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North America | United States | Military

More Women in US Military Academies, But Still a Lot More Men

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The percentage of female students nominated by U.S. lawmakers for admission to U.S. military academies has been rising over the last 25 years. But men are still nearly three times more likely than women to get a nomination, says a study released Tuesday. A member of Congress must nominate most applicants to the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Military Academy at West Point. The schools provide a cost-free education, then require graduates to serve a number of years in the armed forces. Currently, women represent about 27% of Naval Academy students, 22% of Air Force Academy
North America | United States | Military

African American women graduate in record number from West Point

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A record number of African American women graduated from West Point military academy in New York. Among the more than 200 female cadets in the 2019 graduating class, 34 were black women, the largest number of African American female graduates in the academy's history. U.S. Military Academy spokesman Francis DeMaro said last year's class had 27 African American female graduates.
North America | United States | Military

These brigades are the next to accept women into direct combat units

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More than three years into its efforts to recruit and assign women to every combat military occupational specialty, more than 1,000 women have joined the infantry, armor and field artillery branches, according to a May 21 release from the Army. They are currently spread over brigades at five of the Army’s biggest posts, and later this year, Army G-1 Lt. Gen. Thomas Seamands said in the release, five more are due to open this year: Fort Riley, Kansas’s 1st Infantry Division; Fort Stewart, Georgia’s 3rd Infantry Division; Fort Drum, New York, and Fort Polk, Louisiana’s 10th M
North America | United States | Law

​​​​​​​Male-Only Draft “Unconstitutional”: Women’s Compulsory Military Service

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"They are going to draft your daughters for their forever wars," Ben Domenech of The Federalist rages. This after a federal judge in Texas ruled Friday that a male-only draft is unconstitutional in a surprise decision that only began to hit the press late Sunday via a USA Today report. US District Judge Gray Miller of the Southern District of Texas wrote in his ruling that the “time has passed” on continued debate for women in the military, regardless of if the controversial issue of women serving in combat “may have justified past discrimination.” Miller issued the decis
Asia | Japan | Military

Answering the call: The women on the front lines of Japan’s defense

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Hirayama is one of 39 new recruits based at a women's boot camp at Yokosuka naval base on the outskirts of Tokyo. Clad in blue overalls, the women are up at the crack of dawn and their days are filled with lessons in everything from martial arts to cyber security. After saluting their unit leaders and the Japanese flag, they haul boats weighing 1.5 tons each from the docks of Yokosuka naval base and row them out to sea. "This can be a dangerous exercise if they don't pay attention so they have to concentrate really hard," Commander Hiroki Hasegawa, a pilot and navy spokesman, said from t
North America | United States | Military

Proposal Could Require Women to Register for the Draft

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A congressionally mandated commission is weighing whether women should be required to register for the Selective Service System, or whether the U.S. needs a draft registration system at all. The National Commission on Military, National and Public Service, created in 2016, spent the past year reviewing public service options in the U.S., including the armed forces, AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, federal employment and more.
North America | United States | Military

Air Force general is 1st woman at top-tier US combat command

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The Air Force has just two female four-star generals, and one is about to become the first woman to head a top-tier U.S. warfighting command, but that may not be the most remarkable thing about her. Gen. Lori J. Robinson takes over the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command in Colorado on Friday. People who know Robinson describe her as the personification of a new generation of leaders, someone who understands the Air Force has a broad role in space, cyber security and drones, not just flying and fighting.
North America | United States | Military

U.S. West Point academy set for first woman dean in two century history

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The United States Military Academy is poised to have its first woman dean in its 216-year history after President Barack Obama nominated to the post a West Point graduate who currently leads the school's Department of Social Sciences. Colonel Cindy Jebb, who holds a Ph.D. in political science from Duke University, needs confirmation from the U.S. Senate to take on the post. If approved, she would be promoted to brigadier general and serve as West Point's dean of the Academic Board, the U.S. Military Academy said in a statement on Friday. “She’s revered amongst the faculty and cadets and
Europe | U.K. | History

A 92-year-old World War II fighter pilot flies her plane for the first time in 70 years

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It's been decades since her last flight, but Joy Lofthouse, a 92-year-old Air Transport Auxiliary veteran, was given the chance to board a Spitfire airplane for one more trip. Lofthouse was one of just a few female pilots to fly for the British during World War II, part of an all-female division nicknamed the "Attagirls." Her job as a service pilot was to shuttle planes from the front lines back to factories for repairs. During her time in the service, she flew 18 different aircraft, but one always held a special place in her heart.
North America | United States | Leadership

U.S. general named to become first woman to lead combatant command

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U.S. Air Force General Lori Robinson has been selected as the next head of the U.S. military's Northern Command, which would make her the first woman to head a U.S. combatant command, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Friday. The position, which is subject to Senate confirmation, is one of the most senior in the U.S. military and would make Robinson -- who now leads U.S. air forces in the Pacific -- the top general overseeing activities in North America.
North America | United States | Ethics

Air Force pilot-turned-congresswoman in dogfight for WWII air women

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Air Force fighter pilot-turned-congresswoman Martha McSally is in a dogfight for a generation of female aviators who paved the runway for her, but not even the president can help, according to a top Pentagon official. The Arizona Republican, who became the first female fighter pilot in U.S. history to fly in combat and command a fighter squadron, is battling to win a place in Arlington National Cemetery for some 1,000 women who flew non-combat missions during World War II. At a House hearing Wednesday, she pressed the acting secretary of the U.S. Army on why President Obama has not taken ac
Middle East | Israel | Military

The women warriors that broke the IDF’s glass ceiling

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For International Women's Day, four female IDF warriors that serve in core IDF combat positions have shared with us how they trail-blazed into places reserved almost exclusively for men. Captain Lieutenant (Capt.-Lt.) Omer Haham, who serves in a combat role in the Navy, is the first female officer to serve on a helicopter assistance unit for Sa'ar 5-class missile corvettes. "My advice for women is that they not try to carry out their jobs differently because they are girls. The job is the same for men as it is for women and it must be done to the highest standards," she said.
South Asia | India | Military

Happy International Women’s Day! India To Induct Female Fighter Pilots

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Marking International Women's Day, India's Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha has announced that the Air Force will induct its first female fighter pilots this summer. "As of now, three women trainees have volunteered to join the fighter stream. They are under the second phase of their training," Raha said, according to The Times of India. He said they will enter the force "once they complete their trainingand are at par with their male colleagues," with the induction ceremony scheduled for June 18. In India, women "currently comprise just 2.5 percent of the armed forces, working mostly in n
North America | United States | Military

First Lady Celebrates Female Veterans at Women’s History Month Event: ‘Tell Your Story’

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First Lady Michelle Obama honored female veterans today at the annual Women’s History Month reception in Washington, D.C. At the reception, hosted by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Obama urged female veterans to tell their story. "All of you learned how to build a team and lead others under pressure, and complete any mission in front of you no matter what it takes,” she said. “See, that’s why it’s important that you tell your own stories. … Our girls, our daughters and granddaughters, need to hear them."  

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