Welcome to AND

News from AND

AND releases new/updated position papers

The Alliance for National Defense today released a new position paper on Pregnancy and Military Operations and updated their September 2007 paper on Women in Combat.

The paper on Pregnancy and Military Operations effectively debunked wild Internet rumors of sky-high Navy pregnancy rates, noting that -- based on official DoD data – “pregnant military women lose no more work time than military men…who lose more time due to sports injuries and disciplinary reasons.”

Read Pregnancy and Military Operations here OR download PDF

Among the conclusions of the Women in Combat position paper:

“Women are in combat – this is nothing new. They serve in Afghanistan and Iraq with pride and honor. In both war zones, many of the distinctions regarding combat have constantly blurred because there are no front lines, and DGC is not isolated to being well forward on the battlefield – it is asymmetrical.”

“Current doctrine and policy concerning the assignment of military women have outlived past usefulness, and it is time for their revision, if not elimination, to reflect actual practices that are essential to wage this type of war.”

Read Women in Combat.here OR download PDF

Alliance for National Defense

announces scholarships

for enlisted women, ROTC cadets and midshipmen

The Alliance for National Defense (AND), will award two $2500 scholarships to current and future military women in 2009.

The alliance is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization providing powerful advocacy and a positive voice for military women. AND encourages and promotes the vital role of military women and men in our nation's defense. AND directors, national council members and supporters include active duty military personnel and concerned veterans working alongside civilians interested in military issues to provide factual, thoughtful, objective information on military personnel issues to policymakers, legislators and the public.

Honoring Brigadier General Evelyn P. Foote, USA, Ret., the Foote Scholarship is reserved for a currently serving enlisted woman who is enrolled for at least six credit hours at an accredited college or university; the Sadler Scholarship, named for Captain Georgia Sadler, USN, Ret., is intended for a woman enrolled in her second year in an accredited ROTC program.

Scholarship winners will be chosen from among applicants representing any branch or component of the armed forces based on merit, academic potential, community service and need. Winners will be announced in July 2009.

Click here for additional information

Click here for a scholarship application

Women generals and flag officers

honor General Dunwoody

A ‘star-studded’ group of more than 50 retired and current female generals and flag officers including AND President Emirata Gen. Pat Foote gathered at the WIMSA memorial to honor General Ann Dunwoody, the U.S. military’s first female four-star general.

In November, Dunwoody became the first female officer in U.S. military history to earn a fourth star. She currently serves as commander, U.S. Army Materiel Command.

Click here to view an Army video on the gathering.

Click here to read the story in text.

Fame and fortune might have been in the cards for Jeopardy contestants on February 24, 2009, if they had only visited the AND website and checked the retired Navy commander and Alliance for National Defense secretary/treasurer’s biography:

“She assumed command of USS OPPORTUNE (ARS 41) in December 1990 in Naples, Italy, becoming the first woman commander of a commissioned naval vessel.”

Jeopardy host Alex Trebek and Jeopardy’s fact checkers didn’t do a lot better with Cdr. Iskra’s unique place in history than the contestants, who were stumped by the question: Rather than phrasing the correct answer as ‘commander’ or ‘commanding officer,’ it was given as ’captain.’

No way to get passing grades from now-educator Iskra who earned her PhD in late 2007 and is now Deputy Director for the Leadership Education and Development Program at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Jeopardy question highlights

Cdr. Darlene Iskra’s place in Naval history

“In 1992, Darlene Iskra took an opportune time to become the Navy's first female one of these, on the USS Opportune." — Jeopardy question, February 24, 2009.

Current, former military women invited to

participate in study exploring combat trauma

Diane Delauter, a masters in social work student at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts, is conducting a research study about military women - either active duty or veterans, who have deployed to conflicts such as Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Bosnia, Somalia, the Gulf War, Vietnam, etc.

Important research has been conducted on the male experience of war and combat. This study will focus on the female perspective and experiences in hopes of further validating women’s roles and sacrifices in the Armed Services.

If you are a woman who is currently or has been in the military and has served in international areas of conflict/war and faced hostilities that can be called combat, you are invited to take this survey. For more details, the first page of the survey will describe things fully and you are in no way compelled to take this survey if you do not feel comfortable about it.

Your participation would be completely anonymous and voluntary, greatly appreciated, and may help health and wellness professionals better serve the women like you who have done so much for their country, whether they've deployed to combat zones or not. You may also exit the survey at any time, it will take about 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

For further information, read Ms. Delauter’s letter here; to view or participate in the survey click here.

AND’s Cdr. Iskra part of military.com

Women at War presentation

AND’s own Cdr. Darlene Iskra was one of 17 military women whose careers and achievements were highlighted in military.com’s slide show on the history of women at war.

The site also features a ‘click-through’ to more information on Cdr. Iskra (shown at the right in a Mark V diving suit) at the Library of Congress Veteran’s History Project’s Experience War series featuring excerpts from a film interview with the first woman to command a commissioned U.S. Navy vessel.

See the military.com slide show here;

View the Library of Congress material here.

Women in the Military: Moving Forward

Using the Lessons of the Past Decade

Eighth Conference on Women in the Military

24 and 25 September 2009

at the

Women in Military Service for America Memorial

Arlington, VA

Call For Papers

Papers and presentations are invited on U.S. and international perspectives on women in the military and women veterans. Scholars, members of the military, civil servants, writers, and interested individuals are invited to participate.

Over the years, these conferences, jointly convened by the Alliance for National Defense and the Women’s Research and Education Institute, have served as an opportunity for scholars, practitioners, service members and other interested people to meet and compare notes. Conference presentations are not limited to the scholarly, but presentations should be based on sound data and research or experience.

In addition to presentations inspired by the conference theme, you may also submit an abstract on a topic of your own choosing that deals with other aspects of women in the military. Presentations are generally limited to 20 minutes during the conference—if you will require longer, please inform us at the time of your submission. Most presentations are grouped into panels with a similar theme.

Note: We regret we will not be able to provide funding for travel/lodging of presenters, however, presenters do not pay the conference attendance fee.

Submit title and abstract or outline by 03 July 2009.

Information on the conference for those wishing to attend will be available in August 2009.

Send submissions to:

Captain Lory Manning, USN (Ret), WREI

1828 L St NW Suite 801 Washington DC 20036

Or by e-mail: lmanning@wrei.org; or by fax 202-332-2949.

For additional information e-mail or call (202-280-2719) Lory Manning.

Military women:

We’ve got your back!

We’re AND — a positive voice for American military women.

Military women have earned our nation’s gratitude and our support.

Women have served in all American conflicts. It’s been 60 years since women became official, permanent members our military services.

Today, women are a vital, irreplaceable part of our all-volunteer forces. They have served — often in harm’s way — with distinction alongside their brothers and, unfortunately, all-too-many including those represented in our Gallery of Heroines have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.

Who We Are

A non-profit, tax-exempt educational organization comprised of veterans from all service branches and concerned civilians, AND collects the facts and figures – factual, thoughtful, objective information – on US military women and provides them to scholars, the media, national decision makers and the public.

Where we stand

We believe:

A full partnership between women and men strengthens America's military.

Military readiness and mission accomplishment are of critical importance.

Excellence in performance is required from all who serve in the armed forces, regardless of gender.

What We Do

AND covers the backs of military women, encouraging and promoting the vital role of military women in our nation's defense.

AND brings organizations and individuals together to continually monitor the accomplishments of American military women and the level of support they receive from their services. And we spread the word so everyone can better understand their sacrifices and the often unique challenges military women face in their services and in their lives.

We hope you will find this site a valuable resource on the status of and issues effecting military women.

We hope you will learn, join in discussions and make this site your personal resource.

Be part of AND

AND is a member-supported organization and we invite you to join with us in supporting American Military women with your time and money.

Again, welcome to The Alliance for National Defense.

Welcome to AND

The Alliance for National Defense

New and Interesting

AND Scholarships Learn more here

Alliance for National Defense screen saver for your Windows computer

Click here to download

Hot-button issues