CA SCR82

Proclaims the week of March 16-22, 2020, as Women's Military History Week in California to recognize the contributions of women in the U.S. military throughout history.

Encourages Californians to recognize women's hard-fought contributions to the military and their courageous sacrifices, as well as the lifting of the ban on women in combat roles on January 24, 2013.

Notes that approximately 300,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and over 1,300,000 women currently serve in the U.S. Armed Forces in roles including combat pilots, field artillery officers, and special operations.

Highlights historical female military figures including Dr. Mary Walker (Congressional Medal of Honor recipient), Clara Barton (American Red Cross founder), Harriet Tubman, and more recent examples such as Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester, the first woman to earn a Silver Star for combat valor.

Documents that over 400 women have been killed in combat since World War I, over 9,000 have earned Combat Action Badges, and six women have achieved the rank of General despite comprising only 16 percent of the total military force.