Women in the United States Armed Forces: A Guide to the Issues (Contemporary Military, Strategic, and Security Issues)
• Provides an abbreviated history of women in the military as a starting point for student study and in order to focus on current issues of importance to women in or considering joining the military• Concisely explains the structural limitations women face in the military solely because of their gender, not their capabilities• Is the only book that lists all of the U.S. military women POWs to date, as well as the only book that highlights the success of women's participation in combat• Includes results of a proprietary survey undertaken for this book• Offers a chronology of women's history to present day"Iskra (leadership education and development, U. of Maryland, College Park), a retired Navy commander who was the first woman to command a ship, examines the history, policies, and current issues affecting women in the US military. The first chapter traces contributions of women from the American Revolution up to 1990, the legislation and policies that authorized women to enter the military, and the changes that occurred over the twentieth century to expand their roles. She then discusses policy and practice changes since 1990, such as those allowing women to fly combat aircraft and be assigned as permanent ship's company on surface combatant ships; the issue of citizenship rights and responsibilitiesand restrictions on women's roles, especially the ground combat exclusion and arguments for women's registration for selective service; the lives of female heroes, prisoners of war, and those who have earned awards; and concerns like gender discrimination, sexual harassment and assault, and conflicts with marriage and family."-Reference & Research Book News"This volume will be useful for anyone researching women in the military, but especially for policy makers. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers."-Choice