Editing United States Armed Forces (section)

===Women in the armed forces===
[[File:Beyond Firsts - Powering the Future Force 230306-D-KY598-1076.jpg|thumb|The existing four-star women in the United States Armed Forces in March 2023 during [[Women's History Month]]. From left to right: Admiral [[Linda L. Fagan]], General [[Jacqueline Van Ovost]], General [[Laura J. Richardson]] and Admiral [[Lisa Franchetti]]]]

[[File:Defense.gov News Photo 100806-M-0301S-111 - U.S. Marine Cpl. Mary E. Walls right an ammunition technician and linguist Sahar both with a female engagement team patrol with 1st Battalion.jpg|thumb|Two female Marines of the [[2nd Marine Regiment]] patrolling in Afghanistan in 2010]]

Women such as [[Deborah Sampson]] disguised themselves as men to join the military during the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. Some historians estimate that as many as 400 women disguised themselves as men to enlist during the Civil War. The first woman doctor in the Army, [[Mary Edwards Walker]], was commissioned in 1864. In 1901, the [[United States Army Nurse Corps]] was established as a quasi-military auxiliary, followed by the [[United States Navy Nurse Corps]] in 1908.<ref name=holm>{{cite book|last=Holm | first=Jeanne | title=Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution | publisher=Presidio Press | year=1982 | isbn=0891414509}}</ref>{{rp|pp=4–9}}

Women were not accepted in the armed forces outside of medical roles until World War I, when they were allowed to enlist to perform clerical roles. Women were accepted into the Naval Reserve Force in 1917, and the Marine Corps Reserves and Coast Guard in 1918.{{r|holm|pp=9-10}} The War Department forbid Army and National Guard posts from employing any women except as nurses,{{r|holm|p=13}}  but the need for telephone operators overseas during World War I became urgent and hundreds of "[[Hello Girls]]" were recruited. These members of the Army Signal Corps wore military uniforms and took the Army oath, but were classified as civilian employees until 1977 when their military service was officially recognized.<ref name="hoffman">{{cite book | last=Hoffman | first=Elizabeth | author-link=Elizabeth Cobbs | title=The Hello Girls : America's first women soldiers | publisher=Harvard University Press | publication-place=Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-674-97147-9 | oclc=959649181 |pages=69–73; 289–301}}</ref>

After the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918]] was signed, enlisted women were demobilized and the nurse corps returned to peacetime strength. The Naval Reserve Act of 1916, which authorized the Navy to enlist "citizens", was changed in 1925 to specify "male citizens".{{r|holm|pp=16-17}}

During World War II, all branches of the U.S. military enlisted women. The [[Women's Army Corps|Woman's Army Auxiliary Corps]] (WAAC) was established by the Army in 1942 with auxiliary status, and converted to the [[Women's Army Corps]] (WAC) in June, 1943.{{efn|WAAC members lacked military status and legal protections; they did not receive the same pay or entitlements as male counterparts, and they had no military rank.}}{{r|holm|pp=24-25}} Also formed during this time were the Women's Airforce Service Pilots ([[Women Airforce Service Pilots|WASP]]s), the Navy's Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services ([[WAVES]]), the Marine Corps Women's Reserve, and the Coast Guard Women's Reserve ([[SPARS]]).<ref name=desimone>{{cite web |last=DeSimone |first=Danielle |date=1 March 2022 |title=Over 200 Years of Service: The History of Women in the U.S. Military |url=https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military |access-date=7 March 2022 |website=USO}}</ref>

Women experienced combat as nurses in the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] on 7 December 1941, before the U.S. officially entered the war. In 1944, WACs arrived in the Pacific and in Normandy. During the war, 67 Army nurses and 16 [[United States Navy Nurse Corps|Navy nurses]] were captured and spent three years as Japanese prisoners of war. There were 350,000 American women who served during World War II, and 432 were killed in the line of service.{{r|desimone}} In total, they gained over 1,500 medals, citations, and commendations.

After World War II, demobilization led to the vast majority of serving women being returned to civilian life. By 1946, the Coast Guard had demobilized all of its women members, while the other branches retained some.{{r|holm|p=105}} Law 625, [[Women's Armed Services Integration Act|The Women's Armed Services Act]] of 1948, was signed by President [[Harry S. Truman]], allowing women to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces in fully integrated units during peace time, albeit with limits that did not apply to men.{{efn|The proportion of women in each service was limited to 2 percent, and additional limits were placed on commissioned ranks, age of enlistment, and designation of their family members as dependents.{{r|holm|p=120}}}} The intent of Congress was that women should be noncombatants only, but because of the difficulty in defining restrictions for the Army in the law, it was left up to the [[Organizational structure of the United States Department of Defense#Military Departments|service secretaries]] to comply with that intent, although the law did prohibit women from serving aboard ships and on aircraft that engaged in combat missions.{{r|holm|pp=118-120}} The Army retained a separate corps for women (WAC), while the other services integrated women into their organizational structure.{{r|holm|p=121}} In 1951, Executive Order 10240 was issued, authorizing the services to discharge women who became pregnant or had minor children in the home (including stepchildren, foster children, and siblings).{{r|holm|p=125}}

During the [[Korean War]] of 1950–1953, many women served in the [[Mobile Army Surgical Hospital]]s. A recruiting project started in 1951 aimed to increase the number of women in the military from 40,000 to 112,000 by July 1952, but it only achieved 46,000. Some of the reasons were the lack of public support for involvement in Korea; public disapproval of women in the military; fewer women in the right age group due to the low birthrate during the Depression; and the higher standards required for women enlistees.{{r|holm|pp=149-155}}{{efn|Women recruits had to meet higher educational, mental, and physical standards than men. In addition, they had to pass a psychiatric examination as well as "an investigation of the records of local police, mental hospitals, schools, former employers, and personal references".{{r|holm|pp=154-155}}}}

In the 1960s, recruiting and training focused on the attractiveness and femininity of women enlistees. Outside of the medical fields, women were mostly assigned to clerical, administrative, and protocol-related jobs. Women who were previously in technical positions were retrained for the few jobs now permitted for women. Of the 61 non-combat occupational groups, only 36 were open to women by 1965.{{r|holm|pp=180-184}} Beginning in 1965, efforts to increase the number of women in the armed forces accompanied concern about the expiration of the Selective Service Act and reduction in enlistment standards to ensure sufficient troops to support the Vietnam War. Public Law 90-130, signed on 8 November 1967, removed the restrictions on female officers in the armed forces and in 1970, two women Army officers were promoted to brigadier general.{{r|holm|pp=187-203}}

During the [[Vietnam War]], 600 women served in the country as part of the Air Force, along with 500 members of the WAC and over 6,000 medical personnel and support staff.{{r|holm|pp=205-228}}

The end of conscription in the early 1970s was a major driver of the expansion of the roles of women in the armed forces. The number of enlisted and commissioned women in the military hit 110,000 by June 1977.{{r|holm|pp=246-250}} The [[United States Army Ordnance Corps|Army Ordnance Corps]] began accepting female missile technicians in 1974.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/women_chron/chron1970s.html |title=The Women of Redstone Arsenal |publisher=United States Army |access-date=6 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620074416/http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/women_chron/chron1970s.html |archive-date=20 June 2008}}</ref> Female crewmembers and officers were accepted into [[Field Artillery Branch (United States)|Field Artillery]] missile units.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Busse |first=Charlane |date=July 1978 |title=First women join Pershing training |journal=[[Field Artillery (magazine)|Field Artillery Journal]] |publisher=[[United States Army Field Artillery School]] |page=40 |url=https://sill-www.army.mil/famag/1978/JUL_AUG_1978/JUL_AUG_1978_PAGES_40_43.pdf |access-date=5 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518064322/http://sill-www.army.mil/FAMAG/1978/JUL_AUG_1978/JUL_AUG_1978_PAGES_40_43.pdf |archive-date=18 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=November 1978 |title=The Journal interviews: 1LT Elizabeth A. Tourville |journal=Field Artillery Journal |publisher=United States Army Field Artillery School |pages=40–43 |url=https://sill-www.army.mil/FAMAG/1978/JUL_AUG_1978/JUL_AUG_1978_PAGES_40_43.pdf |access-date=5 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518064322/http://sill-www.army.mil/FAMAG/1978/JUL_AUG_1978/JUL_AUG_1978_PAGES_40_43.pdf |archive-date=18 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> The services opened up their [[Reserve Officers' Training Corps]] (ROTC) programs to women, and in 1976, women were admitted to the service academies.{{r|holm|pp=268-270}}

In 1974, the first six female naval aviators earned their wings as Navy pilots. The [[Combat Exclusion Policy]] that prohibited women in combat placed limitations on the pilots' advancement,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19840823&id=kdgTAAAAIBAJ&pg=6981,4703933|title=Ocala Star-Banner – Google News Archive Search|website=News.google.com|access-date=18 October 2017}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> but at least two retired as captains.<ref>{{cite magazine |editor=E. Blake Towler |date=May–June 1996 |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/nan/backissues/1990s/1997/mj97/ppp.pdf |title=PEOPLE • PLANES • PLACES |magazine=Naval Aviation News |pages=40–44 |access-date=23 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025062715/http://www.history.navy.mil/nan/backissues/1990s/1997/mj97/ppp.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2012}}</ref>

The role of women in the U.S. Armed Forces received global media attention during the 1991 [[Gulf War]], though their perception in media was skewed during this time period as little media attention was given to the situations where women faced combat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvetsds.html|title=American Women in Uniform, Desert Storm|website=Userpages.aug.com|access-date=17 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011214115/http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvetsds.html|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Women in the U.S. Navy: Historic Documents — Women in U.S. Military during Desert Shield/Desert Storm |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/diversity/women-in-the-navy/during-desert-shield-desert-storm.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205075557/http://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/diversity/women-in-the-navy/during-desert-shield-desert-storm.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 February 2015 |access-date=2024-06-30 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1991, women were permitted to fly military aircraft. Since 1994, women have been permitted to serve on U.S. combat ships.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Twenty-five Years of Women Aboard Combat Vessels |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/browse-by-topic/diversity/women-in-the-navy/women-in-combat.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531145412/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/browse-by-topic/diversity/women-in-the-navy/women-in-combat.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 May 2019 |access-date=2022-12-23 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command }}</ref> In 2010, the ban on women serving on submarines was lifted.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/29/us-navy-submarines-women|title=US Navy Lifts Ban on Women Submariners|date=29 April 2010|newspaper=The Guardian|agency=Associated Press|issn=0261-3077|access-date=23 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223141252/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/29/us-navy-submarines-women|archive-date=23 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:US Female F-16 Fighter Pilot Capt Brittany Trimble steps from her jet prior to VIGILANT ACE 18 at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea-4004018.jpg|thumb|A female U.S. Air Force fighter pilot at [[Osan Air Base]] in South Korea in 2017]]

On 3 December 2015, U.S. defense secretary Ashton Carter announced that all military combat positions would become available to women.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/12/03/carter-telling-military-open-all-combat-jobs-women.html|title = Carter Telling Military to Open all Combat Jobs to Women|access-date = 5 December 2015|website = Military.com|agency = Associated Press|last = Baldor|first = Lolita|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151205183958/http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/12/03/carter-telling-military-open-all-combat-jobs-women.html|archive-date = 5 December 2015|url-status = live}}</ref> This gave women access to the roughly 10% of military jobs which were previously closed to them.<ref>{{cite news|date=3 December 2015|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/12/03/pentagon-chief-to-announce-how-womens-roles-in-the-military-will-expand/|access-date=8 December 2015|title=In historic decision, Pentagon chief opens all jobs in combat units to women|last=Lamothe|first=Dan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208030421/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/12/03/pentagon-chief-to-announce-how-womens-roles-in-the-military-will-expand/|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web|url = http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/12/03/carter-telling-military-open-all-combat-jobs-women/76720656/|work = Military Times|date = 3 December 2015|access-date = 8 December 2015|title = All combat jobs open to women in the military|last = Tilghman|first = Andrew|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151207022554/http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/12/03/carter-telling-military-open-all-combat-jobs-women/76720656/|archive-date = 7 December 2015|url-status = live}}</ref> The various military services were given until January 2016 to provide plans on how they would enforce the policy change.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url = http://www.blackenterprise.com/career/breaking-barriers-military-opens-combat-jobs-women/|work = Black Enterprise|date = 7 December 2015|access-date = 8 December 2015|title = Breaking Barriers: U.S. Military Opens up Combat Jobs to Women|last = Connley|first = Courtney|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151208193418/http://www.blackenterprise.com/career/breaking-barriers-military-opens-combat-jobs-women/|archive-date = 8 December 2015|url-status = live}}</ref> Many women believed this would allow them to improve their positions in the military, since most high-ranking officers start in combat positions.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

[[Conscription in the United States|Draft]] registration for females was recommended by the [[National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service]] and has been proposed, but never implemented.<ref>{{cite magazine|url = https://time.com/4137854/military-women-draft/|magazine = TIME|date = 7 December 2015|title = Now Women Should Register For The Draft|access-date = 17 October 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171103082024/http://time.com/4137854/military-women-draft/|archive-date = 3 November 2017|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-24 |title=Women should be eligible for the draft, commission recommends |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/24/women-draft-eligibility-146254 |access-date=2024-06-30 |website=Politico}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hasbrouck |first=Edward |title=What's happening with women and draft registration ("Selective Service")? |url=https://hasbrouck.org/draft/women/happening.html |access-date=2024-06-30}}</ref>

No woman has ever become a [[United States Navy SEALs|Navy SEAL]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Tritten|first=Travis J.|date=10 August 2017|title=Candidate to be first female Navy SEAL officer quits after a week|url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/candidate-to-be-first-female-navy-seal-officer-quits-after-a-week-report/article/2631205|magazine=[[The Washington Examiner]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Watson|first=Julie|title=Navy: Only woman in SEAL training pipeline drops out|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-navy-seal-training-woman-quits-20170811-story.html|access-date=23 October 2020|website=chicagotribune.com|date=11 August 2017 }}</ref> However, in July 2021, the first woman graduated from the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) training program to become a Special Warfare Combatant craft Crewman (SWCC). The SWCC directly supports the SEALs and other special forces units, and are experts in covert insertion and extraction special operation tactics.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ives|first=Mike|date=16 July 2021|title=First Woman Completes Training for Elite U.S. Navy Program |work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/us/navy-woman-warfare-program.html|access-date=24 January 2022|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Naval Special Warfare Welcomes CQT Class 115; First Woman Operator|url=https://www.dvidshub.net/news/400990/naval-special-warfare-welcomes-cqt-class-115-first-woman-operator|access-date=24 January 2022|website=DVIDS }}</ref>

Despite concerns of a gender gap, all personnel both men and women, at the same rank and time of service, are compensated the same across all branches.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://militarybenefits.info/2017-military-pay-charts/|title=2018 Pay Chart|date=1 January 2018|access-date=25 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426075650/https://militarybenefits.info/2017-military-pay-charts/|archive-date=26 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> On 1 June 2022, ADM [[Linda L. Fagan]] assumed command of the [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]], becoming not only the first woman to serve as [[Commandant of the Coast Guard|Commandant]] of the Coast Guard, but also the first woman in American history to serve as a service chief in the U.S. Military.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sonmez |first=Felicia |date=1 June 2022 |title=Adm. Linda Fagan becomes first woman to lead U.S. Coast Guard |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/01/adm-linda-fagan-becomes-first-woman-lead-us-coast-guard/ |access-date=2 June 2022}}</ref>

A study conducted by the [[RAND Corporation]] suggests that women who make the military their careers experience improved rates of promotion.<ref>{{Cite report |date=2012 |last1=Asch|first1=Beth J.|last2=Miller|first2=Trey|last3=Malchiodi|first3=Alessandro |title=Significant Gender- and Race/Ethnicity-Based Differences Exist in Rates of Promotion and Retention Among Officers |url=https://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR1159.html|access-date=1 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420224144/https://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR1159.html |archive-date=20 April 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

As per the DoD's report on [[sexual assault]] within the U.S. Army for fiscal year 2019, 7,825 cases had been reported. This represented a 3% increase relative to the 2018 report.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/04/30/sexual-assault-reports-harassment-complaints-rise-us-military.html|title=Sexual Assault Reports, Harassment Complaints Rise in US Military|access-date=30 April 2020|website=Military.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2172056/defense-officials-tout-progress-in-fight-against-sexual-assault/|title= Defense Officials Tout Progress in Fight Against Sexual Assault|access-date=30 April 2020|website=U.S. Department of Defense}}</ref>

As of 2022, there are 228,966 women in the military, representing 17.5% of the total active duty force. Since 2021, the percentage of women on active duty service has increased slightly, by 0.3%. Since 2005, the population of active duty women has increased by 2.9%.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-06 |title=Defense Department Report Shows Decline in Armed Forces Population While Percentage of Military Women Rises Slightly |url=https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3580676/defense-department-report-shows-decline-in-armed-forces-population-while-percen/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227193643/https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3580676/defense-department-report-shows-decline-in-armed-forces-population-while-percen/ |archive-date=2024-02-27 |access-date=2024-06-30 |website=U.S. Department of Defense |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=2022 Demographics Profile of the Military Community |url=https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2022-demographics-report.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211025058/https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2022-demographics-report.pdf |archive-date=2023-12-11 |access-date=2024-06-30 |website=U.S. Department of Defense}}</ref>