Title
Recognizing the Service of Women Veterans in the United States of America and the Extraordinary Contributions of the Women Veterans Center.
Body
WHEREAS, Women have been actively serving in the U.S. military since the Revolutionary War, oftentimes disguised as men so they could serve in combat roles. The Women's Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 allowed women to serve permanently in the military, rather than only during times of war; and
WHEREAS, In 1974, women were admitted to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point. In 1976, women were first admitted to the remaining service academies, including U.S. Military Academy in West Point, U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs; and
WHEREAS, The U.S.S. Acadia departed for the Persian Gulf in 1990 with both men and women aboard for the first time ever in wartime. More than 41,000 women were deployed to war zones between 1991 and 1992 during the Persian Gulf War; and
WHEREAS, In 1998 female fighter pilots flew combat missions for the first time ever. Captain Kathleen McGrath became the first woman to command a U.S. Navy warship in 2000. In 2004, Colonel Linda McTague became the first female commander of a fighter squadron in the U.S. Air Force. In 2011, women deployed on a submarine for the first time; and
WHEREAS, Obama Administration Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced in 2013 that the ban on women serving in combat would be lifted. In 2015, during the first year that women were permitted in ground, Captain Kristen Griest and First Lieutenant Shaye Haver became the first two women to graduate from Army Ranger School, shifting the paradigm "If women could meet the standard" to "Now that women have met the standard"; and
WHEREAS, The military, influenced by the performance of women on the front lines since 9/11 and by these first women Ranger School graduates, is setting the stage for women t...
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