There have long been women in the United States Coast Guard, with Myrtle Hazard becoming the first woman to enlist in 1918, [2] and women continue to serve in it today. [3] [4] [5]
There have long been women in the United States Coast Guard, with Myrtle Hazard becoming the first woman to enlist in 1918, [2] and women continue to serve in it today. [3] [4] [5]
Note that some minor wars women served in have been omitted from this history.
During World War I, in January 1918, Myrtle Hazard became the first woman to enlist in the Coast Guard. [2] She was the only woman to serve in the Coast Guard during World War I. [6] As there was no official women's uniform at the time, she chose her own ensemble, a middy blouse and a blue pleated skirt. [6]
Wartime newspapers erroneously reported that twin sisters Genevieve and Lucille Baker were the first women to serve in the Coast Guard; in fact, while they tried to enlist during the war, they were not accepted. [7]
On November 23, 1942, the Coast Guard Women's Reserve was created with the signing of Public Law 773 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. [8] Dorothy Stratton transferred from the Navy WAVES to serve as the Reserve's director. [4] Dorothy Tuttle was the first woman to enlist in the Coast Guard Women's Reserve, and in all 11,868 enlisted women and 978 female officers served in it during World War II. [4] This included Olivia Hooker, who thus became the first African-American woman to enter the Coast Guard in 1945. [9] In all five African-American women served in the Coast Guard Women's Reserve before it was inactivated in 1947, namely Hooker, D. Winifred Byrd, Julia Mosley, Yvonne Cumberbatch, and Aileen Cooke. [10] [11] The Coast Guard Women's Reserve was inactivated on July 25, 1947, but was reestablished on a much smaller scale in 1949. [11]
Approximately 200 women who had been in the Coast Guard Women's Reserve reenlisted and served during the Korean War. [12] They mostly served at the Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. [12]
The Vietnam War gave the Coast Guard a surplus of qualified male applicants, and the Coast Guard did not make a systematic effort to attract women during that time. [13]
Frontiero v. Richardson , 411 U.S. 677 (1973), was a landmark Supreme Court case which decided that benefits given by the military to the family of service members cannot be given out differently because of sex. [14] [note 1]
In 1973 women were integrated into the active-duty Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Reserve. [15] The Coast Guard Women's Reserve was ended and those in it were sent to the Coast Guard Reserve. [16] On December 7, 1973 Wanda May Parr and Margaret A. Blackman became the first female enlistees sworn into the regular Coast Guard, and Alice T. Jefferson became the first female commissioned officer sworn into the regular Coast Guard. [16]
In 1976 the Coast Guard Academy first admitted women; in 1985 Denise L. Matthews became the first woman to graduate at the top of her class at the Coast Guard Academy. [5] [17]
In 1977 the first Coast Guard women were assigned to sea duty as crew members aboard Morgenthau and Gallatin. [5]
In 1978 the Coast Guard opened all assignments to women. [5]
Beverly Kelley became the first woman to command an American military vessel of any branch of the service, specifically a Coast Guard cutter, the 95-foot patrol boat USCGC Cape Newagen, on April 12, 1979. [18] [19] [20]
Vivien Crea became the first female in the U.S. Armed Forces to serve as a military aide to a President in 1984. [21]
Women in the Coast Guard served in Operation Desert Shield (1990–1991) and Operation Desert Storm (1991). [22] [23] [24]
In 1990, Lane McClelland became the first Women’s Policy Advisor in the Office of Personnel and Training at Coast Guard Headquarters. [25] In 1992, she became the first active duty woman since the existence of the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve to be promoted to the rank of captain. [25] In 1993, she became the first woman assigned as Chief Trial Judge of the Coast Guard. [25]
Vivien Crea became the first woman to command an air station when she took over Air Station Detroit in 1992. [21]
In 1993 Patricia A. Stolle became the first woman in the Coast Guard to advance to master chief petty officer. [26]
Before the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy was enacted in 1993, lesbians and bisexual women (and gay men and bisexual men) were banned from serving in the military. [27] In 1993 the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy was enacted, which mandated that the military could not ask servicemembers about their sexual orientation. [28] [29] However, until the policy was ended in 2011 service members were still expelled from the military if they engaged in sexual conduct with a member of the same sex, stated that they were lesbian, gay, or bisexual, and/or married or attempted to marry someone of the same sex. [30]
The Coast Guard gained its first female flag officer in 2000 when Vivien Crea was promoted to rear admiral. [21]
Women in the Coast Guard served in the Iraq War from 2003 until 2011. [22] [31] [32] [33]
In 2006 Vivien Crea became the first female Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard and the Coast Guard’s first female vice admiral. [34] In 2008 she became the first woman to be recognized as the USCG Ancient Albatross. [21]
In 2011 Rear Admiral Sandra Stosz was chosen by the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, Admiral Robert J. Papp to become the superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy. [35] She took the job in 2011 and held it until 2015. [36] [37] As such, she was the first woman to lead a United States military service academy. [38] [39]
In 2020, Rear Admiral Melissa Bert became the first woman to serve as the Judge Advocate General and Chief Counsel of the Coast Guard. [40] [41]
In 2021, Linda L. Fagan became the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard’s first female four-star admiral. [1] On May 11, 2022, the U.S. Senate confirmed Linda L. Fagan as the 27th (and first female) Commandant of the Coast Guard. When she assumed command on June 1, she became the first female service chief in the U.S. Armed Forces. [42] [43] However, she was relieved of command on January 21, 2025 by Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman for "failure to address border security threats, insufficient leadership in recruitment and retention, mismanagement in acquiring key acquisitions such as icebreakers and helicopters, excessive focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and an "erosion of trust" over the mishandling and cover-up of Operation Fouled Anchor." [44] Admiral Fagan was the first Commandant of the Coast Guard to be relieved before the normal four year term of office expired. [45] [46]
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the United States military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its duties. It is the largest coast guard in the world, rivaling the capabilities and size of most navies.
The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), located in New London, Connecticut, is the U.S. service academy specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Founded in 1876, the academy provides education to future Coast Guard officers in one of nine major fields of study.
The United States Coast Guard Reserve is the reserve component of the United States Coast Guard. It is organized, trained, administered, and supplied under the direction of the Commandant of the Coast Guard through the Assistant Commandant for Reserve (CG-R).
The commandant of the Coast Guard is the service chief and highest-ranking member of the United States Coast Guard. The commandant is an admiral, appointed for a four-year term by the president of the United States upon confirmation by the United States Senate. The commandant is assisted by a vice commandant, who is also an admiral, and two area commanders and two deputy commandants, all of whom are vice admirals.
SPARS was the authorized nickname for the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve. The nickname is an acronym fashioned from the USCG's motto, Latin: "Semper Paratus"—"Always Ready" (SPAR). The Women's Reserve was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on November 23, 1942. The law authorized the USCG to accept women into its Women's Reserve as commissioned officers and at the enlisted level for the duration of World War II plus six months. Its purpose was to release male officers and enlisted men for sea duty by replacing them with women at shore stations. This same month, Dorothy C. Stratton was appointed director of the Women's Reserve and given the rank of lieutenant commander. She was later promoted to captain.
Vivien Suzanne Crea was the 25th Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard under Admiral Thad W. Allen. Vice Commandant is the second highest position in the Coast Guard, and she was the first woman to hold it. She is the former Commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, and was confirmed by the Senate to her historic post in June 2006. Crea retired on August 7, 2009, and was replaced by VADM David Pekoske.
This article covers the organization of the United States Coast Guard.
Frances Carlotta Wilson is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general, who served as the 12th president of the National Defense University.
Admiral Robert Joseph Papp Jr. is a retired admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 24th commandant from 2010 to 2014. He led the largest component of the United States Department of Homeland Security, with 42,000 active duty, 8,200 Reserve, 8,000 civilian, and 31,000 Auxiliary personnel.
Vice Admiral Sally Brice-O'Hara is an American retired coast guardsman who was the 27th vice-commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the Department of Homeland Security, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally meritorious service. The current version of the medal was established in February 2003, retroactive to March 1, 2002.
Cari Batson Thomas is a retired rear admiral of the United States Coast Guard and a 1984 graduate of the U. S. Coast Guard Academy. On January 22, 2010, Thomas became the third female commander of USCG Training Center Cape May to be advanced to a flag officer. Her final assignment was Assistant Commandant for Human Resources at the Coast Guard Academy.
Sandra Leigh Stosz is a retired United States Coast Guard Vice Admiral whose final active duty assignment was as Deputy Commandant for Mission Support. Previously, she was chosen by the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, ADM Robert J. Papp to become the superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy in 2011. As such, she is the first woman to lead a United States service academy. At the time of her appointment to head the Coast Guard Academy, she was the Coast Guard's director of Reserve and leadership. Stosz was confirmed as a vice admiral in May 2015.
This article lists events involving women in warfare and the military in the United States from 2000 until 2010. For 2011 onward, please see Timeline of women in warfare and the military in the United States, 2011–present.
Karl Leo Schultz is a retired United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the 26th Commandant of the Coast Guard from 2018 to 2022.
Melissa Bert last served as the Judge Advocate General and Chief Counsel of the United States Coast Guard. Rear Admiral (RADM) Bert is the first woman to serve in this position. Prior flag assignments held by RADM Bert include the U.S. Coast Guard’s Director of Governmental and Public Affairs and Deputy Director of Operations for U.S. Northern Command.
Linda Lee Fagan was the 27th Commandant of the Coast Guard from June 2022 to January 2025. Previously, in 2021 she became the 32nd vice commandant of the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard’s first female four-star admiral. Before that, she was the commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area with prior terms as Coast Guard Deputy for Operations, Policy, and Capabilities; commander, First Coast Guard District; and commander, Coast Guard Sector New York. Fagan is also the Coast Guard's first Gold Ancient Trident, the officer with the longest service record in the Marine Safety Field. In April 2021, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced her nomination as the next Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, succeeding Charles W. Ray. She was confirmed on June 17, 2021, and assumed office on June 18.
Kwang-Ping Hsu was a United States Coast Guard Captain and the first foreign-born graduate from the United States Coast Guard Academy.
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