Our Founder and CEO, VR Small joined the United States Navy at the young age of 17. She literally grew up in the Navy, living daily its principals of Honor, Courage & Commitment, which she continues to hold dear today. As a woman, she is proud to have served, and to have been nominated to attend the Naval Academy at time when women of color represented a very small percentage of accepted candidates. To celebrate the Navy’s birthday, we will provide a brief overview of women in the Navy.
WOMEN IN THE NAVY:
The first women to serve in the U.S. Navy were nurses, beginning with the “Sacred Twenty” appointed after Congress established the Navy Nurse Corps on 13 May 1908. The first large-scale enlistment of women into the Navy met clerical shortages during World War I, and the second came months before the United States entered World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Public Law 689 creating the Navy’s women reserve program on 30 July 1942, which paved the way for officer and enlisted women to enter the Navy. On 22 February 1974, the Navy designated the first woman as an aviator. On 7 March 1994, the Navy issued the first orders for women to be assigned aboard a combatant ship, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). Today, women serve in every rank from seaman to admiral and in every job from naval aviator to deep-sea diver.
Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN–69), is backed from the pier with the aid of the yard tug boat Anoka (YTB-810). This six-month deployment to the Mediterranean is the first with female Sailors onboard a combatant ship. 20 October 1994 (National Archives photo 6493349)
Significant Dates and Historical Events for Women in the U.S. Navy:
Answering the Call: Civil War to World War II
New Opportunities, New Achievements: Postwar Years to 1990s
Leadership in the Modern Navy: 21st Century
Z-Gram 116, an all-Navy message from then-Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo Zumwalt Jr., announced the establishment of a task force to "eliminate any disadvantages to women resulting from either legal or attitudinal restrictions".
The Integration of the WAVES and the Navy’s First Female African-American Officers
Women Trailblazers:
Lieutenant Susan Ahn Cuddy, a Korean American who served in the Navy as a member of the WAVES [Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service] and became the first woman gunnery officer.
Leading by Example: Vice Admiral Raquel Cruz Bono, MC, USN, profile by Denise Krepp, NHHC Director's Action Group
Thirty Years of Dedicated Service: Captain Kathlene Contres, USN, profile by Denise Krepp, NHHC Director's Action Group
First Female Flag Officer: Rear Admiral Alene B. Duerk, NC, USN
Helping Others Realize Their Dreams: Captain Mery-Angela Sanabria Katson, USN, profile by Denise Krepp, NHHC Director's Action Group
Female Asian-American Navy Leaders, Mentors, and Trailblazers, collection of profiles by Denise Krepp, NHHC Director's Action Group
The guided-missile destroyer USS Hopper (DDG-70) returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam from a seven-month independent deployment, 14 November 2011. Hopper conducted ballistic missile defense operations, as well as maritime interdiction operations and theater security cooperation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Dustin W. Sisco)
Select Ships Named in Honor of Notable Women:
Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10)
Working on a Small Boat Engine
Collections Focused on Women in the U.S. Navy:
Art exhibit: Women in Uniform
Photographs: Women in the Navy
Here are some additional links to learn more about the proud hertiage of our service women in the Navy.
