The military due to downsizing shifted its focus to a smaller, combat-ready force. The new Army concept, Soldier 2020, will ensure the Army has its best Soldiers in their qualified duty position. Soldier 2020 will also integrate female Soldiers into previously closed Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) for the first time in its history. Women have served on the frontline as early as the Revolutionary War. But the debate of whether women should hold combat positions have been debated throughout American history (A History of Women in the U.S. Military, n.d.). Soldier 2020 will allow female Soldiers to pursue the career field of their choice free of restriction. More importantly, all Soldiers must demonstrate their qualification for…show more content… During these times, the lines were clear for female involvement. Women did not serve in the military under the same capacity as male Soldiers. Male Soldiers fought on the front lines while female Soldiers held support roles. Although females were restricted in how they served, they were still effective and efficient in conflicts.
During the Revolutionary War, females served in the United States Army in traditional societal roles comparable to tailors, cooks, and nurses. Females also served as spies and in different covert roles. Some even disguised themselves to appear as male Soldiers to fight in combat. Though women did not wear the uniform of a Soldier at that time, they shared the same hardships as their male companions (A History of Women in the U.S. Military, n.d.). The role of the female Soldier would evolve with future conflicts, more notably with the U.S. entry into World War II (WWII).
When the U.S. entered WWII, women served in greater capacities than in previous conflicts. The creation of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) provided female Soldiers with to opportunity to perform a variety of critical jobs in the Army. Female Soldiers worked in job fields such as military intelligence, cryptography, and maintenance among
