Women of Honor

As early as 2015, the Army will allow women to train and serve as Rangers – a historical first. Qualified women may also begin training as Navy SEALs.

New plans call for one common standard for each job.

Finally, says Personnel Staff Noncomissioned Officer (PSNCO) Susan Guta, “doors to serve in the Army’s Combat Arms Branches [previously] closed to women, have been broken down to give us the opportunity to serve in highly competitive and historically male dominated assignments.”

For years, women have been fighting alongside men – except without decorated titles and the recognition that comes along with it.

According to Pentagon figures, women accounted for nearly 15 percent of the active duty force in 2011.

Despite the previous official ban on combat, women stationed in conflict regions often found themselves engaged in firefights. In fact, women accounted for almost 67 of the 3,500 Americans lost in hostile fire in Iraq.

“The women in the military are just as needed as men are, and [now] they really get to show what they can do,” Private First Class, Hannah Won tells PINK.

“When I look at the military,” adds Won, “I do not see men or women. I see a group of people willing to do one thing together: to serve and protect our nation.”

Bonus PINK Link: Women in combat, why it’s about time.

What are you celebrating this Fourth of July?

By Amber Paige Lee

“You do not have to be superhuman to do what you believe in.” Debbi Fields