I entered the Army in October 1977, just a few short months before the Army retired the Women's Army Corps and placed women in the "Regular Army" with men.  I was one of the last few who took Basic Training at Ft. McClellan as a WAC.  This is my graduation photo, taken in December of 1977.  I find it hard to believe I was ever this young!   I'm wearing an older uniform that was retired only a few years later.  During my 20 years in the military, I actually saw five different variations of this uniform come and go.  Basic Training for Women during the 70's was quite a bit different than it is now.  Our uniforms were made of ripstop material.  The shirts had big "puffy" sleeves and we were required to have them starched every day.  The picture on the right shows me (the one with the white paper) in those fatigues and a field jacket.  This picture was taken in front of the WAC barracks at Ft. McClellan, Dec, 1977.  In addition to starched fatigues, we also took makeup classes, something you don't find in basic training today!  Because the Army knew females were being integrated into the regular forces, I had to sign a consent form stating I understood I would learn to fire weapons.   This was not a part of normal WAC training.  Of course, much of basic training was the same for both males and females.  We  had to learn all the basic soldier skills, take physical training (though the fitness test for women varied greatly from that for men), we marched, had to keep ourselves, and our barracks looking sharp and generally developed pride in the Army and  ourselves.   The picture below is my final day in Basic Training. I'm the second person from the left in the front line.. The woman in the white hat is a Drill Sergeant. After basic training, I went to Ft. Sam Houston, TX for Advanced Individual training. This was true "coed" training and all the rest of my military career was coed.  I was never segregated from males in training or at work, nor was I denied promotion or job advancement because I was female.  I trained to be a Food Inspection Specialist (91R). It was a very interesting job and took me all over the world.  Here, I'm inspecting bananas in a Commissary in Japan. About   6yrs into my career, I had the opportunity to attend the Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC) at Camp Red Cloud, Korea.  If you're in the military, you may wonder why I was so "late" attending.  Back in the early 80's, PLDC was set up for "line" soldiers only.  Medical personnel didn't attend this type of training.  In 1983 that changed, and I jumped at the opportunity to refine my soldiering skills.  The following pictures show me at PLDC.  Left, negotiating the high ladder at the obstacle course.  Right, in the field.  I went to PLDC in February.  In Korea, it's very cold in February, so we were well bundled up.  The weapon I'm holding is an M16 with Grenade Launcher.  At the bottom, pictures of me running during physical training and conducting an inspection of the women in my barracks.   It was this training in PLDC that convinced me to become a Drill Sergeant. I volunteered, and in 1985, I went to Ft. McClellan, AL, first to Drill Sergeant School, then to the same battalion and company I was in as a private!  Now, however, it wasn't a WAC barracks.  Although men and women still weren't attending basic training together, we drill sergeants trained both.  I would get a platoon of 40-60 women, then 8 weeks later get a platoon of 40-60 men.  It presented quite a challenge, but kept me on my toes. At left, I'm posing with my partner and my Company Commander.  Notice that the female drill sergeant hat is no longer white. (Also notice, that I'm not very tall).  On the right is Cardiac Hill.   We took the troops up this hill as part of a 20 mile road march.  It was so steep, jeeps had to drive around and meet us on the other side.  The troops only did this once, I had to do this every 8 weeks.   Here I'm folding the American Flag as part of a Retreat Ceremony.  After 2 years with troops, I went to the Drill Sergeant School and taught other NCOs to be Drill Sergeants.  The guys holding the flag for me are some of these NCO's. After Drill Sergeant duty, I was assigned to England, where I met my husband, Mike.  I loved England, especially because my duties took me all over England, Scotland and Ireland.  After two years I went to Germany for 5  years.  First, as a staff NCO at 7th Medical Command Headquarters, then as a First Sergeant for a field Veterinary Unit. (Food Inspectors are part of the Veterinary Service). From Germany, I went to New Jersey, where I was the Senior NCO of a Veterinary Detachment that had responsibility for the entire Northeast United States.  I retired from the military in February 1998. The Army awarded me the Legion of Merit for my services during active duty.    I don't regret a minute of it, and would do it all over again.  I enjoyed what I did and took great pride in being a member of the greatest military force in the world, protecting the greatest nation in the world.