women worked in the factories, and all people rationed gas and food. Two […]
The United States has been engaged in combat in Afghanistan longer than in any previous war. As a Nation at war for more than nine years, women are serving in new roles and in larger numbers than previous battles. More than 220,000 women have been deployed, nearly 12 percent of the force. Similar to their […]
This is the 21st installment in the Honored Role Series. Not one to rest idly, less than six months after retiring from the Army, Colonel Debra Lewis is taking action on another mission. This one, accompanied by Lt. Col. (ret.) Doug Adams, her spouse, is a 16,000-mile yearlong cycling tour of the United States to […]
There is a cartoon that circulates annually this time of year. With a picture of a young boy at the table and hands in prayer position and a set of dog tags in the opposite corner, the cloud reads, “Thanksgiving is a day we take pause to give thanks for the things that we have. […]
This is the first installment in the weekly Honored Role Series. Odessa Maxwell is the story of a soldier turned poet. A study of complexities and contrasts, Odessa Maxwell describes herself as an unusual woman. Born in Germany to a Japanese mother and African-American father, Odessa grew up in the south. The family settled in […]