Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Sierra A. Melendez | Spc. Tajyshana Parrish, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division performs the...... read more read more
Subscribe
The 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division hosted an observance in honor of Women’s History Month at Club Stewart in Fort Stewart, Georgia, March 21.
The origins of Women’s History Month began in 1978 in California as a week-long celebration of women’s contributions to society and culture. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first proclamation declaring the 2nd week of March as National Women’s History Week.
Six years later, the National Women’s History Project petitioned the U.S. Congress to expand the commemoration to the entire month of March.
“Since America’s founding, women have played an integral part in American innovation and productivity, while simultaneously raising generations of lively children and providing leadership in their local communities,” said President Donald Trump during a speech officially proclaiming March 2018 as Women’s History Month.
Club Stewart was adorned with displays highlighting various prominent female service members and the role their influence played to the armed forces we know today.
While the incredible accomplishments of female Soldiers such as Capt. Kristen Griest – one of the first women to earn the coveted Ranger tab and the Army’s first female infantry officer – are well known in the news stratosphere, women have longed filled the ranks of formations throughout every major campaign throughout history.
Just as women were vital to the foundation and survival of our nation, they also fought to defend it from the very beginning.
From the settlers in Jamestown, Virginia in the 1600s, to the Revolutionary War, World Wars and the Global War on Terrorism, women have displayed the willingness to place the needs of their country and their fellow countrymen above their own.
Maj. Alicia L. Pruitt, deputy human resources officer of the 3rd Infantry Division and guest speaker for the observance, reveled in the endeavors of the service women who came before her and also recognized well-known female pioneers such as Rosa Parks, Marie Curie and Susan B. Anthony during her speech.
“Everything from the Women’s Nurse Corps to the Women’s Army Corps in support of the World Wars to even now,” said Pruitt. “Women bring a dynamic of emotional intelligence, resiliency, adversity and a special talent of bringing together a team.”
Pruitt attributes her success and accomplishments to her great-grandmother, Laurette Durand – someone who Pruitt says is her number one female role model.
As a photo was displayed of Durand on the projector at Club Stewart, Pruitt grew teary-eyed as she spoke of the struggles her great-grandmother endured while still managing to remain a stoic and resilient heroine to the women of the generations that followed her.
“I share my great-grandmother with you today, not because she was a change agent on a global scale,” said Pruitt. “But because she was a change agent in my life and the life of the other women in my family.”
Female Marne Soldiers from all ranks were in attendance for the observance.
Spc. Silken F. Little, a Decatur, Georgia native and signal support systems specialist assigned to the 87th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd STB, 3rd ID, said she was inspired to enlist following the footsteps of her grandmother who was a correctional officer in the Military Police Corps.
“I wanted to make her proud,” said Little. “Female Soldiers like my grandmother played such a big role in the success of the Army. They have set milestones for younger women like myself.”
Today, women have more opportunities than ever in the armed forces. About 17 percent of the Army is female, and all positions in the Army are open to women.
| Date Taken: | 03.21.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 03.22.2018 13:30 |
| Story ID: | 270297 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Hometown: | ATLANTA, GA, US |
| Hometown: | DECATUR, GA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Hometown: | HINESVILLE, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 61 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Marne Division celebrates, honors women during observance, by SFC Sierra A. Melendez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT