>>> WELL, WE TURN NEXT TO THE EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN WHO SERVED IN UNIFORM DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

FROM THE D-DAY LANDINGS TO THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS, THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO WAR EFFORTS ARE OFTEN FORGOTTEN.

LENA ANDREWS DOCUMENTS THE CRITICAL ROLES THESE WOMEN SERVED AND SHE JOINS WALTER ISAACSON TO DISCUSS THE COUNTLESS WAYS THEY BROKE BARRIERS.

>> THANK YOU.

LENA ANDREWS, WELCOME TO THE SHOW.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.

IT IS AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE TO BE HERE.

>> I READ YOUR BOOK "VALIANT WOMEN."

I MUST SAY I THOUGHT OF WOMEN IN WORLD WAR II AS THAT POSTER OF ROSIE THE RIVETER ON THE FRONT LINES WORKING, YOU KNOW, IN FACTORIES AND THINGS.

I REALIZE THEY SERVED IN ALL THE BRANCHES OF THE MILITARY, MUCH MORE EXTENSIVELY.

TELL ME ABOUT THAT AND WHY WE HAVEN'T HEARD MUCH ABOUT THAT BEFORE.

>> WELL, IT'S A GREAT POINT, AND IT'S A PROBLEM AND AN UNDERSTANDING THAT I THINK MANY PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES SHARE.

MYSELF INCLUDED BEFORE I STARTED WORKING ON THIS PROJECT, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT OF MYSELF AS A WORLD WAR II EXPERT, I READ PRETTY MUCH EVERY BOOK UNDER THE SUN, AND YET IT WASN'T UNTIL WELL INTO MY RESEARCH AND WRITING ABOUT WORLD WAR II THAT I DISCOVERED THIS GROUP OF INCREDIBLE WOMEN.

OF COURSE, I KNEW ABOUT ROSIE THE RIVETER.

SOME OF US KNOW ABOUT THE SPIES AND CODE BREAKERS WHO SERVED BEHIND ENEMY LINES.

IT WASN'T UNTIL I STUMBLED ON WOMEN IN UNIFORM I GOT A SENSE OF THE SCALE AND SCOPE OF WOMEN'S CONTRIBUTIONS.

SO AS SOME READERS MAY KNOW, OVER 350,000 AMERICAN WOMEN SERVED IN UNIFORM IN WORLD WAR II.

TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF SCALE, THAT'S THE SIZE OF THE CURRENT ACTIVE DUTY NAVY.

SO A BIG GROUP.

MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE SIZE WAS THEIR CONTRIBUTION.

THEY WERE IN CRITICAL SUPPORT ROLES THAT ARE OFTEN UNDERAPPRECIATED IN TO OUR BROADER UNDERSTANDING OF WAR.

THINGS LIKE LAYING CABLES ON THE FRONT LINES OR FIXING AND MAINTAINING PLANES SO THAT THEY COULD BE SENT BACK TO THE PACIFIC OR TRAINING MEN HOW TO USE GUNS.

ALL THESE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TACHKS THAT ARE OFTEN SORT OF WIPED FROM OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW WARS ARE FOUGHT.

>> YOU TALK ABOUT SUPPORT ROLES.

WERE ANY OF THEM REALLY ON THE FRONT LINES THOUGH ON COMBAT ROLES?

>> SO TECHNICALLY, WOMEN WERE PROHIBITED FROM SERVING IN COMBAT AS THEY WERE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS AFTER WORLD WAR II.

IT'S A BLURRY THING.

IF YOU ASK A MEMBER.

ARMY NURSE CORPS IF SHE WAGS SERVING ON THE FRONT LINES, SHE MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT RESPONSE.

MANY WOMEN, TLIKLY THE NURSES, WERE A FEW MILES BEHIND THE FRONT AND ENDED UP BEING CAPTURED BEHIND ENEMY LINES OR SHOT AT ON THEIR WAY INTO AIR FIELDS IN THE PACIFIC OR EUROPE.

YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE SOME VERY, VERY HARROWING STORIES.

IN FACT, I THINK SOMETHING LIKE 38 WOMEN AIR FORCE SERVICE PILOTS DIED DURING THE WAR, YOU KNOW, 16 AMERICAN NURSES WERE KILLED BY ENEMY FIRE.

SO THEY WERE CERTAINLY, IF NOT ON THE FRONT, CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE IN REAL DANGER.

>> YOU SAY THAT WORLD WAR II WAS UNPRECEDENTED NOT JUST IN SCALE, BUT THE WAY IT WAS FOUGHT.

HOW DID THAT -- EXPLAIN WHAT YOU MEAN BY THAT AND HOW THAT OPENED THE WAY FOR A ROLE OF WOMEN.

>> YEAH, SO I THINK WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE SORT OF MISUNDERSTAND ABOUT WORLD WAR II IS THAT IT WASN'T JUST HUGE.

IT WAS REALLY INNOVATIVE.

WE WERE TALKING ABOUT A LOT OF NEW DOCTRINE THAT WE HAVEN'T NECESSARILY DEPLOYED BEFORE.

AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULTS OR JOINED COMBINED ARMS, SORT OF MILITARY TERMS, BUT EFFECTIVELY REALLY INNOVATIVE AND NEW TYPES OF DOCTRINE.

NOW, THE CHALLENGE OF THOSE IS NOT JUST PUTTING THEM INTO PRACTICE ON THE FRONT LINES, BUT ALSO HAVING THE MANPOWER AND THE SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE TO ENSURE THAT THEY COULD BE EFFECTIVELY DEPLOYED ON THE FRONT LINES, AND THAT'S WHERE WOMEN COME N FOR INSTANCE, OFF YAKS, WHICH HADN'T BEEN DEPLOYED ON A MAJOR SCALE UNTIL WORLD WAR II REQUIRES LOTS AND LOTS OF MAINTENANCE AND PILOTS AND TRAINERS AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS, AND PUTS A LOT OF PRESSURE ON THE MANPOWER INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO THAT'S WHERE WE SEE A LOT OF THE WOMEN SUPPORTING A LOT OF THESE UNOVATIVE DOCK STRAINS.

>> LET'S GET SPECIFIC.

YOU BEGIN THE BOOK WITH ANNE BUMGARNER.

INTERESTING PERSON, INTERESTING BACKGROUND.

TELL ME THE STORY AND WHY YOU PICKED HER TO BEGIN WITH.

>> SO GLAD YOU MENTIONED HER.

SHE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES.

I STARTED THE BOOK WITH HER.

SO SHE, LIKE MANY WOMEN, MANY PEOPLE, I SHOULD SAY, GRADUATED FROM SMITH COLLEGE IN 1939.

TOTALLY ADRIFT.

SHE HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH HER LIFE.

SHE ENDS UP AT A MEDICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, BORED AT THE END OF THE A DAY, ON THE ROOF OF THE BUILDING LOOKS UP AT THE SKY AND SEES A PLANE CUTTING THROUGH THE CLOUDS AND DECIDED I'M GOING TO BECOME A PILOT.

WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL.

SHE IS AN INCREDIBLE PILOT.

SHE JOINS THE WOMEN'S AIR FORCE SERVICE PILOTS, W.A.S.P.s, AND IS INVITED TO BECOME A TEST PILOT FOR THE U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES AT THE TIME.

SHE GOES ON TO BE THE FIRST WOMAN TO FLY A JET PLANE IN THE UNITED STATES AND TEST THE B-49.

FOR THOSE OF WITH YOU WHO JUST SAW "OPPENHEIMER," IT DROPS THE BOMB ON HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI.

ONE OF MANY STORIES IN THE BOOK AND ONE OF THOSE 350,000 AMERICAN STORIES THAT WE'VE SORT OF LEFT TO HISTORY.

>> ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WORLD WAR II WAS WON WAS NOT JUST BY PHYSICAL POWER, BUT BY COMPUTATIONAL POWER.

TELL ME THE ROLE OF WOMEN WHO HAD BECOME MATHEMATICIANS AT A VERY HIGH RATE IN THE 1930s AND HOW IMPORTANT THEY WERE IN TERMS OF WINNING THE WAR THROUGH COMPUTATIONAL POWER.

>> IT'S A FANTASTIC STORY.

I THINK A LOT OF WOMEN WERE FOUND IN INDONESIA TECHNICAL TRADES.

SO GRACE HOPPER WAS AN INCREDIBLY BRILLIANT MATHEMATICIAN, HAS A Ph.D. AND IS ON THE FRONT LINES OF LITERALLY THE INCREDIBLE COMPUTING POWER THAT BECOMES THE FOUNDATION FOR WHAT WE ARE TALKING ON TODAY.

OTHER WOMEN HAD SKILLS IN THINGS LIKE OCEANOGRAPHY AND SCIENCES LIKE ZOOLOGY WHICH THEY HAD BEEN DRAWN TO BECAUSE THEY WERE SORT OF QUIRKY AND, YOU KNOW, OUT OF THE NORM FOR WOMEN.

BUT YOU FIND THEM, THE NAVY FINDS THEM IN MANY CASES AND BRINGS THEM INTO THE FOLD BECAUSE IT TURNS OUT WHEN YOU HAVE GOT 16 MILLION PERSONNEL, THE COMPUTATIONAL AND ACCOUNTING POWER THAT YOU NEED TO KEEP TRACK OF ALL THOSE PEOPLE AND ALL THAT EQUIPMENT IS EXTRAORDINARY.

SO WOMEN LIKE GRACE HOPPER, MARY SEARS WERE AT THE FOREFRONT OF A LOT OF THE TECHNICAL TRADES THAT BECOME THE FOUNDATION FOR WHAT WINNING WORLD WAR II.

>> WHAT DISCRIMINATION DID THESE WOMEN FACE?

>> SO UNFORTUNATELY MISTREATMENT FOR THESE WOMEN WAS QUITE COMMON.

AND IT, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR LISTENERS AND AUDIENCES TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE 1940s WERE A DIFFERENT TIME.

FOR MANY WOMEN, YOU KNOW, IT COULD RUN THE GAMBIT OF SORT OF BASIC SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION, THINGS LIKE NOT GETTING A PROMOTION BECAUSE THEY WOULDN'T DATE THEIR SENIOR OFFICER UP TO AND INCLUDING VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT, WHICH I TRY TO DEAL HONESTLY WITH IN THE BOOK BECAUSE IT'S A PART OF THE EXPERIENCE.

I SHOULD ADD THIS WAS WORSE FOR WOMEN OF COLOR WHO OFTEN FACED NOT JUST SEXISM BUT RACISM AND OTHER FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION.

BUT THE LAST THING I'LL SAY AND I REALLY TRY TO CONVEY THIS, IS WHILE THIS WAS A PART OF THE EXPERIENCE FOR A LOT OF WOMEN, IT WASN'T THE ENTIRETY OF THEIR EXPERIENCE AND THEY LET WITH A LOT OF INJUSTICES WITH GREAT GRACE AND INTEGRITY AND POISE, WHICH QUITE FRANKLY AS WOMAN IN NATIONAL SECURITY WHICH FOUND INSPIRING.

>> YOU TALK ABOUT WOMEN IN COLOR IN PARTICULAR FACED DISCRIMINATION.

THERE IS A WONDERFUL STORY, I THINK ABOUT A CENTRAL POSTAL DIRECTORY BRIGADE, A BLACK WOMEN'S GROUP.

TELL ME THAT STORY.

>> THIS ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT THEY ARE FINALLY GETTING SOME OF THEIR DESERVED CREDIT.

THE SIX 888 CENTRAL POSTAL DIRECTLY BATTALION LED BY CHARITY ADAMS.

A FANTASTIC MEMOIR.

THEY WERE IN ADDITION TO GETTING THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL, THEY ARE GOING TO BE THE TOPIC OF A NETFLIX FEATURE FILM COMING UP DIRECTED BY TYLER PERRY.

IF THAT ISN'T ENOUGH OF AN ENDORSEMENT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE AUDIENCE MEANS.

THEY ARE INCREDIBLE.

THEY ARE THE LARGEST UNIT OF BLACK ARMY WOMEN TO SERVE OVERSEAS.

THEY ARE BEHIND THE FRONT LINES IN EUROPE IN FRANCE AND THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY -- TO MOST LISTENERS AND AUDIENCES MAY NOT SOUND LIKE A BIG DEAL, BUT MAIL IS AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT LIFELINE FOR THE FRONT LINE FORCES AND THEY ARE DEALING WITH A BAG LOG OF VERMIN HIN INFESTED MAIL AND THEY ARE IN THIS GROSS WAREHOUSE AND THEY ARE DOING EXTRAORDINARY WORK GETTING IT THROUGH TO THE MEN AT THE FRONT LINES WHO NEED TO KEEP FEET FIGHTING.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND LOOK INTO THEIR STORY.

IT'S A BIG PART OF THE BOOK AND I'M SO HONORED TO BE BRINGING THIS TO A WIDER AUDIENCE.

>> WHEN WE READ THIS BOOK WE ARE REMAINED THAT WOMEN WERE NOT IN COMBAT ROLES, NOT FULLY INTEGRATED INTO THE MILITARY, AND LIKEWISE, IT'S TRUE OF AFRICAN AMERICANS.

SOMEWHAT SEGREGATED UP TO TRUMAN DOES THE INTEGRATION OF THE MILITARY.

TO WHAT EXTENT ARE THERE PARALLELS BETWEEN WHAT HAPPENED DURING WORLD WAR II TO BRING WOMEN MORE INTO THE MILITARY AND TO BRING BLACKS MORE INTO THE MILITARY?

>> THERE ARE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF PARALLELS.

I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT THE SKEPTICISM THAT WOMEN FACED WAS ALSO CERTAINLY BEING APPLIED PLIED TO MEN OF DOLLAR AS WELL.

AND AGAIN AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WOMEN OF COLOR WERE FACING IT FROM ALL DIRECTIONS.

SO THERE IS A REAL SYNERGY BETWEEN THESE TWO PARALLEL STORIES AND THE EXPERIENCES THEY WERE HAVING.

THE FINAL THING I'LL ADD IS IN BOTH CASES, THEY SERVED BOTH OF THESE GROUPS SERVED WITH EXTRAORDINARY HONOR AND VALOR AND IT WAS THAT SERVICE THAT ULTIMATELY CHANGED A LOT OF THE MINDS OF THE SENIOR COMMANDERS WHO CAME OUT OF THE WAR, AS YOU SAID, ARE TO INTEGRATE WOMEN AND BLACK MEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR INTO THE MILITARY FORCES.

>> WE RECENTLY DID A SHOW ON -- A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE NEGRO LEAGUES, AND IT TALKED ABOUT HOW THE EXPERIENCE OF WORLD WAR II, AND AFRICAN AMERICANS IN WORLD WAR II, MADE IT ALMOST INEVITABLE THAT THE LATE 1940s THEY'D HAVE TO BE AN INTEGRATION OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.

YOU LIKEWISE TALK ABOUT WHAT I THINK YOU CALL A RIPPLE EFFECT, WHICH IS WHAT HAPPENS TO WOMEN AFTER THEY HAVE SERVED IN THE WAR AND HOW THAT LEADS INTO THEIR RIGHTS MOVEMENT.

>> EXACTLY.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE -- WHEN WE THINK OF THE CONTEMPORARY MOVEMENT IN THE 20th CENTURY WE THINK OF SIF RIDGISTS AND THEN JOURNAL TO THE WOMEN'S LIBERATION MOVEMENT.

'60s AND '70s.

WE FOREGREAT THIS GAP IN BETWEEN THE WOMEN OF THE GREATEST GENERATION AND ESPECIALLY THE WOMEN OF WORLD WAR II.

AND SOMETHING I, YOU KNOW, REALLY TRY TO TEASE OUT IN THE BOOK IS THAT A LOT OF THE FIRST BATTLES, ESPECIALLY RELATED TO WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION, WERE BATTLES THAT WOMEN WERE FIGHTING IN UNIFORM BECAUSE WHILE THE MILITARY WAS A WAR-FIGHTING MACHINE, IT WAS ALSO AN EMPLOYER.

SO, YOU KNOW, THE RIGHT TO HAVE SOME POWER OVER THEIR CAREER, TO SHOW THE VALUE THAT THEIR SKILLS BRING TO THE TABLE, BEING ABLE TO WEAR PANTS IN THE WORKPLACE, THESE ARE THE FIRST BATTLES THAT THE WOMEN OF WORLD WAR II ARE FIGHTING AND THEY BECOME THE FOUNDATION FOR THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT OF THE '60s AND '70s.

UNFORTUNATELY, AN OFTEN FORGOTTEN FOUNDATION, BUT IT'S THERE.

I CERTAINLY TRY TO BRING IT OUT IN THE -- FOR READERS IN THE BOOK.

>> I CAN STILL REMEMBER THE DEBATE OVER WOMEN IN COMBAT.

THAT WAS MANY YEARS AFTER THE END OF WORLD WAR II.

TELL ME HOW WHAT HAPPENED IN WORLD WAR II AFFECTED THAT DEBATE AND WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG TO ALLOW WOMEN IN COMBAT?

>> YOU KNOW, THESE ISSUES ARE REALLY COMPLEX AND THEY HAVE GOT A LOT OF HISTORY BEHIND THEM, WHICH IS DIFFICULT, BUT IT'S ALSO HELPFUL BECAUSE IT MEANS THEY HAVE GOT A LOT OF HISTORY BEHIND THEM.

WE CAN LEARN A LOT FROM HOW WE HAVE ADDRESSED THESE PROBLEMS IN THE PAST.

WHEN I THINK ABOUT WOMEN INTEGRATING INTO THE LARGER ARMED FORCES, AND OF COURSE, COMBAT INTEGRATION, I'M ACTUALLY DRAWN TO WORLD WAR II AND TO THE PAST AND I THINK ABOUT COMMANDERS LIKE DWIGHT EISENHOWER OR GEORGE MARSHALL OR HAPP ARNOLD, EXTREME SKEPTICS.

BECAUSE OF THE SERVICE THAT THEY SAW, THE EXPERIENCES THAT THEY HAD WITH WOMEN, THEY'RE VENTIONLY CHANGE THEIR MIND AND IT WAS DWIGHT EISENHOWER TO LED THE CHARGE FOR WOMEN TO BE MORE FULLY AND PERMANENTLY INTEGRATE NEIGHBORHOOD THE ARMED FORCES.

PART IS JUST EXPOSURE, UNDERSTANDING, AND UNFORTUNATELY WHEN YOU PROHIBIT PEOPLE FROM TRYING, YOU DON'T NECESSARILY GET THAT EXPOSURE.

I WOULD JUST SAY DON'T TAKE IT FROM ME.

TAKE IT FROM MARSHALL OR EISENHOWER THAT A MORE INCLUSIVE MILITARY IS A BETTER MILITARY.

>> WE HAVEAROO CROUT.

PROBLEM IN THE MILITARY.

THERE IS A SHORTFALL OF ABOUT 20,000 OR SO.

TO WHAT EXTENT CAN THAT BE HELPED BY A FULLER UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE WOMEN PLAY IN THE MILITARY?

>> I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED.

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE TOPICS.

I DON'T THINK MANY PEOPLE ARE THINKING TOO MUCH ABOUT THE RECRUIT.

CRISIS.

WE ARE IN ONE OF THE WORST RECRUITMENT ENVIRONMENTS IN DECK ASDS IN THE UNITED STATES.

THAT SHOULD WORRY EVERYONE.

DESPITE THE HYPE ABOUT A.I., PEOPLE STILL FIGHT WARS.

IF WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH, WE WILL BE IN REAL TROUBLE.

WE KNOW THIS BECAUSE IN WORLD WAR II WHERE THERE WAS A HUGE SCALE THAT WE WERE TRYING TO GET TO, I'M TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, 16 MILLION PERSONNEL IN UNIFORM, THAT'S QUITE A BIT OF -- QUITE A BIT OF THE POPULATION, NOBODY COULD SIT OUT.

AND THAT BECAME PRETTY CLEAR TO COMMANDERS LIKE MARSHALL EARLY ON AND TO THE REST OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, QUITE FRANKLY, A LITTLE BIT TOO LATE INTO THE WAR.

IT WAS IN '42 AND '43 WE CAME TO THAT UNDERSTANDING.

WE WOULD BE WISE TO LEARN FROM WORLD WAR II THE TIME TO MAKE CHANGES TO PERSONNEL AND RECRUITMENT IS EARLY AND OFTEN AND, YOU KNOW, WELL BEFORE ANY SORT OF COMBAT SCENARIO BEGINS.

THAT'S WHAT WE DIDN'T DO IN WORLD WAR II AND SHOULD DO TODAY.

>> SENATOR TOMMY TUBERVILLE OF ALABAMA HAS HELD UP ALL MILITARY PERSONNEL PROMOTIONS IN THE SENATE BECAUSE OF AN OBJECTION TO THE FACT THAT THE MILITARY ALLOWS WOMEN TO CROSS STATE LINES, GET ABORTIONS, HELPS FACILITATE THAT.

IF HE SUCCEEDS, HOW HARD WILL THAT BE TO RECRUIT WOMEN INTO THE MILITARY?

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, WOMEN ARE WATCHING CLOSELY.

I THINK WOMEN IN UNIFORM AND WOMEN MORE BROADLY.

AGAIN, IT'S A -- THESE ARE VERY COMPLEX ISSUES.

IT'S A BIT UNPRECEDENTED TO HAVE THIS SORT OF MEDDLING IN MARSHALL SECURITY AND DEFENSE ISSUES, PARTICULARLY IN THE MIDDLE OF -- AS WE TALKED ABOUT, RECRUITING CRISIS.

WE FORGET THAT WOMEN INNON FORM, IN WORLD WAR II AND NOW, ARE OFTEN THE CANARIES IN THE COAL MINE ON WOMEN'S ISSUES.

AGAIN, IT WOULD BE EERIE IF YOU LOOK BACK FOR MANY PEOPLE TO LOOK AT THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE WERE HAVING ABOUT ABORTION AND PREGNANCY IN WORLD WAR II, WHICH WERE VERY MUCH A PORT OF THE CONVERSATION, THEY SOUND FAMILIAR TO WHAT BETTER TALKING ABOUT TODAY.

AND ULTIMATELY THEY BECOME A DISTRACTION TO THE REAL ISSUE, WHICH IS FIGHTING AND WINNING THE WAR.

SO I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO UNDERSTAND THAT WOMEN IN UNIFORM ARE OFTEN ON FRONT LINES NOT JUST OF THE BATTLE, BUT OF THE BATTLE AGAINST DISCRIMINATION AND WORKPLACE HARASSMENT AND THINGS OF THOSE NATURE.

SO WE SHOULD BE ALL WATCHING CLOSELY TO SEE HOW THEY REACT.

>> PRESIDENT BIDEN JUST NOMINATED AT MIRL LISA FRANCHETTI TO BE THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS.

THE FIRST TIME A WOMAN WOULD BE A MEMBER OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF.

LEAD ONE OF THE SERVICES.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT HISTORICALLY AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT SHE GET CONFIRMED AND NOT HELD UP BY SOME OF THESE PROBLEMS WE HAVE IN THE SENATE?

>> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, CAN I JUST SAY HOW EXCITED AND, YOU KNOW, ENERGIZED I AM THAT ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI HAS BEEN NOMINATED.

SHE IS NOT JUST A WOMAN, BUT INCREDIBLE WAR FIGHTER, SAILOR.

HE SHOULD IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU WOULD HOPE WOULD BE THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF OUR, YOU KNOW, OF OUR NAVY.

SO SHE DESERVES THIS ROLE AND I HOPE SHE GETS T I DO THINK THAT THE HOLDING UP OF THESE PROMOTIONS IS -- THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAS SAID IS REALLY TROUBLESOME AND VERY ULTIMATELY COULD BE VERY PROBLEMATIC, YOU KNOW, OVER THE LONG TERM.

I DON'T KNOW IF THERE WILL BE ANY RESOLUTION TO THAT.

BUT IT'S CERTAINLY BITTERSWEET MOMENT TO HAVE THIS INCREDIBLE MOMENT FOR WOMEN'S PROGRESS IN THE MILITARY BE A BIT OVERSHADOWED BY SOME OF THE MORE POLITICAL ISSUES GOING ON IN THE SMITH TODAY.

>> TELL ME ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE BEEN A WOMAN IN NATIONAL SECURITY.

HOW DID THAT INFORM THIS WEEK?

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY, AS A MEMBER OF THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY I CAN'T TALK TOO MUCH ABOUT MY WORK.

BUT I CAN SAY THAT I STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF EXACTLY THESE GIANTS.

THESE ARE THE WOMEN WHO KICKED OPEN THE DOORS FOR WOMEN LIKE ME TO STUDY MILITARY ANALYSIS AND SUCCEED IN THE NATIONAL DEFENSE TRADES AND HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THEIR INCREDIBLE WORK AND THEIR INCREDIBLE SACRIFICES I WOULDN'T BE HERE TODAY.

SO PART OF THIS IS MY TINY SLIVER OF SAYING, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU.

I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU DO AND I KNOW YOUR STORY BECAUSE IT'S ALSO MY STORY.

>> LENA ANDREWS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU.

I'M DELIGHTED I COULD BE HERE.