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Loretta Perfectus Walsh enlisted in the Navy
Loretta Perfectus Walsh became the first American woman to enlist in the Navy and became the first woman allowed to serve in any of the United States Armed Forces as anything other than a nurse -
Loretta Perfectus Walsh is sworn in as Chief Yeoman
Walsh becomes the first woman U.S. Navy petty officer -
Women serve in World Wars in support roles
In WWI and WWII women served in numerous roles such as the Army Nurse Corps, and the Women's Army Corps (WAC). They carried out various roles such as clerical work, mechanical work, photo analysis, and sheet metal working; in some cases they were utilized as test pilots for fighter planes as WASPS -
Women's Armed Services Integration Act
Prior to this act, women, with the exception of nurses, served in the military only in times of war. However, with this act enabled, women could serve as permanent, regular members of the armed forces in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and the newly created Air Force. -
The Navy swore in its first six women enlistees
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First females admitted to a Service Academy
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"Risk Rule" policy applied
The DOD adopted the “Risk Rule” policy that extended women’s combat exclusion to bar their participation in any non-combat unit where the risks of exposure to combat were equal to or greater than the combat units they supported -
Females engage enemy in Operation Desert Storm
Despit attempts to keep them away from direct combat, females consitantly engage and defeat enemy combatents, proving their value to the Armed Forces -
Combat Exclusion Policy of 1994
The Pentagon declared as policy that: "Service members are eligible to be assigned to all positions for which they are qualified, except that women shall be excluded from assignment to units below the brigade level whose primary mission is to engage in direct combat on the ground." -
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Operation Iraqi Freedom consisted of nonlinear battlefield at play in Iraq and Afghanistan. This deviation from traditional warfare have destroyed the distinctions between forward and rear operating areas and the differenece between "combat" zones and "support" zones are now negligible -
US Army opens up many jobs to women
US Army announces that 33,000 positions that were previously closed to women would integrate in the following April -
Women still not fully intergrated into combat roles
Women are still not allowed in the following jobs: Special Tactics Officer, Combat Control, Special Operations Weather Technician, Combat Rescue Officer, Pararescue and Tactical Air Control Party (most of which are combat related). -
2 femles graduate from Army Ranger school
The frist 2 females gradute from Army Ranger School (The Army's Special Operations training). Despite this, these women will still be withheld form combat zones because of their gender