The US Army & Marine Corps continue to circumvent the ground combat exclusion policy. U.S. women are fighting on all fronts of the war on terrorism and are regularly engaged in combat operations, yet there are still barriers to their work and promotion. The policy is anachronistic and does not reflect the reality on the…
Veterans Day began in 1919 when President Woodrow Wilson designated November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day to remember the end of the “War to End All Wars” and honor those who have served our great Nation in uniform. As we observe this Veterans Day, the tenth as a Nation at war, please…
During World War II 6% of Americans served in uniform. The war effort was ever-present in the daily lives of the remaining 94% of Americans. The nation as a whole shared in the sacrifices of the war — men entered the military, women worked in the factories, and all people rationed gas and food. Two…
The United States has been engaged in combat in Afghanistan longer than in any previous war. As a Nation at war for more than nine years, women are serving in new roles and in larger numbers than previous battles. More than 220,000 women have been deployed, nearly 12 percent of the force. Similar to their…
This is the 22nd installment in the Honored Role Series. Fed up with the constant media attention and hyper-promotion of tissue-thin fashion models and beauty queens with little between the ears, Valencia de la Vega entered the Ms. Latina Beauty Pageant in October 2009. This former Army Captain and combat veteran turned Intel engineer decided…
This is the 21st installment in the Honored Role Series. Not one to rest idly, less than six months after retiring from the Army, Colonel Debra Lewis is taking action on another mission. This one, accompanied by Lt. Col. (ret.) Doug Adams, her spouse, is a 16,000-mile yearlong cycling tour of the United States to…
Most news about West Point, my alma mater, makes me exceedingly proud. While the news about West Point being ranked #4 this year in Forbes list of top colleges, (down from #1 last year) is reinforcing and encouraging, last Tuesday’s news is not. It makes me sick and angry. Cadet Sergeant Katherine Miller from Findlay,…
The Honored Role Series will return next week. Writing is a solitary act, but publishing is a team effort. The journey from paper or computer screen to an actual book is a long and circuitous one. It is hard work and it is a process, one in which emotions modulate like a sine wave. During…