Photo By Scott Sturkol | Col. Michelle Link, commander of the 372nd Engineer Brigade, gives her presentation as...... read more read more
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A modern woman’s success is built on the sacrifices and battles of those who came before her, said Col. Michelle Link, guest speaker for the March 22 observance of Women’s History Month at Fort McCoy.
Link is commander of the 372nd Engineer Brigade of Fort Snelling, Minn. She attended engineer officer school as one of five women out of 150 students in one of the first few classes that allowed female students.
Link is the granddaughter of immigrants, she said. She was the second in her Family to graduate from college, and the first was older sister. Her grandparents worked in manual labor positions after emigrating from Ireland. Her mother was a waitress, and her father was a mechanic.
“My mother wanted her daughters to be self-reliant, and that meant we needed higher education,” Link said.
“From my earliest memories, she always stressed the importance of education and made sure to remind us daily that we could be whatever we wanted to be when we grew up, but only if we went to school.
“They paid for one semester of college for me, and then I had the epiphany that I would join the Army,” she said. “It’ll be fun, they said. It’ll be an adventure. You’ll travel to great places.”
Her mother didn’t speak to her for two weeks after she joined, certain that she would quit and abandon her education.
“Fast-forward 28 years, and my mother has told her circle of friends — which really means anybody who will listen to her — that her daughter’s a general,” Link said. “It doesn’t matter how many times I correct her.”
Link said it is important to acknowledge and remember the contributions and sacrifices of previous generations.
“I have not gotten to this point on my own. Rather, I stand before you today on the shoulders of giants and with the voices of a thousand women echoing in my head,” Link said.
“It is my intention to pay tribute to some of those women who had the courage to fight for justice, equality, education, and opportunity and to the women who kicked open doors for the rest of us to walk through.”
Women have been part of U.S. war efforts since the Revolutionary War, but they had to disguise themselves in order to serve alongside men, Link said.
Deborah Sampson Gannett of Plympton, Mass., was one of the first American female Soldiers. In 1782, she enlisted under a male name and served for 17 months during the Revolutionary War.
“At one point, she was wounded and cut a musket ball out of her own thigh so a doctor wouldn’t figure out that she was, in fact, a woman,” Link said.
When women were accepted into the military, they were only allowed to serve in auxiliary roles. As weapons and warfare changed in the 20th century, officials began to realize that gender mattered less on the battlefield than some would like to believe, she said.
“Nearly 240 years after Deborah Sampson Gannett enlisted, the Pentagon opened all combat jobs to women. In 2015, former Defense Secretary Ashton Carter stated that there would be no exceptions to the new rule,” Link said.
Link spoke about several influential civil-rights activists, including Rosa Parks, Daisy Gatson Bates, and Fannie Lou Hamer. Because she grew up in that era, these women and their words resonate with her even today.
“Just a decade after the civil-rights movement began, I would learn what the word desegregation meant,” Link said.
“In 1976, I was in the sixth grade. It was the year of the bicentennial. … It was also the year of desegregation in my school district. Those were big words for an 11-year-old.”
Unfortunately, Link said, racism and discrimination are not relics of the past. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of hate groups rose from 917 to 954 in 2017. A large number of these are white supremacist, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigration groups.
“Also, for the first time, the SPLC added two male supremacy groups to the hate list,” Link said. “The vilification of women by these groups makes them no different than hate groups that demean entire populations such as the LGBT community, Muslims, or Jews based on their inherent characteristics.”
Current examples of hate and discrimination are easily found online, in newspapers, and on nightly newscasts, she said.
“Many of you may remember in August 2017 — all these years later after the civil-rights movement — activist Heather Heyer was murdered in Charlottesville, Va., while taking a stand against hate during an alt-right protest,” Link said.
“Her ashes had to be interred in a secret location due to the continued threats against her family. And sadly, I need to look no further than the evening news to be reminded that the depths of hatred and racism have not abated,” she said. “But I am comforted that there are those still willing to fight in defense of equality and justice for others.
“Education of girls across the globe remains a priority for anyone who truly wants a better world,” Link said.
“Investing in the education of girls brings high returns in terms of breaking cycles of poverty and aiding economic growth, but also increases and improves survival rates and health for children and women, delays child marriage and early pregnancies, and empowers women both in the home and in the workplace.
“We are stronger as a nation and global world when we acknowledge the collective contributions of both men and women,” Link said.
The observance was organized by the 1st Battalion, 351st Brigade Support Battalion.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at www.mccoy.army.mil, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”
| Date Taken: | 04.12.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 04.12.2018 13:36 |
| Story ID: | 272822 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Hometown: | FORT SNELLING, MINNESOTA, US |
| Hometown: | MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 55 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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