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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Women’s military role has changed over the years

In the spring of 1781, Deborah Sampson wanted to join the fledgling army of the United States. So, she disguised herself as a man, assumed the name of her dead brother, and ventured off to the fortifications at West Point, New York.

Her disguise worked, and a year later the 21-year-old helped lead about 30 infantrymen on a scouting mission to Eastchester, near the southern tip of the state, under commands from Gen. George Washington. Heading north again, they engaged in a battle against a band of British sympathizers, leaving Sampson with a bloody sword wound on her forehead. She also discovered a rifle round lodged in her upper thigh, which she dug out herself to avoid revealing her secret.

As told by the Defense Department and other historical accounts, it was a bold and difficult undertaking at a time when military women were relegated to cooking, cleaning and sewing uniforms for fighting men. Only Sampson – and a handful of other women disguised as men – fought on the front lines. She was honorably discharged in 1783, after falling ill and being carried to a doctor, who discovered her true sex.

Women didn’t gain official status in the U.S. military until the Army Nurse Corps was established in 1901. A surge of integration came during World War I, when 33,000 women served as nurses and support staff and more than 400 died in the line of duty. Opha Mae Johnson became the first woman to hold rank when she enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1918.

About 350,000 served during World War II, but it wasn’t until Congress passed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act in 1948 that women were officially entitled to veterans’ benefits.

In 1990, Lt. Cmdr. Darlene Iskra became the first woman to command a commissioned naval ship. In 1991, Congress authorized women to fly combat missions in Iraq.

Despite a 1994 rule that technically barred women from serving in ground combat units, tens of thousands fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 800 women have been wounded and 130 have died while deployed to operations in those countries since 2001, according to Government Accountability Office data.

In 2013, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta rescinded the 1994 rule, requiring that all positions be opened to women by 2016 unless military officials call for exceptions. Today, women represent about 15 percent of U.S. military personnel.