Women's History Month Onboard Big Land

GUAM

03.10.2018

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Destinyy Reed 

USS Emory S. Land (AS-39)

March isn’t just a month for St. Patrick’s, it’s also the month that our nation celebrates the many accomplishments women have achieved. The Navy joins the nation in celebrating Woman's History Month throughout March.
ALNAV 007/18 encourages participation in all heritage celebrations and special observances throughout the year. In the month of March, Navy commands are encouraged to celebrate and reflect on the theme "Honoring Woman Who Fight All forms of Discrimination.”
“Women’s History is powerful,” said Chief Information Systems Technician Rose Williams, Automated Data Processing LCPO. “It highlights how far we’ve come because often times woman are seen as the underdogs until people learn about our many achievements.”
Women have been contributing to the Navy’s story ever since the 1800s. In 1948, women were granted permanent status in the Navy with the passage of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act.
“Women’s history is important because it’s always an untold story of how we’ve came to be,” said Interior Communications Electrician 2nd Class Sophia A.D. Jackson, female berthing Petty Officer. “A lot of people forget that females in a male dominant field often times feel as though they have no voice.”
Likewise, Williams agrees stating that there’s a stigma that women aren’t usually seen as equally capable as a man or strong enough, because of this it’s extremely inspirational seeing a salty female Captain because she’s probably had to put up with so much just to get to where she is.
“Women bring diversity to the Navy,” said Williams. “It’s a different perspective that may not have been thought of by our male coworkers.”
Williams is excited to be able to impact that stigma because she is a female chief. She’s experienced people applauding her and viewing her as inspirational because of her accomplishments as a woman.
“Women’s History is something we have to embrace, acknowledge and understand,” said Jackson.
Over the last century, women have served aboard auxiliary ships, combatant ships, and now even submarines.
“We need to understand that woman have done so much and haven’t always been represented, but we’re still strong and persistent,” said Jackson. “We’ve come a long way since the Navy was founded in 1775 and we’re still doing amazing things; it’s just a reminder that there are still so many amazing things to come.”
This is merely the beginning of what women are capable of. With enough awareness and appreciation, we’ll have many more inspirational women contributing to the Navy’s story.

• Date Taken: 03.10.2018
• Date Posted: 03.17.2019 23:43
• Story ID: 314575
• Location: GU