Author · Speaker · West Point ’87
Some amazing women wrote the history books forgot.
Donna McAleer is the author of Porcelain on Steel: Women of West Point’s Long Gray Line — and a graduate West Point herself.
About Donna
One of the first women to graduate West Point, Donna went on to serve as an Army officer, compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic bobsled team, run for Congress, and lead as a business and nonprofit executive.
The Book
Porcelain on Steel tells the stories of the women who shaped West Point’s Long Gray Line — ordinary women with extraordinary journeys of perseverance and integrity.
Journal photo
The Blog
Fifteen years of writing on leadership, character, and the place of women in the military and in public life.
Meet the Women
Becky Halstead
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) · USMA 1981
West Point’s first woman to pin on the star of a general officer.
Heidi Brown
Brig. Gen. · USMA 1981
First woman to lead an Air Defense Artillery brigade in combat.
Dawn Halfaker
Capt. (Ret.) · USMA 2001
Led a military police platoon in Baghdad; wounded in action.
Sarah Gerstein
1st Lt. · USMA 2007
Military intelligence platoon leader serving in Iraq.
