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"As more women enter the military — and increasingly take positions closer to combat — female veterans say perceptions of women in the armed forces are slowly shifting in a culture that for centuries has been geared toward men.
There are about 1.7 million female veterans living today. They have served in both peacetime and every war since World War II, but for most, military life did not include picking up a weapon.
Dorothy Wolfe, of St. Louisville, Ohio, was a Marine in the late 1950s and later went on to serve in the Ohio Air National Guard. She remembers her Marine boot camp as a time “when we watched a lot of films on how to wear make-up.”
“The women Marines had their own song, and the words went, ‘We serve that men may fight to keep our country great,’” Wolfe said. “We were there to support the men.”
Times are changing. Current Defense Department mandates exempt female soldiers from direct combat units such as infantry and armor, and from smaller support units “co-located,” or attached, to combat units, but over the past five years, the rules have loosened somewhat to allow women to serve in co-located units as long as they are not carrying out a mission."
Roles for women changing, female vets say - Air Force News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports - Air Force Times
There are about 1.7 million female veterans living today. They have served in both peacetime and every war since World War II, but for most, military life did not include picking up a weapon.
Dorothy Wolfe, of St. Louisville, Ohio, was a Marine in the late 1950s and later went on to serve in the Ohio Air National Guard. She remembers her Marine boot camp as a time “when we watched a lot of films on how to wear make-up.”
“The women Marines had their own song, and the words went, ‘We serve that men may fight to keep our country great,’” Wolfe said. “We were there to support the men.”
Times are changing. Current Defense Department mandates exempt female soldiers from direct combat units such as infantry and armor, and from smaller support units “co-located,” or attached, to combat units, but over the past five years, the rules have loosened somewhat to allow women to serve in co-located units as long as they are not carrying out a mission."
Roles for women changing, female vets say - Air Force News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports - Air Force Times