For a contemporary story I’m writing about a civilian father whose wife is deployed in Afghanistan, I researched the changing role of women in the U.S. Armed Force. Women have played a role in military conflicts since the American Revolution, but World War II was the first time they served in an official capacity. Beginning in December 1941, 350,000 women were active in four branches established exclusively for them: Army WACS, Air Force WASPS, Navy WAVES, and Marine and Coast Guard SPARS. About 70% held traditionally “female” jobs as typists, clerks, and mail sorters. Only those working in the Army and Navy medical corps made it close to the front lines. Today, by contrast, women account for one-sixth of active-duty personnel (up from one-tenth in 1970), with the largest number serving in the Air Force and Navy. Since 2001, over 200,000 female soldiers have served in Afghanistan and/or Iraq, including more than 100,000 mothers.
