Nov 14 2008
Another pane in the glass ceiling shattered
The roles women play in society have changed dramatically in the last century, but nowhere has the glass ceiling continued to be broken again and again as in the US military. Since I first enlisted in the military 21 years ago I have seen women begin flying combat missions, serving on ships of the line and not just support vessels and have seen them lead combat missions on the ground in Iraq.
On Friday Lieutenant General Ann Dunwoody accomplished something no other woman has ever done: She earned her fourth star.
Ann Dunwoody was promoted to four-star general in front of a standing room only crowd at the Pentagon Friday morning that erupted in cheers after the Army Chief of Staff, General George Casey, and Dunwoody’s husband, retired Air Force Colonel Craig Brotchie, pinned her stars on her uniform.
“Thirty-three years after I took the oath as a second lieutenant, I have to tell you this is not exactly how I envisioned my life unfolding,” she told a standing-room-only auditorium. “Even as a young kid, all I ever wanted to do was teach physical education and raise a family.”
“It was clear to me that my Army experience was just going to be a two-year detour en route to my fitness profession,” she added. “So when asked, `Ann, did you ever think you were going to be a general officer, to say nothing about a four-star?’ I say, `Not in my wildest dreams.’
“There is no one more surprised than I — except, of course, my husband. You know what they say, `Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man.’”
Congratulations ma’am. Another pane in the glass ceiling shattered.
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