Profiles of Women Soldiers
Brig. Gen. Margaret W. Burcham
Brigadier General Burcham previously served as the Chief of the Joint Capabilities Division of the Resources, Assessments and Force Management Directorate, J8, on The Joint Staff in the Pentagon and the commander of the Europe District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as well as the Gulf Region North District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq. Commissioned in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers upon graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY in 1982, Brigadier General Burcham later received a master's in Computer Science from Kansas State University. Her military education includes the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Combined Arms Services Staff School, the Command and General Staff Officers Course, and the Senior Service College, Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
Brig. Gen. Rhonda L. Cornum, Ph. D., M.D.
An Army flight surgeon serving with the 2/229th Attack Helicopter Battalion during Desert Storm, Rhonda Cornum's UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down over Iraq. One of three survivors from the eight-person crew, Major Cornum was captured by the Iraqi Republican Guard and held as a Prisoner of War. Her open dialogue from her experiences as a female POW helped drive Congress to expand the roles of women in combat. In addition, her leadership in the aviation and medical communities helped enhance combat performance for hundreds of thousands of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines serving around the world.
Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho
Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho became the first female and first nurse to become surgeon general of the Army Dec. 7, 2011. On that date she was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and became the 43rd surgeon general of the Army by U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, in a ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Va. Horoho had previously commanded the Army Nurse Corps since 2008, when she received a rare two-grade promotion from colonel to major general, skipping the rank of brigadier general.
Maj. Gen. Marcia M. Anderson
Maj. Gen Marcia M. Anderson became the Army's first-ever female African-American officer to obtain the rank of major general during a ceremony at Fort Knox, Ky, Oct. 1, 2011. She was also assigned as the Deputy Chief, Army Reserve, with duty at the Pentagon that day. She had previously assumed responsibility as Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Oct. 1, 2010. As a citizen-Soldier, Anderson is employed by the United States Courts, where she serves as the Clerk of Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Wisconsin, located in Madison, Wis.
HRC deputy becomes Army's first female African-American major general
Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody
Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody became the first female four-star general in military history and also became the first female to lead a major Army command Nov. 14, 2008. On that date she was promoted in a Pentagon ceremony and later that day she took command of Army Materiel Command headquartered on Fort Belvoir, Va. Approximately 5 percent of general officers in the Army are women, which includes mobilized Army Reserve and Army National Guard general officers.
Lt. Gen. Susan S. Lawrence
As the G-6, Lawrence supports the Chief of Staff of the Army and Army Staff in performing information management, network operations (including computer network defense), force structure, and the equipping and employment of signal forces.
Brig. Gen. Colleen L. McGuire
Brig. Gen. Colleen L. McGuire assumed responsibility as the first female provost marshal general of the Army and also took command of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command in January 2010. During nearly 30 years of active service, she has been assigned in key command and staff billets from platoon level to the Army staff.
Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy
Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy was the first woman to achieve and hold the rank of lieutenant general. Her promotion also led to her being named the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, G-2.
Brig. Gen. Coral Pietsch
The first-ever female general officer in the Judge Advocate General Corps, Brig. Gen. Coral Pietsch was also the first female Asian-American general officer in the U.S. Army.
Waterloo to Washington: The long journey of Coral Wong Pietsch
Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa King
On Sept. 22, 2009, Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa King became the first female commandant of the Drill Sergeant School at Fort Jackson, S.C. King said it is important to note that a hard worker will shine, regardless of gender.
First female commandant takes reins at Drill Sergeant School
Col. Debra Lewis
Col. Debra M. Lewis was in the first class of women to graduate from West Point and later served as commander and district engineer of the Gulf Region Division’s Central District, where she was responsible for engineering and construction management support of deployed forces and Iraqi reconstruction in Baghdad and Al Anbar provinces, Iraq.
Capt. Linda Bray
In 1989, over 700 women went to Panama in support of Operation Just Cause. Capt. Linda Bray led 30 Soldiers of the 988th Military Police company into combat to seize an enemy objective near Panama City. Her role ignited the debate over the role of women in the combat roles in the Army.
Capt. Rosanna Vasquez Brown
Capt. Rosanna Vasquez Brown was featured in the April 2008 issue of Redbook magazine highlighting her role as a Soldier, wife and mother. From that feature piece, she was nominated as a finalist in the NBC Teleflora-sponsored Mother's Day primetime special, "America's Favorite Mom."
Sgt. Maj. Monica J. Dixon
Sgt. Maj. Monica J. Dixon, Multi-National Corps-Iraq chaplain sergeant major, was the first female chaplain assistant to achieve jumpmaster status.
Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester
During an ambush of her convoy in Iraq, Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester and her squad repelled at least 30 insurgents. The actions of Hester and her comrades earned them great praise for their tactics and actions. Hester became the first woman to earn the Silver Star Medal for exceptional valor since World War II.
Sgt. Crystal Johnson
On Sept. 12, 2006, while Sgt. Crystal Johnson was on a convoy run south of Baghdad, the Humvee she and three comrades were traveling in came under enemy attack and was struck by an Explosively Formed Projectile (EFP). The blast killed one passenger and caused her Iraqi interpreter to lose his legs. Johnson and a gunner, both who suffered only minor burn and shrapnel injuries, pulled the interpreter to safety away from the wreckage. She earned the Purple Heart for burns and shrapnel wounds suffered in the attack. She also received two Army Commendation Medals, one with "V" device.
Sgt. Monica Brown
Sgt. Monica Brown is the second female Soldier since World War II to be awarded the Silver Star. Brown was a medic with the 82nd Airborne Division, serving in Paktika province, Afghanistan, when her convoy came under attack. Her actions to move Soldiers away from incoming fire and provide medical care earned her recognition for gallant actions during combat.
2nd woman since WWII gets Silver Star
Brig. Gen. Anna Mae Hays
Brig. Gen. Anna Mae Hays received a commission in the Army Nurse Corps in May 1942. Her overseas assignments included service in India, Korea, and Japan. On June 11, 1970, she became the first woman and the first nurse in American military history to attain general officer rank. During her tenure as chief she continued to deal with the imposing challenges of recruitment and retention as the Vietnam War reached its height. She received the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Army Commendation Medal among her awards and commendations.
Brig. Gen. Elizabeth P. Hoisington
Brig. Gen. Elizabeth Hoisington advanced through the ranks of the Women's Army Corps. She served as the Director of the WAC from 1966 until 1971. Hoisington was the second woman and first WAC officer to be promoted to the rank of general officer on June 11, 1970.
Col. Oveta Culp Hobby
From 1942 to 1945, Col. Oveta Culp Hobby served as Director of the Women's Army Corps, and as a result of the success she achieved at this position, was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower named her head of the Federal Security Agency and later that year she was elevated to a cabinet position in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare as its first Secretary, a position she held until 1955.
Lt. Col. Mary A. Hallaren
The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps was established in May 1942. Lt. Col. Mary Hallaren was a member of the first officer training class. Shortly after the first class graduated, U.S. field commanders were calling for a female battalion to help overseas. Hallaren became that battalion’s commander. After arriving in England, Halleran began touring the posts and facilities where her WAACs would be working. The commandant at the first post she visited welcomed the female Soldiers, but not the regulations that accompanied them. In 1948, Hallaren helped work on the legislation to make the Women’s Army Corps a permanent part of the regular Army and Reserves.
