Major Behn women in the military focuses on life in service

Maggie Rasmussen / The Bulletin

Major Beth Behn speech entitled “Women in the 21st Century Military: A Personal Perspective” gave an overview of the role of women in the military. The speech, given at 7:30 pm in Visser Hall 330, was a unique experience to Emporia State community.

“We haven’t had a female military personal come in a long time,” said Karen Manners Smith, associate professor of social sciences. “I think it was time. We are in the middle of a war and I think people need to know what to expect.”

“Opportunities and challenges have changed over time,” Behn said. She gave a brief overview of women’s involvement in the military service. Behn noted that 35,000 women deployed in World War I. Women that went over as actually enlisted individuals were nurses. Some women went to serve in technology and logistics areas but they were forced to keep their civilian status and were therefore not counted as enlisted.

In World War II, however, 350,000 women enlisted and were deployed to various bases. They were part of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corp which allowed the women to enlist but kept them separated from their male counterparts. Behn cited the attack on Pearl Harbor as the reason women were allowed to enlist so readily. “It was clear that the entire nation should mobilize,” Behn said. The WAC was disbanded at the end of the war but in 1948 the Women’s Armed Services Act allowed women to enlist during peace time.

According to Behn, 14 percent of those in active duty in the department of defense are women and 180,000 have been deployed to Iraq. One aspect of the female role in the military is the exclusion policy. The exclusion policy states that “women may not be routinely co-located with units assigned in direct combat missions” which means that women are not allowed to be assigned to a brigade level in units that engage in direct ground combat.

Behn stressed that though the exclusion policy exist, many women do end up serving in those areas. Women are allowed to serve in support battalions working in medical evacuations, maintenance and distribution. It is the work in those areas that allows women to work in the combat zones, effectively allowing them to work in almost every area of the military.

Behn spoke of her own experiences with the military as well. She grew up in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She attended the prestigious West Point Academy just ten years after the academy opened its doors to female students. She described the experience as an intense but positive one.

“My roommates and I described it as having a million-dollar education shoved down your throat one nickel at a time,” Behn said.

She received her bachelor’s degree in history and became a second lieutenant in the army transportation corps. She was assigned as the boat platoon leader at Fort Eustis in Virginia and just ten days after arriving at the base, she was deployed to Haiti as part of Operation Uphold Democracy.

Her time in Haiti offered Behn some of the most memorable experiences, particularly as a new graduate from West Point. Behn recounted how the roads in the Haiti were in such a poor state that transporting supplies across them was impossible. Instead they transported needed supplies by landing craft. The troops would pilot the boat around the island nation, dropping off supplies as needed. Behn recalled such a port that when they began to take food off the boat and place it on land, the people began to cheer. Behn recalled this as a personally moving moment in the early stages of her career.

Behn also served in Kuwait as part of Operation Desert Thunder in 1998. The troops had been brought into the country as former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein had kicked United Nations weapons inspectors out of the country. The troops were present in the instance that he would not allow them back in. The operation required a large amount of movement in not much time.

“It was a terrific work experience,” said Behn. “We had to get a large number of troops and equipment to the Middle East. It taught a lot about logistics.”

Upon her return from Iraq, Behn completed a Combined Logistics Officer Advanced Course and was promoted to captain. Behn began work at Fort Hood, Texas working as the battalion logistics officer for the 180th Transportation Battalion. She also worked with the Heavy Equipment Transporters, the largest trucks used by the military. The HET transport tanks when not in use. Tanks could sustain a considerable amount of damage if they were allowed to transport themselves over the terrain for an extended period of time so the HETs are brought in for the transportation. Behn noted that they worked to support other divisions when they needed them.

Behn attended the University of Massachusetts and received a Master’s degree in history. Behn noted that the army is particularly supportive of army personal attending civilian schools.

“They think that it is a mutually beneficially arrangement,” Behn said. “It’s good for the people to see service men and women in regular life and it’s good for the service men and women to have that experience of a regular life.”

After graduating, Behn returned to West Point, this time as a teacher in the history department. Behn spent three years as an instructor there before being promoted to Major in 2004. She deployed to Iraq in January of 2006 to serve as a staff officer in the 17th Field Artillery Brigade in Baghdad. During her time there, Behn stated that she was impressed by the people there.

“The men and women who volunteer to serve as police are incredibly brave,” Behn said. “They don’t go home at night to the safety of the base; they go into the neighborhoods of Baghdad.”

Behn is currently stationed at Fort Leavenworth in the Army’s Command and General Staff College. She will be redeployed to Iraq in five months and states that she is hopeful.

“I’m optimistic,” Behn said. “Violence is ever present but there are Iraqis everywhere working to make it a better place. I’m hopeful for them.”