WEBVTT

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- [Narrator] As the nation
celebrates Women's Equality Day,

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Blanchfield Army Community Hospital

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on Fort Campbell, Kentucky,
stands as a lasting tribute

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to trailblazers in Army
Medicine and public service.

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Named after Colonel
Florence A. Blanchfield,

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BACH is named for the
first woman to receive

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a permanent commission
rank and benefits equal

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to those accorded male
officers commissioned

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in the U.S. Army.

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She joined the Army in 1917
and was appointed as a nurse

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during the First World War

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and the global flu pandemic of 1918.

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Army life appealed to Blanchfield.

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She rose through the
ranks serving domestically

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and in far-off places

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like France, the Philippines, and China

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caring for wounded, ill,
and injured service members.

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In 1935, Blanchfield was assigned

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to the Office of the Superintendent
of the Army Nurse Corps,

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where she had the opportunity
to help shape policy.

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Her influence to improve
the training for nurses

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would enable nursing teams to
positively impact medical care

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at the front lines during war missions.

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This effort led her to become

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the Superintendent of the Army
Nurse Corps eight years later

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in 1943 during World War II.

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In that role, she led
more than 55,000 nurses

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during the height of the war.

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At that time, nurses served
in the U.S. and overseas

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in field hospitals and
evacuation hospitals.

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They served on hospital
ships and hospital trains.

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Superintendent Blanchfield placed nurses

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near the front lines during combat

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because, "The greatest
need for expert nursing

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"is immediately following
frontline surgery," she said.

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She was determined to save
lives and told naysayers,

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"Don't let anyone tell
you that the combat zone

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"is no place for nurses.

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"It is definitely."

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Yet despite their efforts,
Blanchfield and her fellow nurses

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were paid at a lower rate
than men of the same rank,

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and she lobbied for change.

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One of her goals was to
secure equal benefits

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for women serving as nurses in the Army.

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She worked with Congresswoman
Frances Payne Bolton

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in developing the Army-Navy
Nurses Act of 1947

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and Public Law 36 enacted in 1947,

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which established the
Regular Army Nurse Corps

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with permanent commission
rank and benefits equal

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to those accorded male officers.

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She was the first woman to
receive a regular Army commission

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and was the first director with the title

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Chief of the Army Nurse Corps.

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Today, women in Army
Medicine and the U.S. Army

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continue Blanchfield's
efforts by impacting

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and leading administrative
and medical roles.

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Former Blanchfield commander,
Major General Telita Crosland,

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currently serves as Deputy Surgeon General

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and Deputy Commanding
General for Operations,

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United States Army Medical Command.

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She also serves as Chief
of the Medical Corps.

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Regional Health Command-Atlantic,

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Commanding General
Brigadier General Paula Lodi

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and her sister, Major
General Maria Barrett,

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Commanding General of
the U.S. Army Network

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Enterprise Technology
Command are the first sisters

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in the Army to attain the
rank of General Officers.

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Women currently command half

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of the Army's Regional Health Commands,

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responsible for providing
combatant commanders

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with medically-ready forces
and a ready medical force,

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conducting health service
support in all phases

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of military operations,
including COVID-19 response.

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The history of aspirational women

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in Army Medicine continues.

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(inspirational music)