U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs CWV - News Update

Get the Recruitment & Retention, Employment & Integration, Well Being & Treatment, Servicwomen in the News, Women Veterans, and Upcoming Events DACOWITS news from February 28, 2020. [From DACOWITS]

Today is a special double #VeteranOfTheDay post for Navy Veteran Kathryn Cruise and Army Air Force Veteran James Cruise, who served during World War II. Kathryn Orient was born in Cleveland and raised on a farm in Painesville, Ohio, with her seven siblings. Her parents brought her up to have strong family values, faith in her Catholic religion and dedication to her country. [From VAntage Point]

We honor their service.

Peggy McPherrin has served as a nurse at the West Palm Beach Medical Center for 25 years. During this Women’s History Month, she shares this intriguing story about nurses serving at war, a photo, and then a drawing based on the lost photo. [From VAntage Point]

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Trista Moretti, who served from 2003-2007 and was killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Trista Moretti was born in 1980 in South Plainfield, New Jersey. [From VAntage Point]

We honor her service.

A toymaker who responded last year to a stern letter of complaint from a young Arkansas girl has released imagery of all-new, female variations of the classic plastic green Army figurines that have occupied toy stores since the 1930s. Jeff Imel of BMC Toys published an update this week on the toy company’s website, corresponding with the start of Women’s History Month, which included in-process sculptures of a military working dog and handler, a nurse, and Rosie the Riveter perched atop a “We Can Do It!” pedestal. [From Military Times]

This #OperationSong spotlights “No Cinderella” by Army Veteran Lory Gatter and Jenn Franklin. Lory Gatter endured an abusive childhood, starting at a young age. [From VAntage Point]

The Air Force on Monday announced that Capt. Kristin “Beo” Wolfe has been named the new pilot and commander for the F-35A Demonstration Team. Wolfe will lead the F-35 demo team for the 2020 and 2021 air show season, the Air Force said. She will be the first woman to serve in the role, taking it over from Maj. Andrew “Dojo” Olson. [From Air Force Times]

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Audrae Gandreau, who served in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II from 1945 to 1947. In June 1945, Audrae Gandreau enlisted with the Women’s Army Corps and served with the Detachment Headquarters, Army Ground Forces unit. [From VAntage Point]

We honor her service.

Female Army trainees and female soldiers who are taller and heavier performed tasks such as carrying sandbags better than their more compact counterparts of the same sex, suggesting that the Army should consider amending its physical standards for women, a study found. Comparing 362 female soldiers and trainees, researchers found that those with a higher body mass index performed better on so-called common soldiering tasks that require strength and power, such as marching with heavy packs or dragging casualties, according to the study published in the February issue of Military Medicine. [From Stars and Stripes]

The sixth and newest U.S. military service may also be the one most appealing to and inclusive of women. Air Force Maj. Gen. Clinton Crosier, director of planning for U.S. Space Force, said the service is actively seeking ways to incorporate policies that allow for career flexibility and generous family and caregiver leave, and create a culture of equality and inclusion. [From Military.com]

How do female aviators relieve themselves in the cockpit? Just like men, they do it right where they're sitting. Here's how a 15-year pro tackles the ‘piddle pack’ — while continuing to fly with one hand. [From Military Times]

VA and RallyPoint teamed up for a #VetResources Facebook Live last week to discuss how each creates online communities for Veterans. Marine Corps Veteran Tanner Iskra, a member of VA’s Digital Media Engagement team and host of the podcast Borne the Battle, joined Army Veteran David Gowel, CEO of RallyPoint, to share how the two organizations came to work together, and to discuss some of the online communities and resources that they offer to Veterans. [From VAntage Point]

Two female Marines have passed the Corps’ howitzer section chief course ― accomplishing another milestone for female integration in the Marine Corps nearly four years after combat jobs were first opened to women. A howitzer section chief is the artillery equivalent of a squad leader, responsible for maintaining, aiming and firing the Corps’ M777 155 mm howitzer along with leading a crew of eight to 10 Marines required to fire the gun. [From Marine Corps Times]

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Marine Veteran Bea Arthur, who enlisted as one of the first members of the Women’s Reserve and later starred in Golden Girls. On Feb. 13, 1943, the U.S. Marine Corps put out its rallying call: “Be a Marine…Free a Man to Fight.” [From VAntage Point]

We honor your service.