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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Each year, Americans pause during the month of March |
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to pay special tribute to the contributions that women have made to |
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our national life, and outstanding among the myriad roles that |
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women have assumed over the course of this country's history have |
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been those undertaken as part of the nation's armed forces; and |
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WHEREAS, Long before they gained regular admission to the |
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military, thousands of women assisted the uniformed branches in a |
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variety of ways; they worked as nurses, water bearers, laundresses, |
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and cooks, sometimes served as spies and saboteurs, and on occasion |
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even took up arms; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1901, the United States Army broke new ground by |
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creating an actual nurses corps, and the navy followed in 1908; the |
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ranks of these units swelled during World War I, when nearly 23,000 |
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women served as nurses with the American military; the United |
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States Navy and Marine Corps enlisted nearly 13,000 additional |
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women as yeomen and reservists and assigned them to duty stateside, |
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to free their male counterparts for combat at sea and abroad; and |
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WHEREAS, The participation of women in the military surged |
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during World War II, with more than 400,000 filling posts at home |
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and overseas; to more fully utilize their abilities, the army |
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established the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, later known as the |
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Women's Army Corps and commanded with consummate ability by the |
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Texan Oveta Culp Hobby; the army also created the WASP (Women |
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Airforce Service Pilots), while the navy organized the WAVES (Women |
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Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), the Marine Corps |
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established the Marine Corps Women's Reserve, and the Coast Guard |
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created a reserve unit known as the SPARs; in spite of widespread |
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misgivings about their suitability for the work, women proved |
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themselves in a wide array of assignments, and in 1948 an Act of |
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Congress granted them permanent status in the regular and reserve |
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forces; and |
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WHEREAS, Barriers to the participation of women in the |
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military continued to fall; legal provisions placing a two percent |
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cap on the number of women serving and a ceiling on the highest |
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grade a woman could achieve were repealed in 1967; by 1972, the |
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various Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs were opened to |
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women, and in 1976 women were admitted to the service academies; |
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they are now eligible to enter more than 90 percent of all career |
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fields in the armed forces; and |
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WHEREAS, Women have continued to deploy in times of conflict: |
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some 1,000 served in theater during the Korean War and 7,500 during |
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the Vietnam War; hundreds saw duty in operations in Central America |
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in the 1980s, and in 1991, 41,000 women served in theater in |
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Operation Desert Storm; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, approximately 344,500 women are serving in |
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the United States military; they constitute about 14 percent of |
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active duty personnel and about 10 percent of the American forces in |
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Iraq and Afghanistan; and |
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WHEREAS, The operations focused on those two countries have |
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placed enormous demands on all who have taken part; like their male |
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compatriots, many women have served multiple tours, and large |
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numbers have been injured, many grievously; as of mid-January 2011, |
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136 women had given their lives in those two wars; and |
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WHEREAS, The increased involvement of women in the military |
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is reflected by the number of women veterans, which now totals 1.8 |
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million; Texas is home to more than 150,000 women veterans, the |
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second highest number of any state in the nation; and |
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WHEREAS, Texans have always honored the selflessness and |
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sacrifice of those who perform military service, and these women |
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are indeed worthy of that recognition; it is also fitting that needs |
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they have incurred in connection with that service be acknowledged |
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and alleviated, whether they concern physical or psychological |
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wounds or the challenges of caring for their families or |
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reintegrating into civilian life; and |
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WHEREAS, The women who have served in the United States armed |
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forces have demonstrated tenacity, courage, and professionalism, |
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and they are deserving of their fellow citizens' deepest gratitude |
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and unfailing support; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby designate the month of March each year from 2011 through 2020 |
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as Women Veterans Month in tribute to the immeasurable |
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contributions that women in the military have made to this nation. |