Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services

Formation

The 1948 Women's Armed Services Integration Act established defined roles for women in the peacetime armed forces of the United States. They had previously only been allowed to serve as nurses in peacetime and in wider variety of roles only in time of war.

The Committee with 49 women members was formed in August 1951. One of its original members was actress Irene Dunne. The Committee was tasked with making recommendation to the Assistant Secretary for Manpower. Meeting for three days at the Pentagon in September 1951, they heard presentations about recruiting and the possible need for a women's draft based on the failure of recruiting during World War II to meet the military services' requirements for women.

Personnel

In October 1955, Margaret Divver, advertising manager of the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, was named to head the Committee, replacing Oliver Crowther. The Committee was exploring ways to interest better qualified women in military careers and explaining the increasing variety of positions available to them.

In October 1971, Estelle M. Stacy was appointed to serve as chair for the calendar year 1972, replacing Helen K. Leslie.

History

1968

that the policy of establishing a system of appointment and promotion credit list allowances for advanced graduate degrees, professional education beyond the professional training requirement, or beyond the four-year college program, as well as any related experience in determining the rank and promotion dates (Professional Education Date) of directly commissioned officers in any of the Medical or Health components of the Services. It is further recommended that all Services seek to develop and adopt this policy as a valuable adjunct to recruitment and retention of qualified health professionals.

that legislation be established to the effect that a married military woman, regardless of grade, can establish a joint domicile with her husband and shall receive Basic Allowance for Quarters (BAQ) in her own right. In the event the husband is also a member of the Military Services, he shall also receive BAQ in his own right.

that civilian husbands of military women be authorized access to and use of exchange and commissary facilities.

1973

that the Department of Defense prepare a legislative proposal to amend section 3579, Title 10, U.S. Code to provide the opportunity for officers of the Army Nurse Corps and the Army Medical Specialist Corps to exercise command within the Army Medical Department. Further, that similar statutory provisions relative to other military medical departments be reviewed for the purpose of similar modifications. (This recommendation was not implemented until 1998.)

1974

that, in view of the limited number of women physicians and dentists in the Service, increased efforts be made to inform women in schools and private practice of the opportunities available in military medicine.

1975

that the Department of Defense develop, and the Services implement, a sex education program including birth control and venereal disease prevention for all officer and enlisted personnel. As a minimum, the training should be given to all incoming personnel during initial entry training.

1978

that the U. S. Navy and The U. S. Marine Corps open their Limited Duty Officer commissioning program to women

that DoD's General Counsel make a priority inquiry into the propriety of the Congress of the United States prohibiting any specific or particular medical procedures in military hospitals

1979

that the minimum standards for eligibility for admission to the Services should be the same for women as for men, except legitimate physical differences.

that insofar as permitted by existing statutes, the Secretary of the Navy provide identical standards, including time in grade, for promotions of men and women in the Marine Corps Fall 1979

That DoD and DoT that they support the concept that women and men shall be treated in the same way whatever legislative or policy decisions are made concerning the draft, national services or registration for either. (At the time, the United States Coast Guard was an element of the Department of Transportation.)

1980

that the President of the United States give priority to the consideration of the appointment of women as judges of the United States Court of Military Appeals

1982

that the Services take whatever management initiatives are necessary to ensure that lost time in delivery of medical care is reduced, particularly by giving the active duty women members priority of treatment in obstetrics and gynecology.

1983

After a November 1982 recommendation that 23 additional job categories be closed to women, increasing the number to 60 of 360 categories, the Committee's chair, Mary Huey of Texas Women's University, sought assurance from Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger that women's promotion would not suffer from these exclusions, and Weinberger did so.

that a form letter signed by the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel be placed in the Official Military Personnel File of those female enlisted service members reclassified as a result of Direct Combat Probability Coding (DCPC), stating that reclassification was directed by Department of the Army as a result of the Women In The Army Study and that the service member should not be penalized as a result of action taken by Headquarters Department of the Army and that Letters of Instruction to promotion boards address this issue.

that the Services provide information to prospective applicants, prior to enlistment or commissioning, about limitations in particular specialties which exist as a result of combat exclusion laws or policy restrictions.

1984

that the Office of the Secretary of Defense reiterate, through the publication of a formal policy statement to commanders and field personnel at all levels, the requirement that women be fully utilized in their assigned operational units

that the Services adopt a policy of providing professional assistance for rape victims. When in the absence of military or nearby civilian Community Rape Crisis Centers, victims upon consent should be immediately evacuated to the closest available qualified facility.

that commanders be made aware that military women with alcohol abuse problems must be identified as early as their male counterparts

that the Marine Corps provided a rationale for the exclusion of women Marine from duty as Marine Security Guards and that the Marine Corps re-examine this policy.

1988

that all Services grant 6 weeks post-partum non-chargeable leave

that the Department of Defense and the Services remove the requirement that members characterize the legitimacy of their dependent children from DoD and Service forms for quarters allowances, dependent identification cards, dependency support statements, records of emergency data, Servicemen's Group Life Insurance, etc.

1989

that DoD expand existing leadership training to include dealing with unfounded accusations of homosexuality against Service members.

that the Army conduct a 4-year test program under which women in the Army will be allowed to enter all military occupational specialties (including combat and combat support). (This recommendation has not been implemented as of 2005.

1991

that the Secretary of the Navy review aspects of the Marine Corps which continues to hinder full assimilation of women, such as: syllabus differences in Basic Warrior Training/Marine Combat Training (BWT/MCT) programs at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, accepted nomenclature of "Women Marines ("WM") as opposed to other Services which have discontinued use of gender specific labels, limited numbers of female instructors for male recruit training, and failure to eradicate the marketing slogan that characterizes Marines as "a few good men."

1992

the Secretary of Defense establish a gender neutral assignment policy in military aviation for all Services Spring 1992

that the Army open to the Army Nurse Corps and other AMEDD officers' opportunities for career-enhancing assignments, including command of medical facilities and units involved in delivery of health care.

1993

that the Chief of Staff of the Army fully integrate women into all Army ceremonial units, and, in particular, in the Military District of Washington, to include the Tomb of the Unknowns, the Continental Color Guard, and the U. S. Army Drill Team

that the Army provide women soldiers with the opportunity to enter unfilled Pathfinder training seats on the same basis as men

the Coast Guard adopt treatment guidelines for eating disorders similar to those used by the other Services Fall 1993

1996

that the Secretary of the Navy open to women all classes of ships and vessels and their associated billets that remain closed because of cost considerations (although they are legally open after the repeal of the Combat Exclusion law).

1998

In 1998 the Committee, then composed of 18 women and two men and chaired by Judith A. Youngman, an associate professor of political science at the Coast Guard Academy, and reporting directly to the Secretary of Defense, recommended increased integration of men and women during basic training after finding that "most service members from every service believed that more gender integration of training was needed than currently existed". It contradicted a late 1997 report of a committee headed by Senator Nancy Kassebaum Baker of Kansas, formed in response to reports of sexual harassment during training, that advocated the opposite.

1999

in the strongest possible terms that the Secretary of Defense open current and future Special Operations Forces (SOF) rotary wing aviation to the assignment of women

that plans for future submarine platforms incorporate appropriate berthing and privacy arrangements to accommodate mixed gender crews

2000

with regard to women's health needs during deployment, that the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Services collaborate to ascertain what information on prevention and treatment of gynecological infections is available; perform a gap analysis to see what information is lacking; develop additional educational materials as needed; and disseminate that information to Service members, leaders and healthcare personnel and ensure an adequate supply of hygiene products during deployment.

2001

In 2001, there were reports that the Bush administration was considering eliminating the Committee, along with a number of similar advisory groups devoted to women's concerns, and complaints that new appointments were being delayed.