Pat Foote Pat Foote ( * May 19 , 1930 in Durham , North Carolina ) is a retired US Army Brigadier General . She served from 1959 to 1989 , rising to the rank of brigadier general in 1986 , and holds many firsts for women in the U . S . Army . Early life and education . Brigadier General Evelyn Patricia " Pat " Foote was born in Durham , North Carolina on 19 May 1930 . Her parents , Evelyn Sidena Womack Foote and Henry Alexander Foote senior , both worked for the American Tobacco Company while Foote was a child . In 1945 , the Foote family moved to Washington , D . C . , and Pat Foote graduated from Central High School in 1947 . She attended Wake Forest University , earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology in 1953 . Foote also holds a Masters of Science degree in Public Administration and Government from Shippensburg University , and an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Wake Forest University . She is also a 1980 graduate of the Executive Program of the University of Virginia and a 1985 graduate of the Center for Creative Leadership . Her military education includes completion of the Women ' s Army Corps Officer Basic Course , the Adjutant General Corps Officer Advanced Course , the United States Army Command and General Staff College , and the Army War College . Command and Staff Positions . She held a variety of command and staff positions culminating in her assignment as Commanding General of Fort Belvoir , Virginia . Immediately prior , she was Deputy Inspector General ( Inspections ) , Department of the Army . Other key assignments include command of the 2d Basic Training Battalion , United States Army Military Police School and Training Center , Fort McClellan , Alabama ; service as Director of Personnel Management Systems , Department of Command and Management , the United States Army War College , Carlisle Barracks , Pennsylvania ; and Commander , 42d Military Police Group , United States Army , Europe and Seventh Army . Key Assignments . In other key assignments , General Foote served with the Information Office at Headquarters , United States Army , Vietnam in 1967 and upon return to the United States , assumed the duties of Executive Officer , Women ' s Army Corps Branch with the Officer Personnel Directorate , Office of Personnel Operations . She was the Plans and Programs Officer with the Office of the Director , Women ' s Army Corps , during the transition to the all - volunteer force and the early years of the greatly increased utilization of women within the Army . Following this , she served as the final WAC Staff Adviser to the Commanding General of the United States Army Forces Command and as Executive Officer of that command ' s Human Resources Directorate . Achievements , Awards and Decorations . General Foote had many notable achievements during her career . She was the first female public relations officer in Vietnam in 1967 and the first female faculty member appointed to the U . S . Army War School in 1979 . General Foote was also the first female brigade commander in Europe and the first female Inspector General in the Army in 1986 . When Foote was promoted to Brigadier General in 1986 , she became one of only four female generals in the U . S . Army . She was also the first female commander of Fort Belvoir , Virginia . General Foote ' s awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal , the Legion of Merit ( with Oak Leaf Cluster ) , the Bronze Star Medal , the Meritorious Service Medal ( with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters ) , the Army Commendation Medal ( with Oak Leaf Cluster ) and the Army General Staff Identification Badge . The German government awarded her the Bundesverdienstkreuz , Erste Klasse , for her service as Command of the 42 Military Police Group , 1983 - 85 . 1st Retirement and Recall . General Foote retired from active duty on September 1 , 1989 . In December 1996 , she was recalled to active duty to serve as Vice Chair of the Secretary of the Army ' s Senior Review Panel on Sexual Harassment . 2nd Retirement Activity . On October 1 , 1997 , General Foote returned to retired status and served as a Consultant to the Office of the Secretary of the Army through July 1998 , briefing military leaders and various organizations concerning the Senior Review Panel ' s report , its findings and its recommendations . From 1998 to 2007 , she served as president of the Alliance for National Defense , a non - profit organization that supports women in the military . She remains an active spokesperson for the Army and other organizations concerning the role of women in the military services .