Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SCR16 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Nelson, et al. S.C.R. No. 16
2	2	(Scott)
3	3
4	4
5	5	SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, Each year, Americans pause during the month of March
7	7	to pay special tribute to the contributions that women have made to
8	8	our national life, and outstanding among the myriad roles that
9	9	women have assumed over the course of this country's history have
10	10	been those undertaken as part of the nation's armed forces; and
11	11	WHEREAS, Long before they gained regular admission to the
12	12	military, thousands of women assisted the uniformed branches in a
13	13	variety of ways; they worked as nurses, water bearers, laundresses,
14	14	and cooks, sometimes served as spies and saboteurs, and on occasion
15	15	even took up arms; and
16	16	WHEREAS, In 1901, the United States Army broke new ground by
17	17	creating an actual nurses corps, and the navy followed in 1908; the
18	18	ranks of these units swelled during World War I, when nearly 23,000
19	19	women served as nurses with the American military; the United
20	20	States Navy and Marine Corps enlisted nearly 13,000 additional
21	21	women as yeomen and reservists and assigned them to duty stateside,
22	22	to free their male counterparts for combat at sea and abroad; and
23	23	WHEREAS, The participation of women in the military surged
24	24	during World War II, with more than 400,000 filling posts at home
25	25	and overseas; to more fully utilize their abilities, the army
26	26	established the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, later known as the
27	27	Women's Army Corps and commanded with consummate ability by the
28	28	Texan Oveta Culp Hobby; the army also created the WASP (Women
29	29	Airforce Service Pilots), while the navy organized the WAVES (Women
30	30	Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), the Marine Corps
31	31	established the Marine Corps Women's Reserve, and the Coast Guard
32	32	created a reserve unit known as the SPARs; in spite of widespread
33	33	misgivings about their suitability for the work, women proved
34	34	themselves in a wide array of assignments, and in 1948 an Act of
35	35	Congress granted them permanent status in the regular and reserve
36	36	forces; and
37	37	WHEREAS, Barriers to the participation of women in the
38	38	military continued to fall; legal provisions placing a two percent
39	39	cap on the number of women serving and a ceiling on the highest
40	40	grade a woman could achieve were repealed in 1967; by 1972, the
41	41	various Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs were opened to
42	42	women, and in 1976 women were admitted to the service academies;
43	43	they are now eligible to enter more than 90 percent of all career
44	44	fields in the armed forces; and
45	45	WHEREAS, Women have continued to deploy in times of conflict:
46	46	some 1,000 served in theater during the Korean War and 7,500 during
47	47	the Vietnam War; hundreds saw duty in operations in Central America
48	48	in the 1980s, and in 1991, 41,000 women served in theater in
49	49	Operation Desert Storm; and
50	50	WHEREAS, Today, approximately 344,500 women are serving in
51	51	the United States military; they constitute about 14 percent of
52	52	active duty personnel and about 10 percent of the American forces in
53	53	Iraq and Afghanistan; and
54	54	WHEREAS, The operations focused on those two countries have
55	55	placed enormous demands on all who have taken part; like their male
56	56	compatriots, many women have served multiple tours, and large
57	57	numbers have been injured, many grievously; as of mid-January 2011,
58	58	136 women had given their lives in those two wars; and
59	59	WHEREAS, The increased involvement of women in the military
60	60	is reflected by the number of women veterans, which now totals 1.8
61	61	million; Texas is home to more than 150,000 women veterans, the
62	62	second highest number of any state in the nation; and
63	63	WHEREAS, Texans have always honored the selflessness and
64	64	sacrifice of those who perform military service, and these women
65	65	are indeed worthy of that recognition; it is also fitting that needs
66	66	they have incurred in connection with that service be acknowledged
67	67	and alleviated, whether they concern physical or psychological
68	68	wounds or the challenges of caring for their families or
69	69	reintegrating into civilian life; and
70	70	WHEREAS, The women who have served in the United States armed
71	71	forces have demonstrated tenacity, courage, and professionalism,
72	72	and they are deserving of their fellow citizens' deepest gratitude
73	73	and unfailing support; now, therefore, be it
74	74	RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
75	75	hereby designate the month of March each year from 2011 through 2020
76	76	as Women Veterans Month in tribute to the immeasurable
77	77	contributions that women in the military have made to this nation.