Welcome to the world of men. Thousands of women have joined this world of men before you, yet you may feel that you are one of the first. In fact, the United States is one of the most experienced countries in the world at incorporating women into its military forces, with women serving in a variety of roles since America s original Continental army. The first women to officially become soldiers were nurses, clerks, and telephone operators in World War I, and women soldiers have served valiantly in every military conflict since then. Despite the institutional knowledge of the U.S. military as a whole, there is a great disparity of experience among men who work with women.
Most men have little or no experience in working with women soldiers.
Officers and noncommissioned officers, even in units where many women are assigned, are often unaware of the role of women as soldiers. Combat arms officers and noncommissioned officers who have spent most of their time in units where no women were assigned are particularly uninformed, even though they may have attended all the required training on the subject. Many of these men see women as inferior in the macho world of the military and frankly would prefer not to have to deal with them. During the early stages of combat operations in Grenada, a medical unit was deployed from the United States. Among the soldiers in the unit were several women.