It was one of the most significant events in American military history. The Department of Defense declared that, beginning in January 2016, all sex-based restrictions on military service would be lifted, opening all military positions to both men and women. It was the beginning of a new era for women serving in the military, yet many female Navy applicants remain unaware that it happened.
As of March 2017, Navy Recruiting District (NRD) Raleigh has only had two women sign up for positions in the Navy that would have previously been closed to them. Navy recruiters are questioning the reasons behind the low number of female applicants for these positons. According to Commander Juan Carrasco, Executive Officer for NRD Raleigh, a reason more women are not applying for the newly available positions may be due, in part, to a lack of awareness regarding the repeal of sex-based exclusionary job policies in the military.
“One of the biggest challenges is to make sure to get the word out to the public that jobs that were once closed to women are now open them,” says Commander Carrasco, who has served on three recruiting tours since 2005. “I think people would be surprised to find out that some communities still have an old mindset with regards to what jobs are available to women. Many times, women are surprised to learn that all the jobs are now open to them, including special operations and special warfare positions.”
Prior to 2016, in spite of U.S. military policies that prohibited women from being officially assigned to combat-oriented jobs, women served in combat and were recognized by the military for their bravery; in the current era of modern warfare, more than 9,000 women have earned Combat Action Badges. Thousands of female service members have proven themselves in combat, and many more women who are interested in joining the military aspire to do the same. NRD Raleigh recruiters are on a mission to inform female applicants about opportunities in the Navy that they may not know are available to them.
“I want people to know that women serving in these types of positions is actually nothing new. It may be a new idea to many American citizens, but across the world and throughout history women have serv5ed in the military in all types of positions,” says Commander Carrasco. “I think once the word is sufficiently put out to the public, we will discover just how eager women are to pursue positions in the Navy that had traditionally been unavailable to them.”
The military is a subset of the U.S. population that, in many ways, mirrors American society as a whole. Just as civilian companies seek the most talented people-both men and women-to fill
positions, Navy recruiters are looking for the most qualified people to fill Navy ranks, regardless of sex or gender. Commander Carrasco says that having all jobs open to women should benefit the Navy overall.
“It is important that the military reflects who we are as a society. Our new policies in the DoD are giving women their deserved place in our military. There is a holistic benefit to opening all jobs to everyone based on merit-not gender or sex. It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, the the Navy is looking for quality people”
| Date Taken: | 03.23.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.23.2017 15:21 |
| Story ID: | 227863 |
| Location: | RALEIGH, NC, US |
| Hometown: | EL PASO, TX, US |
| Hometown: | RALEIGH, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Recruiting Women to Make their Mark on History, by MSgt Tamara Dabney, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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