European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 17, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Women in uniform. By Vit Quot it a Sac kit capt. Linda Bray 29, of the 988th my co. At fort Benning ga., led an attack during . Invasion of Panama last year. An air Force Crew chief checks an aircraft Auric system before a training Mission. Continued from Page 13 with other problems such As lengthy separations from her husband a submariner a Lipphardt says she a thinking of leaving the service. Quot if the ban against combat flying were dropped maybe id feel  in a report last fall to defense Secretary Dick Cheney the Pentagon s defense advisory committee on women in the services said Quot the services can ill afford to continue to limit these women and their experiences in the face of the anticipated manpower shortages of the 1990s.&Quot by comparing statistics alone women seem to fare Best in the air Force. The service s High tech Lon distance weaponry allows for 97 percent of its specialities to be open to women with 13.6 percent of its Force being female. Women Are barred from serving in fighters bombers tactical Airlift cargo planes and some helicopters but they Are allowed to Fly in some transport aircraft in command Post aircraft on reconnaissance aircraft and on support missions. The air Force recently lifted the restrictions against women flying on c-130 and c-141 transports that drop paratroopers into Battle zones. The army is 11.4 percent female. The advertising directed at recruiting women boasts that More than 93 percent of its specialities Are open to women. Given the services High combat needs however this translates to about half of its Job slots being closed to women. The army after More than a year of indecision still Hasni to decided what to do with some 345 women who be been trained As Field artillery officers but who have been pulled from their jobs amid worries that the positions would be too exposed to enemy fire. The Navy at a 9.9 percent female level bars women from serving on All aircraft carriers except one a the Lexington a training ship. While combat vessels such As destroyers and cruisers Are also off limits women do serve at sea on support ships such As oilers and tenders submarines and other fighting vessels. The Marine corps has the smallest percentage of slots open to women �?4.8 percent. Marine corps officials Point out that because the service relies on the Navy for medical care the marines Don t have a Large number of nurses a a traditionally female specially in the armed services. Questions about the future role of women in the military have grown sharper not Only because of the attention focused on the hundreds of women who participated in the Panama invasion but also because. Of the extensive personnel cuts the Pentagon faces in Light of the nations budget woes and the end of the cold War. Two congresswoman say they want to ensure that military women Don t suffer disproportionately under the manpower cuts that seem virtually certain with the easing of East West tension. Rep. Patricia Schroeder d-colo., has introduced legislation that would allow army women to apply for All positions including combat related slots. Quot polls show seven out of 10 americans think women should have a Chance to serve in combat units if they want to Quot Schroeder says. Quot its a really Touchy Issue but we be had women die in combat and i think the american people Are aware of what that  rep. Beverly Bryon d-md., chairman of the House armed services subcommittee on military personnel says that while More Job categories should be open to women she opposes the idea of them entering combat units. Quot we re moving along at a Pace in a comfortable with Quot Byron says. The service academies a West Point Annapolis and the air Force Academy a began graduating women Only 10 years ago so few have had time to reach the higher decision making ranks of the military. At the end of last year Only seven women held the rank of general or Admiral. Quot we re still in the process of aging the officer corps Quot says Foote. Quot its going to take us a while to get women where they can make More than just Token changes in the Way the military is  worn officers in the military female ots As a percentage of the total a Tot Rve Star general c Admiral Jot Alt 0% female 0 Ore Star i brigadier i generals rear adm total 55�?~j 1.3% female 7 cats no lieutenant four Star general or Admiral total 39 0% female 0 colonel or Captain total 14,450 2.5% female 365 is lieutenant or lieutenant Junior Grade total 42,825 15.2% female 6,518 a three Star two Star lieutenant major general or general or vice Admiral rear Admiral total 123 total 383 0% 0% female female 0 0 lieutenant major or colonel or lieutenant commander commander total 33,126 total 54,686 5.3% 10.0% female female 1,764 5,458 2nd Active duty lieutenant officers in sept. Or Ensign 1989 totals include the army Navy total 34,461 air Force Marine 15.2% and coast guard female 5,240 la source i a defense a special kind of courage associated press Here Are some comments from and about women in the . Armed forces Quot i could 7 tote a 100-Pound Rucksack and walk for Miles but i can Fly Quot says army capt. Alice Reinwald of Columbus ga., on duty near the demilitarized zone Between North and South Korea. The 28-year-old woman pilots a Blackhawk helicopter and is in charge of administration at Camp Laguardia an army outpost 14 Miles from the Doz. The Post is Home to the 250 soldiers who make up the attack helicopter battalion based there. Quot if we have to take off and go to War today id have to be a Pilot. We d Fly support we d be right in there going to the front lines with whatever is needed a food fuel supplies Quot Reinwald says. She says she knows Quot there Are limitations Quot to what a woman can do. It s because of such limitations that her husband an infantry officer does t want women fighting alongside his men in the trenches and gullies of South Korea. A i know he just  feel comfortable with the idea Quot she says. It. Gen. Carl w. Stiner the commander of the xviii airborne corps says the goo women who participated in the invasion of Panama Quot were All Over the place Quot during the fighting. A a in a just As proud of the women As i am of the men Quot he says. Asked if women could have shouldered 100-Pound Rucksacks and jumped with the paratroopers he responds Quot there Are some who  it Yolanda Wood the Crew chief aboard a Kc-135 Tanker that refuelled planes heading for the Panama invasion says she does no to deserve any attention just because she s a woman. Quot in a not any More special than the Guys. We All trained hard and it paid off. I m a Crew member just like the others Quot says the Young officer based at Grissom fab ind. Marine capt. Ellen Febonio watched closely As her female charges in officer candidate school tried to learn How to take a Hill alongside their male counterparts one cold Day at the Marine corps training ground at Quantico a. From the rear it was hard to Tell the men from the women As the Bulky camouflaged bodies wormed their Way up the Muddy slope with rifles in hand. Quot the women Are Able to train now. When i started we d just follow the men and watch what they a do Quot Febonio said. Army it. Lisa Kutschera nominated for the air medal with a Bronze v for flying troops into Battle in Panama under severe fire says Quot it takes a special kind of courage but it s my Job. Quot before i entered the military i resolved in my own mind that some Day i might have to go into combat regardless of the combat exclusion Law. I was willing to go because id already resolved it in my own mind. Yeah it was  Navy it. Cmdr. Jean Cackowski now the executive officer on the Oiler Platte trained at the Navy a surface warfare school. She was aboard the Dixie a repair ship that was deployed to the Indian Ocean and became the first ship with women sent to the Navy a super secret base at Diego Garcia. Her next assignment was on the Navy s training aircraft Carrier the Lexington where she was the first woman to qualify As the officer of the deck and the surface warfare officer on such a vessel. Quot id prefer to be on a ship that can shoot Back Quot she says. Capt. Ellen Febonio supervises firing Range at Quantico va., Marine corps combat development come. A Cynthia Greer Page 14 the stars and stripes tuesday a 17, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 15