After examining the service that females had contributed to their attached units in these roles and the restriction that had prevented them from doing so in the first place, the Army decided it was time to get rid of the policy altogether since its purpose had become a moot point.īrig. This position changed when the country engaged in two wars, and the policy could not keep up with the needs of the military. but because I'm a female they won't let (me)." Then you go through a two-week training on MLRS and HIMARS, so all of my training was dedicated to working on a cannon unit. That's primarily what all my schooling was about. I learned how to be a cannon platoon leader, cannon fire direction officer, cannon fire support officer. "When you go through the FA BOLC course, it's the same exact thing. But, her training was no different from any of her male classmates. However, to be able to do her job she had to be assigned to a forward support company and then get attached to a HIMARS unit to get around the restrictions. Amanda Hassett, B Battery, 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery executive and fire direction officer, has worked on HIMARS since she left the Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC). Even if the HIMARS and MLRS units were miles away, because they were situated next to units with roles that did not allow women, they were also unable to have women assigned to them.ġst Lt. HIMARS and MLRS units participate in indirect firing roles, which means they are technically not placed on the "front line" or direct combat missions.īut on the battlefield they can be placed, or "co-located," near units like an infantry company whose main purpose is to participate in direct combat roles and do not allow women. Improving opportunities for females motivated these changes as the DoD and the military services were directed by the fiscal 2011 National Defense Authorization Act to provide information on policies that restricted women in the military.The decision to change policy started in the fall of 2011 and specifics on what the changes would be were not worked out until early 2012.Ĭo-location was a policy in the 1994 DoD Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule that dictated where females in certain units could be placed on the battlefield. Three things happened that affected women in field artillery directly: The co-location provision was eliminated from a 1994 DoD policy, thus opening up High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) units to women at all levels because of the elimination of co-location, three Military Occupation Specialties (MOS) opened up to females in HIMARS and MLRS units that had always been closed to them and finally, nine brigade combat teams were opened up to females at the battalion level. Women Soldiers came to work May 14 with more opportunities than ever before.Ī new policy opened up 14,325 additional positions or 3 percent more Army jobs, according to the Department of Defense and the Army Times respectively. With a change in Army policy, Hassett and other female Soldiers will now be able to officially.įORT SILL, Okla. Kelly Konkus during a field exercise in June. Amanda Hassett, B Battery, 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery executive officer, talks to Staff Sgt. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL 2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption –ġst Lt. Kimberly Kopack (third from left) talks to Basic Officer Leader Course students at Fort Sill about her combat patch and time as a cultural support team female attached to a special forces group during an Afghanistan deployment. Marine leaders have been contemplating allowing women to go to boot camp here in San Diego, according to the Associated Press.1st Lt. The Infantry Officer Course is a 13-week course that trains infantry and ground officers in "leadership, infantry skills, and character required to serve as infantry platoon commanders," according to USMC. The Marines said in a release the officer's follow-on assignment will be to 1st Marine Division located at Camp Pendleton. "Marines expect and rightfully deserve competent and capable leaders, and these IOC graduates met every training requirement as they prepare for the next challenge of leading infantry Marines ultimately, in combat." "I am proud of this officer and those in her class who have earned the infantry officer MOS," Marine Corps Commandant Gen. She is the first to complete the course since the Marines opened all military occupational specialties to women in April 2016. RELATED: Marines consider plan to put women in combat training at Camp Pendleton USMC said the lieutenant, who asked not to be identified, was one of 88 who graduated from the course in Quantico, Va. Marine has made history as the first female to graduate from the Infantry Officer Course in Virginia.
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