The White Falcon - 22.08.1980, Blaðsíða 4

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Kathy Schoenlein Checkley
Tuesday is Women's Equality Day and it marks one day of the year when
service members should recognize and acknowledge efforts and achievements
made by women in the military.
It is believed that women's involvement in the military only goes back
as far as World War I, but this is not true. In fact, women have served
in the Armed Forces since the Revolutionary War in 1775; six percent of
the entire forces in that war were women.
It's been a long rough climb for the women of the military, but over
the years important changes of policy and improvements have been made. In
World War I, the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard allowed women to serve
as uncommissioned enlistees. Although the Army restricted enlistment to
men, women did serve under contract to the Army.
Two major breakthroughs for the military woman were the 1948 Armed
Forces Integration Act which gave women regular and reserve status; and
the repealing of a public law in 1967, which did away with the two percent
ceiling limiting the number of women in the Armed Forces.
The service academies were the next barrier for women to overcome; and
they did so in 1976 when the Navy, Air Force, Army and Coast Guard Acade-
mies began admitting women.
Today women are no longer organized as a separate corps, but as an in-
tegral part of the military services. They compete equally with men for
promotions and are trained and assigned under essentially the same poli-
cies and procedures.
Women here on the NATO Base are living proof of women's ability to per-
form vital functions and jobs in the military. Just look around and you
will find women performing many varied and important jobs.
One place you could look is the Naval Facility, where a woman holds
down the demanding job of Operations Officer; her name is Lt.j.g. Kathleen
M. Waindle.
Lt. Waindle said she joined the Navy because her civilian bank job be-
came boring. "I was climbing the corporate ladder, taking college courses
at night and doing everything I was supposed to," mused Miss Waindle, "but
after awhile the challenge just wasn't there."
She thought the Navy would provide her with more challenge and so far,
she says it has. "The services are so far ahead of civilian companies in
the amount of challenging jobs they offer women. My present position,
which is rare for a women to hold, requires a great amount of responsi-
bility and it has been a rewarding opportunity for me."
For Lt. Waindle the challenge has just begun. She is one of two women
selected to attend Naval Flight Officer training (NFO) in September at
NAS, Pensacola, Florida. No woman has ever trained as a NFO before. "I
took part in a few VP missions during my two years here and I've grown to
love flying," the lieutenant said.
"I won't be piloting aircraft as a NFO (Lt. Waindle has also applied
for pilot training but won't know the outcome until her screening is com-
pleted) but I will be part of an aircrew and that will be a challenge."
August 22, 1980 The White Falcon
Goals are important to
Feldman, the officer in C'
goal seven years ago has
came in it was to be for
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Mary Feldman
^ople—and for Capt. Mary J.
Customer Service Branch, a
"the Air Force. "When I first
then I planned to get out and do
something else," said Capt. Feldman, who earned a Bachelor of Science de-
gree in Mathematics at Creighton University in Omaha.
"But now my goal is to stay in for a full career and retire from the
Air Force." The captain cited equal opportunity for jobs and advancement,
being treated fairly, and just "loving" the Air Force way of life as
reasons for her career intentions.
Noreen Giedlin
Kathleen Waindle
"I have never been held back in anything by the Air Force—whether it's
advancement, job assignment or what have you—I have always been treated
as an equal member of the Air Force," she said.
According to the captain being treated equally would also include com-
bat if she was asked. "I feel if a man can die for his country than why
not women? If we don't want women getting killed in wars then why do we
send men to war to die?"
Capt. Feldman leaves in December for her next duty assignment in the
Pentagon and her new job will touch every member of the Air Force. She
will be one half of a two-member board that handles policies for Air Force
uniforms.
"You have to start when you are young if you want to be an effective
part of society." Those words spoken by Republican Senator Richard Lugar
of Indiana, had a tremendous effect on a young woman in high school, and
she decided then she wanted a career in journalism. She said the love she
feels for her country inspired her to seek that journalistic training in
the Navy.
Hers is a familiar face on the NATO Base, for she is the anchor person
for NBS's Nightly News—J03 Kathy Schoenlein Checkley.
"I joined because I wanted a break from school and I wanted to repay my
country for 18 years of freedom," Petty Officer Checkley said. "I chose
journalism because I like dealing with people and I care about what's
going on around me and in the world."
Petty Officer Checkley feels two years in the Navy has matured her, and
she is ready now to further her education.
"I've still got three years left in and when the time comes I will de-
cide if I'm going to stay in," she said. Whether she stays in or not,
Petty Officer Checkley will be an effective part of society—she started
young.
A lot can change in 14 years, and according to TSgt. Noreen Giedlin, an
Operational Intelligence Technician at the OpCon, the biggest change she
has seen during her career, which began in 1966, is the number of women in
the military.
"There's a lot more women in now and it's good to see," TSgt. Giedlin
said, "and I feel more and more women are joining because of monetary dis-
crimination. The military, unlike some civilian corporations, pays its
women the same as men."
TSgt. Giedlin's whole life has involved the Air Force. Her father was
a Major, and her husband is a 19-year veteran. "The Air Force is a worth-
while profession and after all someone has to protect the country," she
said. "If everyone decided not to join the military where would our
country be?"
We could only present the stories of four military women here, but
without a doubt there are countless others performing important jobs that
affect all of us. Let's all say thanks on Tuesday, Women's Equality Day.