Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services

The Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) was established in 1951 by then Secretary of Defense, George C. Marshall. The Committee

Committee

A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...

is composed of civilian women and men who are appointed by the Secretary of Defense to provide advice and recommendations on matters and policies relating to the recruitment and retention, treatment, employment, integration, and well-being of women in the U.S. Armed Forces. In addition, beginning in 2002, the Committee began providing advice and recommendations on family issues related to recruitment and retention. Historically, DACOWITS' recommendations have been instrumental in effecting changes to laws and policies pertaining to military women.

Significant recommendations

that the policy of establishing a system of appointment and promotion credit list allowances for advanced graduate degrees, professional education beyond the professional training requirement, or beyond the four-year college program, as well as any related experience in determining the rank
Military rank
Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms...

and promotion dates (Professional Education Date) of directly commissioned officers in any of the Medical or Health components of the Services. It is further recommended that all Services seek to develop and adopt this policy as a valuable adjunct to recruitment and retention of qualified health professionals. Fall 1968
that legislation be established to the effect that a married military woman, regardless of grade, can establish a joint domicile with her husband and shall receive Basic Allowance for Quarters (BAQ) in her own right. In the event the husband is also a member of the Military Services, he shall also receive BAQ in his own right. Fall 1968
that civilian husbands of military women be authorized access to and use of exchange and commissary facilities. Fall 1968
that the Department of Defense prepare a legislative proposal to amend section 3579, Title 10, U.S. Code to provide the opportunity for officers of the Army Nurse Corps and the Army Medical Specialist Corps to exercise command within the Army Medical Department
Army Medical Department (United States)
The Army Medical Department of the U.S. Army – known as the AMEDD – comprises the Army's six medical Special Branches of officers and medical enlisted soldiers. It was established as the "Army Hospital" in July 1775 to coordinate the medical care required by the Continental Army during the...

. Further, that similar statutory provisions relative to other military medical departments be reviewed for the purpose of similar modifications. Fall 1973 (This change did not take place until 1998.
that, in view of the limited number of women physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

s and dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...

s in the Service, increased efforts be made to inform women in schools and private practice of the opportunities available in military medicine. Fall 1974
that the Department of Defense develop, and the Services implement, a sex education
Sex education
Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...

program including birth control
Birth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...

and venereal disease prevention for all officer and enlisted personnel. As a minimum, the training should be given to all incoming personnel during initial entry training. Fall 1975
that the U. S. Navy and The U. S. Marine Corps open their Limited Duty Officer commissioning program to women Fall 1978
that DoD's General Counsel
General Counsel
A general counsel is the chief lawyer of a legal department, usually in a corporation or government department. The term is most used in the United States...

make a priority inquiry into the propriety of the Congress of the United States prohibiting any specific or particular medical procedures in military hospitals Fall 1978
that the minimum standards for eligibility for admission to the Services should be the same for women as for men, except legitimate physical differences. Spring 1979
that insofar as permitted by existing statutes, the Secretary of the Navy provide identical standards, including time in grade, for promotions of men and women in the Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

Fall 1979
That DoD and DoT
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...

that they support the concept that women and men shall be treated in the same way whatever legislative or policy decisions are made concerning the draft
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...

, national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...

s or registration for either. Fall 1979 (At the time, the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

was an element of the Department of Transportation.)
that the President of the United States give priority to the consideration of the appointment of women as judges of the United States Court of Military Appeals Spring 1980
that the Services take whatever management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

initiatives are necessary to ensure that lost time in delivery of medical care is reduced, particularly by giving the active duty women members priority of treatment in obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...

and gynecology. Fall 1982
that a form letter signed by the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel be placed in the Official Military Personnel File of those female enlisted service members reclassified as a result of Direct Combat Probability Coding (DCPC), stating that reclassification was directed by Department of the Army as a result of the Women In The Army Study and that the service member should not be penalized as a result of action taken by Headquarters Department of the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

and that Letters of Instruction to promotion boards address this issue. Fall 1983
that the Services provide information to prospective applicants, prior to enlistment or commissioning, about limitations in particular specialties which exist as a result of combat exclusion laws or policy restrictions. Fall 1983
that the Office of the Secretary of Defense reiterate, through the publication of a formal policy statement to commanders and field personnel at all levels, the requirement that women be fully utilized in their assigned operational units Spring 1984
that the Services adopt a policy of providing professional assistance for rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

victims. When in the absence of military or nearby civilian Community Rape Crisis Centers, victims upon consent should be immediately evacuated to the closest available qualified facility. Spring 1984
that commanders be made aware that military women with alcohol abuse problems must be identified as early as their male counterparts Spring 1984
that the Marine Corps provided a rationale for the exclusion of women Marine from duty as Marine Security Guards and that the Marine Corps re-examine this policy. Fall 1984
that all Services grant 6 weeks post-partum non-chargeable leave Fall 1988
that the Department of Defense and the Services remove the requirement that members characterize the legitimacy
Legitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...

of their dependent children from DoD and Service forms for quarters allowances, dependent identification cards, dependency support statements, records of emergency data, Servicemen's Group Life Insurance, etc Fall 1988
that DoD expand existing leadership training to include dealing with unfounded accusations of homosexuality against Service members. Spring 1989
that the Army conduct a 4-year test program under which women in the Army will be allowed to enter all military occupational specialties
Military Occupational Specialty
A United States military occupation code, or a Military Occupational Specialty code , is a nine character code used in the United States Army and United States Marines to identify a specific job. In the U.S. Air Force, a system of Air Force Specialty Codes is used...

(including combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....

and combat support
Combat support
In the United States Army, the term combat support refers to units that provide fire support and operational assistance to combat elements. Combat support units provide specialized support functions to combat units in the areas of chemical warfare, combat engineering, intelligence, security, and...

). Fall 1989 (This recommendation has not been implemented .
that the Secretary of the Navy review aspects of the Marine Corps which continues to hinder full assimilation of women, such as: syllabus differences in Basic Warrior Training/Marine Combat Training (BWT/MCT) programs at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. MCRD Parris Island is used for the training of enlisted Marines...

, accepted nomenclature of "Women Marines ("WM") as opposed to other Services which have discontinued use of gender specific labels, limited numbers of female instructors for male recruit training, and failure to eradicate the marketing slogan that characterizes Marines as "a few good men
A Few Good Men
A Few Good Men is a play by Aaron Sorkin, first produced on Broadway by David Brown in 1989. It tells the story of military lawyers at a court-martial who uncover a high-level conspiracy in the course of defending their clients, United States Marines accused of murder.It opened on Broadway at the...

." Fall 1991
the Secretary of Defense establish a gender neutral assignment policy in military aviation for all Services Spring 1992
that the Army open to the Army Nurse Corps and other AMEDD officers' opportunities for career-enhancing assignments, including command of medical facilities and units involved in delivery of health care. Fall 1992
that the Chief of Staff of the Army fully integrate women into all Army ceremonial units, and, in particular, in the Military District of Washington
Military District of Washington
The United States Army Military District of Washington is one of nineteen major commands of the United States Army. Its headquarters are located at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C...

, to include the Tomb of the Unknowns
Tomb of the Unknowns
The Tomb of the Unknowns is a monument dedicated to American service members who have died without their remains being identified. It is located in Arlington National Cemetery in the United States...

, the Continental Color Guard, and the U. S. Army Drill Team Spring 1993
that the Army provide women soldiers with the opportunity to enter unfilled Pathfinder
Pathfinders (military)
A pathfinder is a paratrooper who is inserted or dropped into place in order to set up and operate drop zones, pickup zones, and helicopter landing sites for airborne operations, air resupply operations, or other air operations in support of the ground unit commander...

training seats on the same basis as men Fall 1993
the Coast Guard adopt treatment guidelines for eating disorders similar to those used by the other Services Fall 1993
that the Secretary of the Navy open to women all classes of ships and vessels and their associated billets that remain closed because of cost considerations (although they are legally open after the repeal of the Combat Exclusion law). Spring 1996
in the strongest possible terms that the Secretary of Defense open current and future Special Operations Forces (SOF) rotary wing aviation to the assignment of women Spring 1999
that plans for future submarine platforms incorporate appropriate berthing and privacy arrangements to accommodate mixed gender crews Fall 1999

with regard to women's health needs during deployment, that the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Services collaborate to ascertain what information on prevention and treatment of gynecological infections is available; perform a gap analysis to see what information is lacking; develop additional educational materials as needed; and disseminate that information to Service members, leaders and healthcare personnel and ensure an adequate supply of hygiene products during deployment. Fall 2000

External links

Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services
United States. Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services Records, 1951-1959. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.

For Further Reading

Bellafaire, Judith Lawrence. "Public Service Role Models: The First Women of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services." http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/3/424

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