THIS IS AMERICA - A Soldier's Life: Women in the U.S. Milita

THIS IS AMERICA - A Soldier's Life: Women in the U.S. Military
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, November 07, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. November eleventh is Veterans Day in the United States. The holiday honors people who served in the military. And that brings us to our subject this week: women in the military.

 
U.S. servicewomen in Al Kut, Iraq
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VOICE ONE:

In two thousand four, Martha McSally became the first woman to command a fighter squadron in the United States Air Force. Lieutenant¹ Colonel McSally commands twenty-seven aircraft and more than sixty crew members.

The A-Ten fighter planes provide close support for ground troops. They also perform search-and-rescue operations in areas of combat. The squadron has been deployed² to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Colonel McSally is one of more than two hundred thousand women in the United States military. They are in all of the services: Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard.

VOICE TWO:

For many years, women in the military served mostly as nurses. Today, they do many other kinds of work as well. Women have reached some of the highest positions in the military. But they are still barred from taking part in ground combat.

Yet more than forty women have been killed in the war in Iraq. Hundreds of others have been wounded. The war began in March of two thousand three. In all, more than two thousand American service members have died.

VOICE ONE:

The dead include Pamela Osbourne. Last month, two rockets hit the camp in Baghdad where she served as an Army supply sergeant⁴. She was taking supplies to another soldier when she was killed.

Sergeant Osbourne was born in Jamaica thirty-eight years ago. She was married and the mother of three children. She joined the Army in two thousand one. She was sent to Iraq about seven months ago.

Pamela Osbourne had recently met one of her major goals in life. She had become an American citizen.

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VOICE TWO:

In nineteen seventy-three, the United States withdrew its troops from Vietnam. The Vietnam War ended. So did the American draft. Without a draft, the military could no longer require young men to serve. The services needed volunteers.

More jobs opened in the military for women, and many joined. Military service offered a chance to learn a trade or profession and, in some cases, to see the world.

VOICE ONE:

The women volunteers were following a historic tradition of service to the nation.

The American Revolution for freedom from Britain began in seventeen seventy-five. Civilian⁵ women volunteered as nurses. Women did so again in the eighteen sixties during the Civil War. Women also acted as spies during those wars.

The United States entered World War One in nineteen seventeen. About thirty thousand American women joined the military. Most were nurses. But some had administrative⁶ jobs as female yeomen, so-called yeomanettes, in the Naval⁷ Reserve and Coast Guard.

A history of women in the Coast Guard says a few apparently⁸ served at the headquarters building in Washington. Nineteen-year-old sisters Genevieve and Lucille Baker⁹ are said to have been the first women to wear the uniform of the Coast Guard.

VOICE TWO:

In the nineteen forties, the military greatly increased the number of servicewomen and the jobs they could hold during World War Two. At first, many people opposed the idea. But as the war continued, it became clear that the nation needed women to perform more jobs so more men could fight in combat.

The armed forces accepted almost four hundred thousand women. In nineteen forty-three, the Women's Army Auxiliary¹⁰ Corps¹¹ was renamed the Women's Army Corps. Its members served overseas. Later, women in the Navy and Coast Guard also went overseas.

 
Photo from 'The Women's Army Corps, 1945-1978': Women officers are sworn into the Army, September 1, 1943
Some women in the services were taken prisoner during World War Two. Others were killed.

Women received military honors and the praise of their commanders. Even those who had opposed women in military service joined in that praise.

VOICE ONE:

Women continued to serve in a number of non-combat positions. Eight women died in military service in Vietnam. Over the years, women have gotten closer and closer to the fighting. In nineteen eighty-nine, almost eight hundred servicewomen provided support for the American operation in Panama. Some piloted Blackhawk helicopters that came under fire.

 
A drill instructor¹² at the Marine³ Corps Recruit Depot¹³, Parris Island, South Carolina
Women piloted airplanes in the Persian Gulf¹⁴ War in nineteen ninety-one. And they did so again in a military action over Iraq in nineteen ninety-eight. Women also served in the operations in Bosnia and Kosovo.

And now they are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. But there are still limits on the jobs they are permitted to do.

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VOICE TWO:

A strengthened economy and a time of war have meant a harder time finding young men to join the military. This has meant that servicewomen have been given more kinds of jobs. Some of these can bring them into danger.

For example, both men and women have been transporting supplies and providing medical aid to fighting troops in Iraq. These jobs cannot be done far away from the fighting.

Lawmakers in Congress have been trying to further limit how and where women can serve in areas of conflict. Such efforts do not please women who say they want to take the same risks as men.

VOICE ONE:

Retired¹⁵ Air Force officer Karen Johnson is an official of the National Organization for Women, the activist¹⁶ group called NOW. She says serving in the military is a right of American citizenship¹⁷. When this right is limited, she says, a woman's citizenship is limited.

But Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness opposes placing women in dangerous military jobs. The center is a policy organization.

Miz Donnelly points to studies that say women have physical limitations that should prevent their serving in combat. She says women soldiers do not have an equal chance to survive – or to help other soldiers survive.

VOICE TWO:

Two recently published books tell two different stories of women who served in Iraq.

One is by Janis Karpinski. She was the Army general who commanded military police at prisons in Iraq. These included the Army Reserve soldiers who guarded the Abu Ghraib Prison near Baghdad.

Some have received prison sentences for mistreating prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Miz Karpinski became the highest-level officer to be punished in connection with the case. She left the service in July after being reduced from a brigadier general to a colonel.

VOICE ONE:

Her book is called "One Woman's Army: The Commanding General of Abu Ghraib Tells Her Story." Miz Karpinski says she was unfairly blamed for conditions beyond her control. She also tells of her difficulties as a rising woman officer in the Army.

VOICE TWO:

Another former member of the Army, Kayla Williams, wrote a book called "Love My Rifle More Than You." The name is taken from a marching song. Miz Williams was an Arabic translator in Iraq. She says her book describes what it is like to be young and female in the Army. One reviewer called it "a frank, shocking and honest look at life in the military."

VOICE ONE:

Lori Piestewa was a private first class in the Army. In two thousand three, she became the first American woman to die in Iraq. She also became the first Native American woman known to have been killed in a foreign war.

 
Lori Piestewa
Lori Piestewa was a single mother from Arizona with two young children. Her father and grandfather had also served in the Army.

She was killed after a group of supply trucks took a wrong turn and came under attack near the Iraqi city of Nasariyah. Her friend Private Jessica Lynch was taken prisoner, but later rescued from a hospital.

Jessica Lynch became famous when the military presented her as a hero. Later, she said the truth was that her gun would not even fire. But she said Lori Piestewa did fight back, and died trying to protect the other soldiers.

Now, there is a mountain in Phoenix¹⁸, Arizona, that has been named Piestewa Peak in her honor.

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VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson. Caty Weaver¹⁹ was our producer. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember.  Please join us again next week for another THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

2 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

7 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

10 auxiliary   

adj.辅助的，备用的

参考例句：

• I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
• The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。

11 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

12 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

13 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

14 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

15 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

16 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

17 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

18 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

19 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。