Washington Week

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Women in the military

News You Need to Know

Sen. Martha McSally, first female fighter pilot to fly combat missions, says officer raped her in the military

March 7, 2019
with Nancy Cordes | CBS News
There was an emotional moment at a Senate hearing Wednesday on sexual assault in the military. Sen. Martha McSally, the first female fighter pilot to fly combat missions, revealed she had been raped while serving in the Air Force.
Backstory

Ash Carter: First Year as Pentagon Chief

December 17, 2015
Defense Secretary Ash Carter has been serving for less than a year, but he has instituted two major changes at the Pentagon: allowing women to serve in combat and adopting anti-discrimination measures to protect gay and lesbian troops. Gwen Ifill spoke to POLITICO's Michael Crowley who describes Carter as a "creature of the Pentagon" -- someone familiar with building and how to get things done.
Full Episode

California Shooters Linked to ISIS, Pentagon Opens All Combat Roles to Women and Why 2016 Polls Don't Matter Yet

December 4, 2015
FBI investigating "act of terrorism," military opens all jobs to women and 2016 politics
Gwen's NewsHour Reports

Full Interview: Ash Carter on a military turning point for women in combat

December 3, 2015
In a historic move, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that all combat jobs in the U.S. military will now be open to women. Gwen Ifill sits down with Carter to discuss the decision, as well as the U.S. approach to the war on the Islamic State.
News You Need to Know

Hillary Clinton revives story of trying to join the Marines

November 12, 2015
by Jeff Zeleny, Dan Merica | CNN
As the U.S. Marine Corps turns 240 years old this week, Hillary Clinton dusted off an old story that has previously been met with skepticism: When the Yale-educated lawyer moved to Arkansas in 1975, she says she tried to join the Marines.
Gwen's NewsHour Reports

Navy secretary: Gender should not bar women from Marine combat roles

September 23, 2015
The U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy are expected to allow women to serve in all combat roles starting next year. But the Marine Corps commandant has asked that Marines be excluded from the new rule. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus joins Gwen Ifill to explain why he feels that gender should not bar servicewomen from Marine combat roles.
News You Need to Know

2 Graduating Rangers, Aware of Their Burden

August 21, 2015
by Helene Cooper, Richard Oppel | The New York Times
First Lt. Shaye Haver, an Apache attack helicopter pilot who on Friday will be one of the first women to graduate from the Army’s elite Ranger School, wants to remain an aviator. But she takes away weighty lessons from her grueling Ranger training: “Your mind can take a whole lot more than your body,” she said.
News You Need to Know

Reports of Sexual Assaults in Military on Rise

December 4, 2014
by Helene Cooper | The New York Times
A new military study says that reports of rapes and sexual assaults in the military increased 8 percent in the fiscal year ending September 2014, Obama administration officials said.
Extra

Webcast Extra: The IRS Audits the Tea Party, Prince Harry Visits Washington

May 10, 2013
The return of Mark Sanford, Prince Harry visits DC, and rebranding gun legislation.
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