Today President Barack Obama signs into law the repeal measure of the ban on allowing gays to serve openly in the military. In a historic vote on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010, the Senate repealed the 17 year-old Clinton-era policy known as ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ by a count of 65 to 31. This is a…
Earlier today, the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen announced the results of the Pentagon’s Comprehensive Working Group Review of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. The 10-month study led by US Army General Carter Ham and DOD General Counsel Jeh C. Johnson concluded that the repeal of the…
When I was interviewing to be the executive director of a healthcare non-profit, the People’s Health Clinic (PHC), members of its board of directors questioned my experience. They wanted to know what someone coming from the U.S. Army, known for its hierarchy and “give-and-take orders” environment, could bring to a volunteer-based organization, particularly one with…
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 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…