Even former adversaries have noted the contributions of women to American security. Germany s armaments minister during the Second World War, Albert Speer, made a profound observation about how America organized itself for war. We would have found out, as you did, that women were equally effective, and for some skills, superior to males. But this really shouldn t have come as a surprise to Albert Speer, or to anyone else, because women have performed great deeds throughout the history of our republic. For more than 220 years women have served in our Armed Forces.
Women play an increasingly important role today.
They fly our planes, command our ships, and lead our troops. Yes, we ve come a long way in the past 50 years. And back in 1973 women made up less than 2 percent of the active duty force. That percentage rose to more than 8 percent in 1980 and to over 14 percent today. We must continue along that path to ensure that every person in our military can achieve their full potential and make the maximum contribution to our Nation.