R 031614Z FEB 11
UNCLASSIFIED//
MARADMIN 082/11
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC/MRA MP//
SUBJ/DOD OBSERVANCE OF 2011 WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH//
POC/C. M. NELSON/CAPT/CMC(MPE)/-/TEL:DSN 278-9371/TEL:(703)784-9371/EMAIL: AROLYN.NELSON@USMC.MIL//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  THE MONTH OF MARCH IS DEDICATED TO CELEBRATING WOMEN'S HISTORY AND WOMEN'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR GREAT NATION. IN 1987, CONGRESS DECLARED MARCH AS NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH. THE THEME FOR THIS YEAR'S OBSERVANCE IS "OUR HISTORY IS OUR STRENGTH." THE HONOR, COURAGE, AND COMMITMENT OF WOMEN MARINES PAST AND PRESENT IS A TREMENDOUS SOURCE OF STRENGTH.
2.  MANPOWER SHORTAGES DURING WORLD WAR I PROMPTED THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY TO ASK, "IS THERE ANY REGULATION THAT SAYS A YEOMAN HAS TO BE A MAN?"  MUCH TO THE NAVY'S SURPRISE, THE ANSWER WAS NO.  AS A RESULT, THE NAVY AND MARINE CORPS CALLED ON AMERICAN WOMEN TO ENLIST FOR STATESIDE DUTY TO "FREE A MAN TO FIGHT."  APPROXIMATELY 305 WOMEN WERE ACCEPTED INTO THE MARINE CORPS AS MARINETTES.  ONCE THE WAR ENDED, ALL WERE SEPARATED FROM SERVICE BY JUNE 1919. 
3.  TWENTY FIVE YEARS LATER, IN THE MIDST OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR, WOMEN STEPPED ONTO THE PATH THAT HAS LED TO ALMOST 68 YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE.  THE MARINE CORPS WOMEN'S RESERVE WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1943, AND COLONEL RUTH CHENEY STREETER BECAME THE FIRST DIRECTOR. BY JUNE 1944, WOMEN RESERVISTS CONSTITUTED 85 PERCENT OF THE ENLISTED PERSONNEL ON DUTY AT HEADQUARTERS MARINE CORPS, AND ALMOST TWO THIRDS OF THE PERSONNEL MANNING ALL MAJOR POSTS AND STATIONS IN THE CONTINENTAL U.S. AND HAWAII. AT THE WAR'S END, GENERAL VANDEGRIFT, THE 18TH COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS, SAID THESE WOMEN COULD "FEEL RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING THE 6TH MARINE DIVISION IN THE FIELD; FOR WITHOUT WOMEN FILLING JOBS THROUGHOUT THE MARINE CORPS, THERE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENT MEN TO FORM THAT DIVISION."
4.  WOMEN MARINES BECAME PART OF THE OFFICIAL ACTIVE-DUTY FORCE ON 10 NOVEMBER 1948.  BY THE HEIGHT OF THE VIETNAM WAR, ABOUT 2,700 ACTIVE-DUTY FEMALE MARINES SERVED STATESIDE, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, OVERSEAS.  DURING THE 1970'S, THE MARINE CORPS BEGAN OPENING CAREER- TYPE FORMAL TRAINING PROGRAMS TO FEMALE OFFICERS, AND BY 1975 ALL OCCUPATIONAL FIELDS EXCEPT COMBAT ARMS AND PILOT/AIR CREW WERE OPEN TO WOMEN.  WOMEN WERE ALSO ELIGIBLE FOR FLEET MARINE FORCE UNITS FOR THE FIRST TIME DURING THIS PERIOD.
5.  SINCE THE 1970'S, FEMALE MARINES HAVE ENJOYED AN INCREASED ROLE IN THE MARINE CORPS, INCLUDING FULLY INTEGRATED ROLES IN PILOT/AIR CREW OCCUPATIONAL FIELDS.  CHANGES IN DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND MARINE CORPS POLICIES HAVE FOLLOWED, AND TODAY MANY FEMALE MARINES ON ACTIVE DUTY SUCCESSFULLY BALANCE THEIR OWN NEEDS AND THE NEEDS OF THEIR FAMILIES WITH THE NEEDS OF THE MARINE CORPS.  NOW MORE WOMEN THAN EVER BEFORE IN OUR NATION'S HISTORY ARE ABLE TO MAKE THE MARINE CORPS A CAREER, THEREBY CREATING NEW FAMILY MILITARY TRADITIONS WHERE DAUGHTERS FOLLOW IN THEIR MOTHERS' FOOTSTEPS AND SISTERS JOIN TOGETHER.  LET US NOT FORGET THAT THE RIGHTS AND CHOICES FEMALE MARINES NOW ENJOY WERE FOUGHT FOR AND EARNED BY GENERATIONS OF WOMEN. THROUGH THEIR SELFLESS SERVICE TO THEIR FAMILIES, SOCIETY, AND THE NATION, THESE TRAILBLAZING WOMEN PAVED THE WAY FOR OUR FREEDOMS TODAY. 
6.  TODAY, OVER 13,600 FEMALE MARINES SERVE ON ACTIVE DUTY AND MORE THAN 5,300 FEMALE MARINES SERVE IN THE MARINE CORPS RESERVE.  THEY ARE DEPLOYED AROUND THE GLOBE AND CONTINUE TO MAKE HISTORY IN FEMALE ENGAGMENT TEAMS IN AFGANISTAN.
7.  WOMEN IN THE MARINE CORPS HAVE ANSWERED MANY CALLS TO SERVE AND PROTECT THEIR BELOVED COUNTRY.  AS OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE INCREASED, EACH SUBSEQUENT GENERATION OF FEMALE MARINES HAVE STEPPED UP TO THE CHALLENGE AND PAVED NEW ROADS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.  SINCE THE FIRST WOMAN DONNED A MARINE CORPS UNIFORM, FEMALE MARINES HAVE ENRICHED OUR CORPS' HISTORY AND ENHANCED OUR COMBAT CAPABILITY.
8.  ALL MARINES ARE ENCOURAGED TO SEEK OUT FEMALE MARINES PAST AND PRESENT TO LEARN OF THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR CORPS.  COMMANDERS ARE FURTHER ENCOURAGED TO TAKE TIME TO RECOGNIZE AND CELEBRATE THE CONTRIBUTIONS WOMEN HAVE MADE TO OUR CORPS BY CONDUCTING PROGRAMS AND PROMOTING PARTICIPATION IN OBSERVANCE EVENTS BOTH ON BASE AND IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY. 
9.  RELEASE AUTHORIZED BY (SES) MR. M. F. APPLEGATE, DIRECTOR, MANPOWER PLANS AND POLICY DIVISION.//