R 251600Z FEB 98 ZYB
FM CMC WASHINGTON DC//MP//
TO ALMAR
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UNCLAS //N05354//
ALMAR 077/98
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC/MPE//
SUBJ/OBSERVANCE OF WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH 1998//
POC/C. C. DYSART/CAPT/PRIPHN:DSN 223-2565/-/(703) 693-2565/-/-//
RMKS/1.  MARCH IS WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH.  THIS YEAR'S THEME IS
"LIVING THE LEGACY OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS" MARKING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE WOMEN'S RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
2.  THE HISTORY OF WOMEN IN THE MARINE CORPS IS A CONTINUUM OF
INCREASED OPPORTUNITY SPURRED BY THE PROVEN CAPABILITY OF WOMEN
MARINES.  WHEN THE FIRST WOMAN MARINE, PRIVATE OPHA MAE JOHNSON,
ENLISTED DURING WORLD WAR I, SHE WAS 1 OF JUST 305 WOMEN RESERVISTS
ADMITTED INTO THE CORPS TO PERFORM CLERICAL DUTIES AND FREE A MAN TO
FIGHT.  ALL WOMEN WERE SEPARATED AFTER THE WAR.  IN WORLD WAR II,
OVER 19,000 WOMEN MARINE RESERVISTS PROVIDED THE MAJORITY OF THE
MANNING AT ALL MAJOR POSTS AND STATIONS STATESIDE.  ALTHOUGH THEIR
NUMBERS WERE GREATLY REDUCED AFTER THE WAR, WOMEN MARINES WERE HERE
TO STAY.  IN 1948 WOMEN WERE ACCEPTED INTO THE REGULAR COMPONENT.
DURING THE KOREAN WAR, WOMEN RESERVISTS WERE MOBILIZED FOR THE FIRST
TIME ALONG WITH THE MEN, AND DURING THE VIETNAM WAR, THE FIRST WOMEN
MARINES WERE ORDERED TO A COMBAT ZONE.
3.  DURING THE LATE 1960'S AND EARLY 1970'S, WOMEN IN THE MARINE
CORPS SAW THE VARIETY OF DUTIES, DUTY STATIONS, AND TRAINING
OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO THEM GREATLY EXPAND.  IN 1967 PUBLIC LAW
909-130 REPEALED THE LIMITS ON THE NUMBER OF WOMEN IN THE SERVICES,
PERMITTED PERMANENT PROMOTION TO COLONEL, AND PROVIDED FOR THE
TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT OF WOMEN TO BRIGADIER GENERAL IF FILLING A
FLAG RANK BILLET.
4.  WOMEN WERE PERMITTED IN SPECIFIED REAR ECHELON ELEMENTS OF THE
FLEET MARINE FORCE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 1974 AND, THE FOLLOWING
YEAR, THE MARINE CORPS APPROVED THE ASSIGNMENT OF WOMEN TO ALL
OCCUPATIONAL FIELDS EXCEPT INFANTRY, ARTILLERY, ARMOR, AND PILOT OR
AIR CREW.  IN 1978 MARGARET A. BREWER BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN MARINE
GENERAL OFFICER BY VIRTUE OF HER BILLET AS DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION.
5.  THE 1990'S HAVE BEEN AN INCREDIBLE DECADE FOR WOMEN MARINES,
BEGINNING WITH THE DEPLOYMENT OF APPROXIMATELY 1000 WOMEN TO
SOUTHWEST ASIA FOR OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM.  THERE
THEY PROVED THEMSELVES IN A WIDE RANGE OF COMBAT SUPPORT OPERATIONS
AND MADE BELIEVERS OUT OF MANY SKEPTICS.  LIEUTENANT GENERAL CAROL A.
MUTTER BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN CG OF AN FMF UNIT, THEN THE FIRST WOMAN
MARINE MAJOR GENERAL, AND NOW THE FIRST TO WEAR THREE STARS AS THE
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR MANPOWER AND RESERVE AFFAIRS.  THE NAVAL
AVIATION TRAINING PIPELINE WAS OPENED UP TO WOMEN MARINES AND
RESTRICTIONS ON WOMEN'S ASSIGNMENTS WERE REDUCED TO ONLY DIRECT
GROUND COMBAT UNITS.  FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, "FIRSTS" FOR WOMEN
IN THE CORPS HAVE BEEN OCCURRING ALMOST DAILY--FROM TRAINING
OPPORTUNITIES, NEW OCCUPATIONS, AND ASSIGNMENTS TO DEPLOYMENTS,
LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, AND RECOGNITION.
6.  IN 1967 PRESIDENT JOHNSON STATED, "OUR ARMED FORCES LITERALLY
COULD NOT OPERATE EFFECTIVELY OR EFFICIENTLY WITHOUT OUR WOMEN..."
DURING MARCH, COMMANDERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO RECOGNIZE AND CELEBRATE
THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN AS INDIVIDUALS, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, AS
ESSENTIAL MEMBERS OF THE WINNING MARINE TEAM.  MAXIMUM PARTICIPATION
BY ALL PERSONNEL IN MILITARY AND LOCAL COMMUNITY PROGRAMS IS HIGHLY
ENCOURAGED.//
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