Women and Military Service A History, Analysis, and Overview of Key Issues

Today, the armed forces of virtually all nations have women in them. In the United States, women represent about 10 percent of the active duty military population. Thus the topic of women and military service is an important and timely one. Women have served in and with the United States armed forces since the founding of our nation; yet it has only been since the 1970s that issues concerning women in the military have been seriously and systematically pursued by both scholars and military planners. This volume is an effort to identify and examine key events, questions, and policies pertaining to women in the United States armed forces. To do this, a multidisciplinary analytical strategy that incorporates the methodology and conceptual tools of history, social science, organizational theory, policy analysis, and future studies was adopted.