Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Carmen Fleischmann | Martha Burt, WWII Veteran, is recognized for her military service during the 3rd...... read more read more
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ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (June 15, 2016) – Women ranging from the age of 20 to just shy of 100 trickled in to the auditorium at the First Coast Technical College in St. Augustine. The common thread that united them was their military service, past and present.
The purpose of the 3rd Annual State of Florida Women Veterans’ Conference was to honor the state’s more than 160,000 women veterans. This year, to honor women who served, Gov. Rick Scott declared June 15-16 Women Veterans’ Appreciation Days.
Navy Cmdr. (Ret.) Selena Hernandez-Haines, now the director of Military Recruitment for Flagler College, gave the opening remarks and said that like those in attendance, she came looking for what Florida has to offer its military Veterans.
“The number of women veterans in the U.S. and women as a percentage of all veterans is only expected to increase in this century,” said Haines. She went on to say that there are currently over two million women veterans.
To demonstrate the diversity of the women veterans in the room, Haines asked each woman in the room to raise their hands if they had ever served in the military. She called out a significant date in U.S. military history, beginning with 9-11. Those that volunteered for service after that date were asked to lower their hands once the event was called. One by one, the hands went down until she reached the era of the beginning of the Soviet Missile Crises.
Those women in attendance who served prior to the start of Operation Desert Storm encountered several obstacles that have since been alleviated. For example, the Combat Exclusion Law prevented many of them from serving on the front lines, even though three women were killed in combat before the law was repealed in 1994. Others serving that time faced involuntary discharge for becoming pregnant regardless of their relationship status.
“At last women can serve on equal basis with our brothers in arms,” said Hernandez-Haines.” At last national attention has become focused on the need to ensure equal benefits, assistance and support of women veterans who have served their country so well and for so long.”
In January of this year, all occupational specialties were opened to women in the armed forces without exception. Haines said that while the nation is well on its way toward gender equality, there is still much work to be done, for example educating the civilian workforce on the capabilities of women who have military expertise once they leave active or reserve service.
New to the veteran community, is one of the most distinguished women in the Florida National Guard history, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Valeria Gonzalez-Kerr, who recently retired as the Assistant Adjutant General for Army. Her advice to the women currently serving or recently retired is to embrace their unique qualities that have formed them into sophisticated professionals.
“As women veterans, you are proven leaders with unmatched work experience in your field and you have developed the distinctive ability to adapt, anticipate change and work well under pressure,” said Gonzalez-Kerr. “This makes you an invaluable addition to any public or private sector organization.”
Throughout the event, the women in attendance received information on state programs available to them, and visited with vendors that offer services in their area.
“This is very practical,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. (Ret.) Tina Caston, a Jacksonville resident. “This is one-stop shopping with the vendors and the veterans’ centers.”
There was one other benefit Caston received from making the journey to St. Augustine, and that was reuniting with a former colleague, Hernandez-Haines. The two young Navy officers were stationed together in Hawaii in 1988 and had not re-connected until Caston spotted her former peer giving the opening remarks during the conference.
“To come here and see her, was just icing on the cake,” said Caston. “She’s a good neighbor to grow up, leave, learn and return now to teach others the lessons she’s learned.”
Also in attendance was State Representative Jimmie T. Smith, who as a former Army Infantryman didn’t have much experience serving alongside women but believes that as long as the mission is accomplished, the differences between males and females should not matter.
“In the military, it should be based not on gender but on capability,” said Smith.
Following Smith’s remarks, women who had served in the Korean War, Vietnam and WWII were recognized for “blazing the trail” for other women who longed to defend their nation. The most senior members of the group, even at 90-plus years of age look back fondly on their time in service, and were grateful to be recognized by the sisters in arms who succeeded them.
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2016 13:04 |
| Story ID: | 201385 |
| Location: | ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | ORLANDO, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 198 |
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