UNCLASSIFIED// ROUTINE R 251554Z FEB 11 FM CNO WASHINGTON DC TO AL NAVADMIN NAVADMIN INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC BT UNCLAS FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N00// TO NAVADMIN INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N00// NAVADMIN 066/11 MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N00/FEB// SUBJ/OBSERVANCE OF WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH 2011// RMKS/1. NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH WILL BE OBSERVED 1-31 MARCH 2011. THE NATIONAL AND DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE THEME FOR THIS YEAR'S OBSERVANCE IS "OUR HISTORY IS OUR STRENGTH." 2. WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH ORIGINATED IN 1978, WHEN THE SONOMA COUNTY (CALIFORNIA) COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN INITIATED A WOMEN'S HISTORY WEEK TO COINCIDE WITH INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY. IN 1981, IN RESPONSE TO GROWING SUPPORT FOR THE WEEK, CONGRESS PASSED A JOINT RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING A WOMEN'S HISTORY WEEK. IN 1987, THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY PROJECT, A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO HONORING AND PRESERVING WOMEN'S HISTORY, PETITIONED CONGRESS TO EXPAND THE CELEBRATION TO THE ENTIRE MONTH OF MARCH. SINCE THEN, NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH HAS BEEN APPROVED BY CONGRESS EVERY YEAR AND COMMEMORATES THE DIVERSE CONTRIBUTIONS WOMEN HAVE MADE, AND CONTINUE TO MAKE, TO OUR NATION. 3. TODAY, MORE THAN 53,000 ACTIVE-DUTY WOMEN AND MORE THAN 10,000 FEMALE RESERVISTS ARE SERVING IN THE NAVY. THEY MAKE UP 16.3 PERCENT OF THE FORCE, AND MAKE INDISPENSABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR MISSION AND OPERATIONS. THIRTY- ONE ACTIVE AND RESERVE FEMALE FLAG OFFICERS AND MORE THAN 50 FEMALE COMMAND MASTER CHIEFS ARE LEADING FROM THE FRONT. NEARLY 50,000 WOMEN SERVE IN A WIDE RANGE OF SPECIALTIES AS NAVY CIVILIANS. TODAY, 95 PERCENT OF NAVY BILLETS ARE OPEN TO WOMEN, AND WOMEN ARE ASSIGNED TO SHIPS, AFLOAT STAFFS, NAVAL CONSTRUCTION FORCE UNITS, AND AVIATION SQUADRONS. 4. SINCE BECOMING AN OFFICIAL PART OF THE NAVY IN 1908 WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NURSE CORPS, WOMEN HAVE EXHIBITED AN EVER- INCREASING INFLUENCE AND IMPACT. WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE WOMEN'S ARMED SERVICES INTEGRATION ACT ON 12 JUNE 1948, WOMEN GAINED PERMANENT STATUS IN THE ARMED SERVICES. THE FIRST SIX ENLISTED WOMEN WERE SWORN INTO THE REGULAR NAVY ON 7 JULY 1948 AND, ON 15 OCTOBER 1948, THE FIRST EIGHT FEMALE OFFICERS WERE COMMISSIONED. WOMEN WERE FIRST ASSIGNED TO SELECTED NON-COMBATANT SHIPS IN 1978, AND OPPORTUNITIES WERE LATER BROADENED IN 1994 TO INCLUDE SERVICE ON COMBATANT SHIPS FOLLOWING THE REPEAL OF THE COMBAT EXCLUSION LAW. MOST RECENTLY, IN APRIL 2010, THE NAVY ANNOUNCED A POLICY CHANGE THAT ALLOWS WOMEN TO SERVE ON SUBMARINES, OPENING THE APERTURE TO A KEY TALENT POOL. 5. THE SPIRITED AND COURAGEOUS EFFORTS OF WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY HAVE SHAPED OUR LEGACY. A VETERAN OF TWO WORLD WARS AND DIRECTOR OF THE WOMEN ACCEPTED FOR VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY SERVICE (WAVES ) FROM 1946 TO 1953, CAPT JOY BRIGHT HANCOCK PLAYED A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE PASSAGE OF THE WOMEN'S ARMED SERVICE INTEGRATION ACT. DURING THE VIETNAM WAR IN 1972, CDR ELIZABETH BARRETT BECAME THE FIRST FEMALE LINE OFFICER TO HOLD COMMAND IN A COMBAT ZONE WHEN SHE BECAME COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE NAVAL ADVISORY GROUP IN SAIGON. IN 1974, LT BARBARA ALLEN RAINEY EARNED HER WINGS AND BECAME THE FIRST FEMALE U.S. NAVAL AVIATOR. IN 1990, LCDR DARLENE ISKRA BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN TO COMMAND A NAVY SHIP AND, IN 1998, CDR MAUREEN A. FARREN BECAME THE NAVY'S FIRST FEMALE COMBATANT SHIP COMMANDER. IN 2002, MASTER CHIEF JACQUELINE DIROSA BECAME THE NAVY'S FIRST FEMALE FORCE MASTER CHIEF AND, IN 2006, SHE BECAME THE FIRST FEMALE FLEET MASTER CHIEF. CAPT SUNITA WILLIAMS, A NAVAL AVIATOR AND NASA ASTRONAUT, SET THE RECORD IN 2007 FOR THE LONGEST UNINTERRUPTED SPACE FLIGHT BY A FEMALE ASTRONAUT. 6. ALL COMMANDS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO INCREASE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN TO OUR NAVY AND NATION BY CELEBRATING WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH THROUGH PROGRAMS, EXHIBITS, PUBLICATIONS AND PARTICIPATION IN MILITARY AND COMMUNITY EVENTS. A PRESENTATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE DEFENSE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.DEOMI.ORG/SPECIALOBSERVANCE/PRESENTATIONS.CFM?CATID=3. MATERIALS ON THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN NAVAL HISTORY CAN BE FOUND AT HTTP://WWW.HISTORY.NAVY.MIL/SPECIAL%20HIGHLIGHTS/WOMEN/WOMEN- INDEX.HTM AND HTTP://CMSAUTHOR.BUPERS.NAVY.MIL/ABOUTUS/BUPERS/ WOMENSPOLICY/WOMENSHISTORYMONTH.HTM. INFORMATION ON THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN TO OUR NATION'S LEGACY CAN BE FOUND AT HTTP://WOMENSHISTORYMONTH.GOV/ AND HTTP://NWHP.ORG/. INDIVIDUALS AND COMMANDS ARE ALSO ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SEA SERVICE LEADERSHIP ASSOCIATION (SSLA) WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP SYMPOSIUM 15-16 MARCH 2011 IN SAN DIEGO, CA. DURING THE CONFERENCE, THE RECIPIENTS OF THE 2011 JOY BRIGHT HANCOCK LEADERSHIP AWARDS WILL BE HONORED. MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT HTTP://WWW.SEALEADER.ORG. 7. MORE INFORMATION ON DIVERSITY CONFERENCES, EVENTS, AND OBSERVANCES IS AVAILABLE AT THE NAVY DIVERSITY WEB SITE: HTTP://WWW.NPC.NAVY.MIL/COMMANDSUPPORT/DIVERSITY. 8. POINT OF CONTACT IS LT LAURA STEGHERR, OPNAV (N134), AT (703) 695 - 0820/DSN 225 OR VIA EMAIL AT LAURA.STEGHERR(AT)NAVY.MIL. 9. RELEASED BY ADMIRAL G. ROUGHEAD, CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS.// BT #0001 NNNN