ABSTRACT
The US Military has, since its inception, operated as an institution in society, formally framed by policy and law that first proscribed women’s open service and then maintained a gendered, two-tiered system. Although the past century has seen policy changes, expressly after the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948, only after the demise of conscription and the introduction of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF) in the mid-1970s have policies regarding women’s service opportunities changed substantially. After decades of women’s successful service, command achievements, medals for courage in combat and exemplary performance, the US Military has finally announced it intends to remove that two-tiered system, despite strong resistance from some military leaders. This chapter discusses the role that policy changes, cultural barriers and resistance have played in the societal understanding of women’s roles and service, and, in the lives and careers of women who were part of a qualitative research study, exploring their lived experiences as careerists in the US Military between 1960 and 2010.
