Women and ‘Appropriate’ Combat Standards

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First Female Carrier CO in History?...

Could This Be the First Female Carrier CO in History?
9 Mar 2018 - Don't forget this name: Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt. Bauernschmidt made history in 2016 when she became the first female executive officer of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier.

Now, many think she may become the first woman to command a U.S. aircraft carrier. Bauernschmidt is currently the XO of the USS Abraham Lincoln. In 1994, as she was about to choose her career path and graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy, the rules changed. Congress lifted the ban on women serving on combat ships and aircraft. Doors previously closed to her as a woman in the Navy were now open. "For the United States Navy, what it did was open up our ability to go on warships in areas of conflict," Bauernschmidt said in an interview with a local Fox TV affiliate in her hometown of Milwaukee. "Up until that point, [in] all the previous classes that graduated, women did not have that opportunity."

She chose the aviation route, flew helicopters, and did several tours on both coasts and overseas. She also served as an instructor and as a liaison to the State Department on global women's issues. After completing the Navy's Nuclear Power School in Goose Creek, South Carolina, she was chosen as the first female XO to serve on a carrier.

Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, executive officer of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) speaks during the Women's History Month observance on the ship's mess deck.​

Asked about her role in history for a Navy news story, Bauernschmidt referenced her mother as a pivotal part of her success when she said, "I take it all back to something I learned very early on from a very important woman in my life. Never pass up an opportunity."

Bauernschmidt may be on her way to becoming the first female carrier commanding officer, but first she'll leave the USS Lincoln for her next job, as CO of the USS Anchorage, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship. Following that tour, she will be screened for another command and, if things work out, she could get the nod to be a carrier CO.

Could This Be the First Female Carrier CO in History?

 

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Uncle Ferd's g/f protects him from bullies (Run, Ferd, Run!)...

Women Should Be Recognized as Natural Protectors: Air Force Secretary
20 Mar`18 - Women in the military should be recognized for their inherent roles as "protectors" to boost their advancement in the ranks and enhance their recruitment and retention, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said Tuesday.

"If I asked everyone in this room to think, just close your eyes for a second and think about the most protective person you know in your life, someone who would do anything to keep you safe -- half the people in this room are thinking about their moms," she said. "We are the protectors," Wilson said in making the case for valuing women's contribution to the military's mission. "That's what the military does. We serve to protect the rest of you, and that's a very natural place for a woman to be," she said in testimony with the two other service secretaries at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the budget. Wilson’s comments were similar to those made January during a speech at the Bipartisan Policy Center, where she gave a keynote address about future service members.

Wilson, who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1982 in the third class to accept women, was responding to questions from Rep. Susan Davis, D-California, on her concerns about the recruitment and retention of women in the military. "More women than men, as we know, leave the military at various career points, so concerns persist that this attrition will result in a disproportionate impact to mission readiness if left unresolved," Davis said. Wilson said there is a perception problem that has to be addressed in the way the military appeals to young women. "We're, I think, trying to change a little bit the way we talk and think about who the protectors are in this country, because I think sometimes the way in which we talk about the services may appeal more to boys than to girls," she said. "And that's important, the way we talk about these things."

Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson speaks about innovation during the Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium, Orlando, Fla.​

Wilson's comments were enthusiastically endorsed by other members of the committee. Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, an Army veteran, noted the hush in the room as Wilson spoke: "Your words are reverberating here," he said. Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Mississippi, an Iraq veteran and a brigadier general in the Army National Guard, said Wilson may have been off in her estimate that half the people in the committee room think of women as protectors. "I think it was well said, but I think the numbers were too low," Kelly said. He said 90 percent would see women as protectors. Wilson said the Air Force is looking at ways to allow service members to leave the military to start a family or pursue a degree and return without having their careers sidelined.

Army Secretary Mark Esper and Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer, who also testified, said they are pursuing similar opportunities for their services. "Going forward, rest assured the Navy is really looking at this," Spencer said. "It's game on because all three of us fish from the same [recruitment] pool, and that pool is getting smaller and smaller both by qualification and by demographic size. "We are going to be competing with the private sector," he said. "As the economy increases, we're going to see more competition there. We're going to use every single tool available to us." Esper noted that all military occupational specialties, including combat billets, were opened to women in 2016. "They are doing very well," he said. "I've had the chance to visit with them, the units [women are] in in both at the National Training Center and at Fort Bragg," Esper said, "and at this point, under the Leaders First policy, we have dozens of leaders in these battalion-size units. So a lot of expansion happening there."

Women Should Be Recognized as Natural Protectors: Air Force Secretary

See also:

Air Force Secretary: Military Is 'Very Natural Place for a Woman To Be'
March 20, 2018 | - The U.S. Air Force has a higher percentage of women than any of the other military branches, and more women are entering the U.S. Air Force Academy, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said on Tuesday.

Wilson told the House Armed Services Committee said the Air Force is trying to change the way people talk and think about the nation's "protectors."

Because I think sometimes the way in which we talk about the services may appeal more to boys than to girls. And that's important, the way we talk about these things.

You know, if I asked everyone in this room to think -- just close your eyes for a second and think about the most protective person you know in your life -- someone who would do anything to keep you safe -- half the people in this room are thinking about their moms. We are the protectors.

That's what the military does. We serve to protect the rest of you. And that's a very natural place for a woman to be.

Air Force Secretary: Military Is 'Very Natural Place for a Woman To Be'

 

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First All-Female C-130 Crew to Fly in Combat...

First All-Female C-130 Crew to Fly in Combat Looks Back on Mission
6 Apr 2018 - A C-130 Hercules aircrew transported 151 Marines and equipment in and out of Iraq on Sept. 26, 2005.

It was a normal, everyday operation for the crew, hauling cargo to airfields in the Middle East. But it marked the first time an all-female crew would take on the mission. "Frankly, we were disappointed that it was 2005 before an all-female C-130 crew flew in combat," Lt. Col. Carol Mitchell, 310th Airlift Squadron commander, said in a news release. Mitchell was a captain and the aircraft commander during that flight, according to a recent Air Force release that coincided with Women's History Month in March. "We were just doing our everyday jobs, so there was nothing unusual about that day for us," she said, reflecting on the historic flight under the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing. She added, "We didn't want an all-female crew to be unusual; we wanted it to be normal. Unfortunately, it is not normal yet. In order to get there, we have to stand out to show the rest of the world what we are capable of."

The crew included Mitchell; 1st Lt. Siobhan Couturier, pilot; Capt. Anita T. Mack, navigator; Staff Sgt. Josie E. Harshe, flight engineer; and loadmasters Tech. Sgt. Sigrid M. Carrero-Perez and Senior Airman Ci Ci Alonz. All were from the 43rd Airlift Wing at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina. Some of their perspectives have evolved. Back in 2005, Mitchell felt that women shouldn't necessarily be singled out for doing their jobs just because of their gender. "I enjoyed flying with this crew, but I don't think we should go out of our way to have all-female crews," she said then. "It took a long time for women to become accepted as aircrew members and, now that we are, we would be taking a step back by singling ourselves out rather than blending in with the rest of the Air Force."

From left to right, Staff Sgt. Josie E. Harshe, flight engineer; Capt. Anita T. Mack, navigator; 1st Lt. Siobhan Couturier, pilot; Capt. Carol J. Mitchell, aircraft commander; and loadmasters Tech. Sgt. Sigrid M. Carrero-Perez and Senior Airman Ci Ci Alonzo, pause in the cargo bay of their C-130 for a group photo following their historic flight.​

The message resonates 13 years later: Don't treat us differently because we're women. "I was happy to be doing our primary mission: delivering beans and bullets on time and on target," said Mack, now a lieutenant colonel and Air Mobility Command deputy division chief. "We get to have a direct impact on the folks in the field, bringing them the supplies needed to do their job and then flying them back to go home. There is a real sense of responsibility to do the best job you can do when people are depending on you," she said in the release. The crew would also fly to Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa during their deployment. Mack said performance and value are the real milestones for her career, regardless of her gender. "While it was special to be a member of this crew, I want to emphasize I have always focused on being a great navigator and officer first, rather than a woman in the Air Force," she said.

Duff, nee Harshe, now a registered nurse with 96th Medical Group at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, was the flight engineer at the time. She looks forward to the day a female crew becomes the norm, hopefully in the near future. "If we want women serving in the military to be treated equally and for gender not to be an issue, then we should not put our gender in the spotlight and make it something 'special,' " she said. As the Air Force continues its breaking barriers initiative, Mitchell said the service as a whole should recognize women as a crucial part of the conversation. "We need to do a better job of educating society and our youth so they understand that there are no longer obstacles preventing girls from doing whatever they decide to do, even if that's being an Air Force pilot," she said. "Brave, pioneering women painstakingly removed those obstacles for us, and we need to take advantage of the opportunities they have provided," Mitchell said.

First All-Female C-130 Crew to Fly in Combat Looks Back on Mission

 

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Body Armor Fitted for Women...

Dunford Pushes Services to Move Faster on Body Armor Fitted for Women
14 May 2018 - The services have to speed up the process of getting body armor fitted for female troops into the field, Dunford said.

The services have to speed up the process of getting body armor fitted for female troops into the field, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford said. "We knew it would take some time" to deliver specially fitted body armor, particularly in smaller sizes, to accommodate women once then-Defense Secretary Ashton Carter opened up all combat billets to women in 2016, Dunford told the Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee last week. "We knew in 2016 that the standard equipment -- particularly as women began to occupy fields where they hadn't historically been and they were wearing combat armor, packs, those kinds of things [that] had been built for the average male and not the average female -- that we would have to adjust that," he explained.

Dunford said each of the services is working to make changes in the standard sizes of body armor. "It is taking some time, but I can assure you they are all attentive to it," he said in response to questions from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. "We've seen the integration of women into the front lines," Murkowski said, but "equipment requirements for women are lagging. Currently, only the Army has women-specific body armor, but quantities are so low that I understand it's only issued to women who are deploying and not during any initial entry or unit training."

U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class Cheryl Rogers grins as 2nd Lt. Chelsea Adams helps her into the new Generation III Female Improved Outer Tactical Vest at Fort Stewart, Ga.​

The initial efforts in 2016 to come up with better fitting body armor, and also lighten the equipment load, were led by then-Lt. Gen. Michael Williamson, now retired, who was military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology. "We've added eight additional sizes, based on a better understanding of the stature" of soldiers, both male and female, Williamson told a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee in March 2016. "It's not just being smaller, it's proportions" when it comes to women soldiers, he said. "That's why there are so many additional sizes. Anybody who has worn a piece of body armor knows it's inconvenient enough without being able to appropriately size it." "We approach the soldier protection system from the level that we always want to find ways to improve its capability but also lighten the load -- whether you are talking about the protective vest or you are talking about the helmet," Williamson said.

He said the weight problem is gender neutral. "It has nothing to do with whether you are a male or female. We can't burden our soldiers with more weight." The military recently also began addressing an additional problem for women troops: accommodating protective equipment for longer hair. As reported by Military.com, recent presentations by the Army and the Marine Corps for the Pentagon's Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services included changes to ensure gear fits correctly for women with hair buns. At a presentation in March, Army Lt. Col. Ginger L. Whitehead, product manager for Soldier Protective Equipment, showed a new version of the Female Improved Outer Tactical Vest, or FIOTV, that includes a yoke-and-collar assembly that dips in the back to accommodate a hair bun, along with other fit improvements to offer better ballistic protection for women.

Dunford Pushes Services to Move Faster on Body Armor Fitted for Women