Women in the United States Army

This article addresses the recent increase in the utilization of women in the United States Army. It traces the history of women in the Army from the turn of the twentieth century to the present and recounts research (both published and unpublished) concerning (1) attitudes toward the use of women in the Army, (2) the impact the changing role of women has had on the Army's ability to perform its mission, and (3) the adjustment of women to the Army. Finally, the author speculates about the future of women in the Army.This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the meeting of the Southwest Regional Conference Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Dallas, April 1978. This paper was written while the author was a Research Scientist at the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not reflect sponsorship or an institutional position of the U.S. Department of Defense or any agency of the U.S. government. The author would like to acknowledge the helpful comments of an anonymous referee.