Designating June 12, 2023, as Women Veterans Appreciation Day.

Designating June 12, 2023, as Women Veterans Appreciation Day Whereas, throughout every period of the history of the United States, women have proudly served the United States to secure and preserve freedom and liberty for (1) the people of the United States; and (2) the allies of the United States; Whereas women have formally been a part of the Armed Forces since the establishment of the Army Nurse Corps in 1901 but have informally served since the inception of the United States military; Whereas 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Womens Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 (62 Stat. 356, chapter 449), legally allowing women to serve in all 4 branches of the military; Whereas more than 3,000,000 women have served the United States honorably and with valor on land, on sea, in the air, and in space, including (1) as Molly Pitchers (2) by passing as men to serve as soldiers during the Revolutionary War, the Early Republic, and the Civil War; (3) as doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, and Signal Corps telephone operator Hello Girls (4) during World War II (A) as members of the Women's Army Corps (commonly known as WACs (B) as Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (commonly known as WAVES (C) as members of the Coast Guard Women's Reserve (commonly known as SPARS (D) as Women Airforce Service Pilots (commonly known as WASPs (E) as nurses; (5) as permanent members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, serving as nurses, physicians, physical therapists, air traffic controllers, intelligence specialists, communications specialists, logisticians, and clerks during the Korean War and Vietnam War; and (6) as fixed and rotary wing combat pilots, surface warfare sailors, submariners, artillerists, air defenders, engineers, military police, intelligence specialists, civil affairs specialists, logisticians, and, most recently, in all combat roles in the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan; Whereas, as of 2021, women constituted approximately 17 percent of Armed Forces personnel on active duty, including (1) 21 percent of active duty personnel in the Air Force; (2) 21 percent of active duty personnel in the Navy; (3) 16 percent of active duty personnel in the Army; (4) 9 percent of active duty personnel in the Marine Corps; (5) 15 percent of active duty personnel in the Coast Guard; and (6) 20 percent of active duty personnel in the Space Force; Whereas, as of 2021, women constituted more than 21 percent of personnel in the National Guard and Reserves; Whereas women were critical to COVID19 relief, including as part of the personnel in the National Guard and Reserves activated to support COVID19 response efforts; Whereas women have been critical to responding to the unjustified invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, including as members of the National Guard and as active duty personnel in the Armed Forces who have been deployed to contribute to foreign assistance efforts; Whereas 13 members of the Armed Forces, including 2 women, were killed during Operation Allies Refuge, in which more than 120,000 people were evacuated in the largest civilian airlift in the history of the United States; Whereas, in 2023 (1) the population of women veterans is more than 2,066,000, which represents a significant increase from 713,000 women veterans in 1980; and (2) women veterans constitute approximately 11 percent of the total veteran population; Whereas women are the fastest growing group in the veteran population; Whereas an estimated 1 in 3 women veterans who are enrolled in the healthcare system of the Department of Veterans Affairs report having experienced military sexual trauma (MST) during their military service; Whereas the United States is proud of, and appreciates, the service of all women veterans, who have demonstrated great skill, sacrifice, and commitment to defending the principles upon which the United States was founded and which the United States continues to uphold; Whereas women veterans have unique stories and should be encouraged to share their recollections through the Veterans History Project, a part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, which has worked since 2000 to collect and share the personal accounts of wartime veterans in the United States; and Whereas, by designating June 12, 2023, as Women Veterans Appreciation Day (1) highlight the growing presence of women in the Armed Forces and the National Guard; and (2) pay respect to women veterans for their patriotic military service: Now, therefore, be it That the Senate designates June 12, 2023, as Women Veterans Appreciation Day

Summary: This resolution designates June 12, 2023, as Women Veterans Appreciation Day to recognize the service and sacrifices of women veterans.