The Evolution of Women in the U.S. Army

EDITORIAL
By JIM PURCELL

I was a soldier in the 1980s, considered by many soldiers these days as the 'Paleolithic Era' of the Army. But, it was an incredibly interesting time for women and their varied roles in the Army and that era was the forerunner of the force today.

Women have overcome many obstacles in the Army

   To begin with, women are already in combat every day around the world today, right now. It is no longer a question of if women should go into combat, they are and they are as capable as men in protecting this country and thumping bad guys and gals who are enemies of our republic. Women have graduated from Ranger School, they are now accepted in the Infantry Branch. They are flying combat missions and they are leading throughout the combat arms and combat support. It's their time. It arrived. They arrived.

   When I attended the U.S. Army Airborne School, in 1985, there was a female "Black Hat," or airborne instructor. My understanding was that she was the first female airborne instructor. At the school, I found out that the first female paratrooper graduated from Ft. Benning, Georgia in 1971. But, there were haters.

Women have proved themselves in combat

   I reported to Company A, 319th Military Intelligence Battalion, 525th MI Brigade (ABN) in September, 1986. Women were in leadership positions throughout the battalion, and the brigade for that matter. On the surface, it looked exactly like it was supposed to. Everything was integrated and the unit operated at a high level. At my activity, Counter-Intelligence Analysis, XVIII Airborne Corps (staffed by soldiers from my company), the non-commissioned officer in-charge was a woman as well and roughly half of the office was comprised of women.

   There was a level deeper than salutes and formations, field problems and daily work, though. It was the level where men are congregated together, in whatever ranks, when no women were present. And, it was there that the topics turned to female soldiers' sexuality, their looks, their competence and bodies. Even though the Department of the Army had gone further than it ever had to that point in female integration, under then-Secretary John O. Marsh Jr., many men, in and out of uniform, saw the Army as a man's job and not a woman's. Women had to work twice as hard to get half the credit of a male counterpart.

   Male and female soldiers dated in the unit, throughout the brigade, all over the post actually. As natural as that was, it sometimes relegated female soldiers, in the minds of colleagues, as 'the girlfriend' and not as 'the analyst' or whatever technical specialty she may have had.

   Some female soldiers railed against this perception by presenting themselves in the diametrically opposite way. I remember one female PFC who made it clear to every male soldier that "I'm not a lady, I'm a soldier and you better remember it!" She had a chip a mile wide on her shoulder, and it is understandable about why it was there.

As the force evolves, so does the role of women

   In my experience back then, male homosexual soldiers were heavily closeted. Discovery for them was unthinkable in those days. A soldier had been killed a few years later, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, after soldiers from his infantry platoon found out about his sexual orientation. And, fears for them ran just that deep. For whatever reason, lesbian soldiers were more 'out' with their orientation at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I say 'the fort' as opposed to just 'my unit' because one female soldier I knew made it clear she was with another female soldier in the 82nd, and even brought her to parties.

   There was some drama later on when that soldier's girlfriend left her and became the girlfriend of yet another 82nd Airborne Division soldier from within the unit. The three were at a social occasion once and a fight broke out between the girl's spurned lover and the new girlfriend. Overall, the impression was that the sexual orientation of these women were their own business, unlike the recriminations male soldiers would surely have experienced if they were outed. To my knowledge, no one ever called these ladies onto the carpet. And, with all the stuf they had to put up with, then that was at least one good thing.

   Inevitably, heterosexual girlfriends who were soldiers left boyfriends who were soldiers, usually for other soldiers, and there were fireworks: fights, big scenes, even some stalking here and there. It was part of the cycle of life in an integrated unit. All the time, the women were fighting quietly to be regarded the same as men. Not all female soldiers became involved with other soldiers romantically. Actually, it was a minority of female soldiers I saw.

   Dating is natural between healthy young people, in any walk of life. Some women were 'downgraded' for having a social life, while men were not. Fair? Not hardly. Perhaps that was a barrier that many professional soldiers did not cross because, back then, it would have led to wrong impressions about their competence.

   The 'go to' regulation that was regularly used by the female soldier haters was the disparity of minimum requirements used per the Army Physical Readiness Test. The event consisted of push-ups, sit-ups and a run. Due to their relative upper body strength, females had to perform slightly lower standards. And, that was what haters hung their hats on. It seems ridiculous looking back on it. In fact, it seemed ridiculous then.

   Back then, I did not know any civilian male husbands of female soldiers, though I am confident the lower ranks would have had harsh characterizations for such dependants. For that matter, I feel safe in saying higher ranks would have been negative about this also, though would surely have been publicly silent about such things. The scales were absolutely tipped to male soldiers.

   I never witnessed a female soldier being directly sexually harassed, but I'd heard such things second-hand. Asking female soldiers about abuse directly, as I had on occasion, would usually elicit automatic silence and a quick rebuff. Nevertheless, it happened. And, judging by the talk, it happened quite a lot.

The Army of the '80s had a way to go with total female integration

   In retrospect, what these ladies put up with was unimaginable for me, as a male soldier. Yet, they perservered. They did not stop. Though regulations and oversight got better, and the culture became more truly diverse, females were more accepted as professionals over time. It was not a pretty story about what women had to put up with, but it is one that hallmarks the courage of the female soldier in her ability to overcome adversities from outside the force -- and from within.

   Female military professionals today are doing an amazing job protecting this country, and thank God they have finally been recognized as the assets that they are. However, soldiers of both sexes owe a large debt of gratitude to the service women who came before.                                                                   
(Jim Purcell served in the United States Army in a number of units during the 1980s. After being discharged from the Army as a Sergeant, he went on to become a print newspaper professional. He is currently retired in Western North Carolina with his wife, Lita.)