First Female Four Star

NOTE THAT THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATE TO CORRECT A CLASS NAME AND ADD A READER COMMENT.

The Washington Post had an article today on General Ann E. Dunwoody, who today became the first US four star officer. She will now take command of the US Army's Army Material Command, located at Fort Belvoir, just outside of Washington, DC, in northern Virginia.

My youngest Brother claims that General Dunwoody was in his Defense Acquisition Executive Overview Workshop at the Defense Acquisition University and that she was an attentive student. He also claims that as her instructor, he got her her fourth star (and demands that I put "in jest" in here).

But, with or without my Brother, GEN Dunwoody has accomplished something big. She is one of 21 female general officers in the US Army today. But, the beginning of that success goes back to our own Representative Edith Norse Rogers. Before World War II women served in the Army only as nurses. An important role, but a very limited one. In 1942 Rep Rogers introduced the bill that created the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). She followed up in 1943 with a bill to create the Women's Army Corps (WAC). But, as one of my friends points out, "The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and its successor the Women's Army Corps (WAC) were just as segregated as the Tuskegee Airmen and the 555 (Triple Nickel) Parachute Infantry Company during WW II." This keeping women in their own units, separate from male units, continued on into the 1970s, but then the barriers began to fall. It was a good thing all around.

So, our congratulations to GEN Dunwoody and best of luck with a tough mission. She will be the one who has to help "reset" the whole US Army after Iraq and re-equip it for Afghanistan and any future contingencies.

Regards -- Cliff