Rank Your Rank: Women in the Military

Statement of the Issue
Historically the military has been viewed as a male dominated force, but more recently it has become common for women to break ranks and to join. Women who join the military raise very important topics and essential feminist concerns because their decision deals with women's empowerment and overall equality to men. The article "Three Views on Women in the Military" states that in the past three decades women make up approximately fourteen percent of the active duty force. In the past women who were involved in the military only participated as nurses or far away from the combat zones. Women are thought of as the "weaker sex" because they cannot deal with the pressures that come with being in the military. This is essentially an oppressive form of thought because it implies that women are denied the opportunity to obtain same positions as men, even when they can perform the same tasks with equal skill. Presently, this form of thought is being left behind as more and more women are occupying positions of standard and higher ranks. We find this issue of great importance because these women are pioneers in the fight against female oppression in political and combative situations. The feminist issue arises due to the historical hierarchies of men in power and the unequal opportunities for women soldiers.

Purpose of the Research
The purpose of our research is to explore and understand the plight of women in the military and to gain knowledge about their experiences dealing with pressure from men and society. Through our interviews we would like to discover how women are empowered by their experiences. More specifically, how sharing the same ranks, and thus the same responsibility and power, enforce equal treatment to be given to men and women alike. We interviewed Tina Morgan, Shannon Goodwin, Traci Mize. We interviewed these women because we were seeking three women, who had separate and different experiences with the military. Three women, who did not know each other, and did not occupy the same positions seemed to be the best angle to take when finding whether gender effects experience.

Interview: Shannon Goodwin
First, we interviewed Tech Sergeant Shannon Goodwin. Goodwin has been in the military for seventeen years, and joined because she has strong family background in the military and has always felt comfortable in the military. Sergeant Goodwin in general felt that the military is in fact male-dominated, but at the same time, does not exhibit sexism. She explained that the system of promotion and climbing the ranks in the military is determined by tests that every person has to take, regardless of the their gender, so the equality is there. Goodwin felt completely part of the "brotherhood" and she feels that they're a family regardless of their gender. She talked about how she would support the men that she knows on the front line one hundred percent, even if she couldn't be out their with them. She absolutely feels that the military had made her a better woman by making her stronger, building her discipline, and helping her to deal with and accept things that she faces in her life.

Interview: Tina Morgan
Second, we interviewed Erin's aunt, Tina Morgan. Major Morgan is a Major in the Army Nurse Core. Major Morgan expressed a very different view on sexism in the military than Sergeant Goodwin. Though she expressed a lot of respect for the military, and a desire to make a career in the military for herself by serving 20 or more years, she did acknowledge that she has encountered sexism.

Major Morgan does acknowledge the presence of sexism in the military, however she makes it clear that she does not allow it to affect her experience.

Though she also felt like a part of the military "brotherhood" with men, she talked about how even today some men still do not want women in the military at all. She expressed her opinion that men's biases against women is the real problem, but these biases are not facilitated by the actions of women themselves. Major Morgan feels that the military works to make her a better person, but not necessarily a better woman. 

Interview: Traci Mize 

Third, we interviewed Trevor's friend, Specialist Traci Mize. She is in 68 Juliet, Medical logistics specialist. She is also well trained in combat, is a weapons specialist, and an award winner for excellent performance. This 22 year old has been in the army for 2 1/2 

years and plans to be in until retirement. Her great love for the military comes from most of the male figures in her life being in the military. She is the only woman in her family that has joined. She says that the reason she first joined was to honor her family and prove to others that she was worthy. However throughout her experience, her views changed and she now participates in the military more for herself and works to prove to herself that she is all she can be. She did express that there is sexism in the military but no more than in civilian life. She believes in the brotherhood/sisterhood of soldiers and would fight to the death for any of her fellow soldiers no matter what race or sex. She feels that the military has made her a better woman in the fact that she is more confident in her abilities, more self sufficient, and more adamant that she does not need a man to make her complete.

Conclusion
Overall, we interviewed a very diverse group of women from a wide variety of backgrounds. Though they all had experiences in the military, their experiences affected them differently and gave them unique views on their womanhood in relation to their careers in the military. Even the women that felt that there was in fact sexism in the military overcame it, and felt that they had reached a place where they are part of something special, and important; a brotherhood/sisterhood. No matter what views some may take on women in the military, these women know that they are part of a family where gender doesn't make you any more or less a part of it.

Reflection

We felt this project was a very eye-opening experience that gave us a lot of insight into the world of the military and helped us emphasize our point that women are just as capable as men. Even in this historically male-dominated field, women have taken a place for themselves and become established. We didn't really like that our two projects fell so close together which was kind of stressful and a little rushed, but we did like that we got to talk to so many interesting women, spend time with our group whom we love, and Trevor specifically thought it was intriguing to talk to a woman who could take him in a fight. The whole project was a good experience because it showed how women all have different experiences and unique perspectives that make an impression on society.

Army Wives: Finding Strength When Your Husband is Away

Introduction

The United States Military provides a great service to those that live in the country. Often times, however, the spouses and families that are left behind supporting those men and women in the military who are caring out such great services are overlooked. Military wives are a powerful group of women, whose lives have been put on hold while their spouses are training and deployed to other nations. These strong women deal with day-to-day issues and psychological effects that most women in marriages do not have to imagine. Women whose husbands are overseas in the military, the psychological effects and how they deal with the effects are the issues we chose to explore more in depth on such a prominent topic, especially with so many American soldiers currently overseas. As more are sent overseas and serve long deployments, this issue has become more prominent in our society.

Purpose of Research

The purpose of our research was to discover the challenges of being an Army wife while your husband is overseas and to discover how these women deal not only with their everyday duties, but also with the overall challenges and complications that result as a consequence of the absence of their husbands.

Interviews

Heather Oliver

It is usually assumed that eventually for Army Wives, with her husband’s return life will go back to normal. For Heather Oliver, the part-time lifestyle turned into a full-time reality. She married a Georgia Army National Guard man that elected to stay enlisted throughout the thirteen years of their marriage. Along the way, she has seen her fair share of obstacles, trials, and tribulations. However, she has remained strong through it all to support her husband while also making connections with other women to be a symbol of strength and courage to them. Heather has found her strength through women in similar situations as herself, but especially through the Family Readiness Group (FRG) organization. She serves as a chairperson for the organization. When asked if she would rather have a normal life with a husband home all the time, she responded, “Absolutely not, I take an immense amount of pride in what my husband does. I also take an immense amount of pride in what I do when he’s gone."

Erika Etterling

Erika Etterling is a fighter, whose husband just so happens to be one too. Erica’s husband was in the Army for nine years, but for the past three years he has been in the National Guard. So, some would say her family has always been a “military family,” but even with that being said every time her husband leaves it is still hard. He has been deployed since May 2009 on assignment, and had a short leave in August. Like Heather Oliver, the FRG has had a substantial impact on the way she has coped and dealt with her husband’s deployment and consequential absence. The Family Readiness Group was there for Erika when she could not get information for any other sources. She initially reached out to FRG because she was unable to get information on husband and they had updates. Erika has taken a liking to the group so much, that she now is the secretary of FRG. When asked her how it is working closer with FRG she smiled and said, “Interesting.” She said that “there are a lot of different personalities in the group and when dealing with each other. It is important to always be conscious of that.” She said FRG is “like a big support group where each person looks out for each other.”

April Brown

April Brown is married to Mike Brown, and they have four beautiful daughters ranging in ages nine to thirteen months. Mike Brown has been in the military for eight years now. As in Erika’s case, Mike was in the United States Army and then joined the National Guard two years ago. Like the others, he left in May of this year and will return in March. He was able to visit his family towards the end of September this year, and April enjoyed having him home for those short weeks. April said she has not found anything “unexpected from her husband’s deployment this time around, because she has been with him since his earlier time in the Army, and has experience of him being away.” April has met several of the women from being on base and going to events with her husband, but she does not attend the FRG meetings regularly. When asked her why she does not attend the meetings, she said she does not really have time to when trying to juggle four kids and their activities. As far as participation in the FRG, she goes to things that involve her kids, such as the back-to-school function, but otherwise not as much as Heather or Erika. Instead of finding comfort in the FRG, she finds support through her family, her neighbors, and mothers of other children in her children’s school and various sports teams. The moms of children she knows from her girls have become great friends, and help out as much as they can because they know how difficult it is for April to be without Mike during his deployment.

Conclusions

While it is known that each person handles stress, unexpected events, and hard times differently, these women have found comfort and help through the FRG. Even though Heather and Erika participate more so than April; April still utilizes the group for its other events and contributions to the lives of Army wives. Each wife is currently experiencing life without the presence of her husband and her children’s father, but through support groups, whether it be the FRG or family and friends, they find the strength within themselves to continue being strong for themselves, their children, as well as other women on the Army base. These women do not have a spouse to complete a “Marriage Agreement” with, to split childcare and household chores with. They do not have the option of dropping everything on their spouse. At the end of the day, it comes down to them.

Group Reflection

Our group was most surprised and impressed with the strength that each of these women had. Not only within their actions, but also in their demeanors and the way they spoke. They recognized the challenges and hardships of being a single parent while their husbands were away, but they did not see it as a weakness. They saw it as a challenge to rise to the occasion and show what their true colors were. Each woman, with the support of those around her, finds the personal, economic, and psychological support she needs to continue going. These women do not make excuses or think “poor me” or “my poor children,” they keep pushing forward, staying (as much as possible) in contact with their husbands, and surround themselves with the support that is offered. As encouraged in class, we not only need to “think globally,” we need to “ACT locally.” By participating in fundraisers for local FRG groups or sending school supplies for enlistees’ children, we can all do our part to help these strong, beautiful women who are fighting with sheer strength (of all kinds) on the home front, while their husbands fight overseas.