Famed college football coaches gain recognition for their “coaching tree.” Branches of the tree are coaches who obtained training and experience under one coach. For women in the military, their “tree” took root under Col. Oveta Culp Hobby. Her successful command of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in World War II led to future opportunities for women in the military. Somebody had to be first. Examples follow.
In the early 1970s, Jeanne Holm became the first woman in the military to earn promotion to major general in the Air Force. General Holm graduated from the first women’s training class in 1942. Initially, she served as a truck driver.
In 1991, a female lieutenant challenged Department of Defense policy-forbidding women from combat assignments preventing her from fighter pilot training. She eventually entered fighter training. Twenty years later Col. Jennie Leavitt was the first woman to earn command of an Air Force fighter wing. Today, Maj. Gen. Leavitt leads the Air Force Recruiting Command.
When Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody took charge of the Army’s Materiel Command in 2012, she became the first woman to earn a fourth star in the history of the American military.
During this past spring, a combined nearly 850 women graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs.
Recently, the U.S. Senate confirmed the promotion of Maj. Gen. Jody J. Daniels to lieutenant general. She is now the first woman to serve as Chief of the Army Reserve and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Reserve Command.
In July, a woman joined the Green Berets for the first time in history when she completed Special Forces training at Fort Bragg, NC. The Green Berets, founded nearly 70 years ago, do not name its members.
When Oveta Culp Hobby entered the service, she was the only woman. She had to recruit, train, and develop a team of women soldiers. Her success opened the door for future generations of women military leaders. Her impact on the military needs to be recognized. Renaming Fort Hood in honor of Oveta Culp Hobby would acknowledge her contribution.
Alan Mesches prepared this overview of Oveta Culp Hobby's impact on women in the military.