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For 15 years she has proudly served her country as a Royal Navy engineer, risking her life in Afghanistan when she fought against the Taliban. But far from showing Nicky Howse the respect she deserved as she flew back to her latest posting, Virgin Atlantic staff chose to humiliate her—by demanding that she remove her uniform because it was “offensive”. They warned the 32-year-old helicopter technician she would not be allowed to fly unless she took off her combat fatigues and wore a sleep suit instead. … They told her—wrongly—that it was the company’s policy not to allow military personnel...

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) -- The president of the United States nominated Maj. Gen. Michelle Johnson for the appointment to the rank of lieutenant general and for assignment to serve as Air Force Academy's 19th superintendent. If confirmed by the Senate, Johnson would become the first woman to hold the position. Currently serving as NATO's deputy chief of staff for operations and intelligence, Johnson is a 1981 distinguished graduate from the Academy where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in operations research. She was the first female cadet wing commander and the first female Rhodes Scholar from...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Another one of the many military jobs on the front lines of combat may be opening to women: Flying the high-tech helicopters that move special forces under cover of darkness for missions like the one that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. The Army's most elite aviation unit has proposed a test program to let women serve as pilots and crew chiefs, pending congressional approval. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, based at Fort Campbell, Ky., and known as the Night Stalkers, decided to give women a trial as pilots and crew chiefs as part of...

The equal treatment of gay spouses in the military took a step forward after the Fort Bragg spouse’s club offered full membership to the wife of a female officer. Ashley Broadway, who is married to Lt. Col. Heather Mack, was offered full membership to the Association of Bragg Officers’ Spouses on Friday, after initially being offered a guest membership. “In order to immediately support all military officer spouses who are eligible for ABOS membership, a more inclusive definition of spouse was needed,” the group wrote on its website. Moving forward, the group said any spouse of an active duty commissioned...

When outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that he had lifted the Pentagon’s ban on allowing women to serve in front-line combat roles, one of several questions it raised was: Is that unusual? Do a lot of countries allow women to serve in combat? The answer is that many Western, developed countries have women on their front-line forces. But outside of the West, it’s rare. The map at the top of this page shows in red which countries formally permit women in combat positions. Shown in orange are countries that allow women to serve in military roles that involve...

Panetta removes military ban on women in combat, opening thousands of front line positions.

Congress, in the pre-Christmas rush, passed a Democrat-sponsored provision that will allow women in the U.S. military to use their health insurance to pay for abortion in cases of rape or incest. Right now, the Defense Department pays for abortion only when the mother’s life is at stake. The expanded abortion coverage is included in the defense authorization bill that is now on its way to President Obama for his anticipated signature. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who introduced the abortion measure, said on Nov. 30—in a speech on the Senate floor—that it was “unfair” to deny military women “reproductive health...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Four female military service members have filed a lawsuit challenging the Pentagon's ban on women serving in combat. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco Tuesday and is the second such federal challenge filed by female service members this year.

Vanessa Dobos is a gunner on board a USAF AC-130 gunship.  The blue-eyed blonde has seen action in Iraq and Afganistan, and enjoys long walks on the beach, men who aren't afraid to cry, and puppies. Vanessa's dislikes include feed-tray stoppages, tracer flareout of her NVGs and premature fixed-wing strikes scattering her high-value targets... The 19 year old former Ohio high school cheerleader is in-fact the Air Force's first female aerial gunner ever: Raised in the small town of Valley View, Ohio, her interstest in the military was sparked by her father. Described by Dobos as 'a history buff', her dad talked...

A local soldier killed in Afghanistan on Saturday died in a suicide bomb attack, U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young told the Tampa Bay Times on Monday night. Earlier Monday evening, the U.S. Department of Defense issued a news release saying that Army Spc. Brittany B. Gordon died from injuries caused by an improvised explosive device in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The military provided no other details. Contacted by phone later that night, Young, R-Indian Shores, told the Times that military officials had advised him that the IED came from a suicide bomber. "It is not one that was planted as a mine....

WASHINGTON — Army leaders have begun to study the prospect of sending female soldiers to the service's prestigious Ranger school — another step in the effort to broaden opportunities for women in the military. Gen. Raymond Odierno, Army chief of staff, said Wednesday that he's asked senior commanders to provide him with recommendations and a plan this summer. And while he stressed that no decisions have been made, he suggested that Ranger school may be a logical next step for women as they move into more jobs closer to the combat lines. "If we determine that we're going to allow...

WASHINGTON D.C. - Calling for an evolution of policy, Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is asking for changes that would allow women to serve on the front-lines in military combat. Brown's push comes on the heels of a Department of Defense report calling for changes to the 1994 Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule which barred women from certain roles in the military, including front-line ground-combat positions. The report to Congress concluded that changes were needed so policy doesn't prevent enlisted female military members from rising to their potential. But Brown, in a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon...

At 9 o’clock this morning, Sgt. Sandra Coast will graduate from Basic Combat Training on Fort Leonard Wood, officially beginning her Army career — at 51 years old. According to the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, the average age for an Army Reserve recruit is about 23, making Coast one of the oldest people to go through Basic Combat Training. “Everybody in the world thinks I am a total nutcase,” Coast said. “I just want to support our troops. I love all of them.” From 1982 to 1993, Coast devoted her life to the U.S. Navy. She gave up her lifestyle...

The Pentagon made big news last week when it announced it was opening up more combat positions to women in the U.S. military. These 14,000 positions include tank mechanics and front line intelligence officers. However, about one-fifth of active-duty military positions, including the infantry, combat tank units and special operations commando units, will remain off-limits. ... Last week’s rule change in the United States was largely a reflection of the fact that women are, to a large extent, already participating in combat. Despite the restrictions in place, 144 American women have been killed and 865 wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq...

A retired female fighter pilot running for former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' open seat in Congress said Friday that Rick Santorum's recent remarks on women in combat make her want to "go kick him in the jimmy." Martha McSally, a retired US Air Force colonel and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, is running in Arizona's congressional special election as a Republican. According to her Facebook page, she was the first American woman to fly in combat since the 1991 lifting of a ban on women in that role. Appearing Friday morning on FOX News Channel's "FOX & Friends," she...

Warship to be commanded by a woman for the first time in Navy's 500-year history By Daily Mail Reporter Lieutenant Commander Sarah West is in charge of HMS Portland A woman is to command a frontline warship for the first time in the history of the Royal Navy, it has emerged. Lieutenant Commander Sarah West, 39, is taking charge of HMS Portland - a 5,000-ton Type 23-Frigate which is prepared for 'total warfare'. Women, who were first allowed to go to sea with the Navy in 1990, have until now only commanded small non-fighting ships. Lt Cdr West is said...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — For the first time in its 96-year history, a female general is taking charge at the famed Marine Corps training depot at South Carolina's Parris Island. Brig. Gen. Loretta Reynolds, who is also known as the first female Marine to ever hold a command position in a battle zone, takes charge Friday at the installation south of Beaufort.

Heather Pfleuger -- an exuberant, all-American, girl-next-door -- was transformed when she arrived in Afghanistan. She'd shrug into her body armor, strap on her helmet, yank on gloves, goggles and scarf, and slide down behind her turret-mounted Mark-19, a 40mm grenade launcher. From there, she could kill an armored vehicle and everybody in it a mile away. When she whooped with glee and led a convoy outside the wire, local Afghan fighters, hard men who'd faced down the Russians and the Taliban, fell respectfully silent. "Specialist Pfleuger can hit anything," her squad leader. Sgt. Kevin Collins, told me proudly. "I...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A military advisory commission is recommending that the Pentagon do away with a policy that bans women from serving in combat units, breathing new life into a long-simmering debate.

The Army is studying whether to open combat arms units to female Soldiers, the Army's top officer said Jan. 6. "We're looking at revising the policy," Gen. George W. Casey Jr. told a breakfast gathering of the Association of the U.S. Army in Arlington, Va. "We've had some work going on for a while, and that'll double back up to the secretary, I would think, in the next couple of months." Women are currently barred from infantry, armor and Special Forces branches, Casey said. He did not say whether the Army is considering opening up all three areas to women,...