Women's Armed Services Integration Act
Women's Armed Services Integration Act, a United States law enacted on June 12, 1948, enabled women to serve as permanent, regular members of the armed forces in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and the recently formed Air Force. Prior to this act, women, with the exception of nurses, served in the military only in times of war. The act limited service of women by excluding them from Air Force and Navy vessels and aircraft that might engage in combat.[1]
The act was a major step forward for military women. However, in October 1949 a new Army regulation decreed that mothers with dependent children were ineligible to serve in the military, and female servicewomen with children under the age of 18 were discharged. This regulation was overturned in the 1970s when Congress passed a bill that the President signed into law which allowed women with dependent children to serve.
In 1998, a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Women's Armed Sevices Act was held at the Women in Military Service for America (WIMSA) Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. Then-Deputy Secretary of Defense John J. Hamre delivered the keynote address.
