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| Wilson Sends Letter to Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz on DACOWITS Charter |
March 01, 2002 |
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Lawmaker Urges Pentagon to Reinstate Charter of Committee for Women in the Military
Washington, DC-Congresswoman Heather Wilson sent a letter to Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz today to urge that he reinstate the charter for the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service (DACOWITS). Wilson made her position clear to Wolfowitz in a personal meeting earlier this week. The Department of Defense allowed the charter for the committee expire yesterday. The text of the letter follows:
“DACOWITS was established in 1951 by George Marshall following the outbreak of hostilities in Korea. Manpower was so short at that time, there was talk of a draft for women. Interestingly, the person General Marshall put in charge of getting more troops was a woman - Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower, Anna Rosenberg. She told the first advisory committee members that “womanpower” had to be included in any further discussions of manpower. Since then, DACOWITS has played an important role in reporting on conditions in the service for women, and making recommendations to the Secretary of Defense on matters related to women in the service.
“Women are still a small minority in the services, and very few women are at senior ranks in the military. I think you would agree with me that their service is vital to the success of our all-volunteer military. Over the years, the advisory committee has focused on issues that would not have otherwise gotten attention, because women serve in such small numbers. By visiting bases and meeting with women of all ranks in small, private groups, committee members are able to identify problems for a base commander and for the Secretary that otherwise might undermine retention, readiness and force capability. The Committee has called attention to and made recommendations on the availability of OB-GYN care, preventative health care and wellness for women, problems with assignment systems, sexual harassment, and policies which unnecessarily restricted the contributions of women to our nation’s defense.
“The Committee is only advisory, but during my three years on the Committee, it often surprised me how many common sense things the Committee brought attention to, that senior managers in the Pentagon were not even aware of.
“I am, and will always be a strong supporter of our Nation’s defense. For some, this is all about equal opportunity. It’s not for me and never has been. It’s about military capability. We need the most capable, well-trained military we can have. Some of the “best of the best” are women and the Defense Department needs them. As skill levels essential to our missions continue to increase, it will be even more essential that we draw from the largest pool of talent available.
“It is unfortunate that a handful of vocal critics with no experience in the military have chosen to attack an advisory committee on women as part of their reactionary agenda. They don’t just want to get rid of DACOWITS. It is only a symbol. They want to roll back the participation of women in our Nation’s defense. We cannot and should not let women in the military believe that this reactionary agenda reflects the policies of Republicans or of the Bush Administration.
“I urge you to send a clear signal to our women in uniform. Renew the DACOWITS charter so that the Secretary of Defense continues to have a group that can focus on the needs and concerns of an important minority in our services, and immediately appoint a new chair and group of members to replace those whose terms have expired.”
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