The role of women in combat has been a controversial issue in the U.S. armed forces for decades. Yet, it has been only 30 years since the first women graduated from the US Military Academy, and only since 9/11 have large numbers of them served in combat zones alongside their male counterparts. This article examines the all-too-brief life of one of them, 2LT Emily Perez, who was the first female graduate of West Point to be killed in the line of fire in Iraq and the first member of the "Class of 9/11" to die in combat. A statistical comparison of female representation at the three major U.S. service academies is included, along with a discussion of the emergence of minorities. An African-American with paternal roots in Puerto Rico, this soldier epitomized all that is right about women serving in combat, willing to sacrifice their lives for the interests of their country. 2LT Perez's legacy lives on today among her family, friends, classmates, fellow soldiers, and the unique charitable causes promoting the values she held dear. The following is a tribute to "Emily's Way."
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The article reviews the commitments undertaken by NATO, from an institutional and operational point of view, to ensure awareness and dissemination of its mandates, especially in the field of crisis management. Secondly, it examines the EU's actions in promoting and defending the rights of women and girls living in conflict situations in all areas of its policies, including the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). Finally, the article considers the progressive extension of the gender perspective to the three dimensions of the OSCE: the politico-military, the economic-environmental and the human dimension. The essay concludes by offering a balance of the achievements of these institutions in recent years, as well as the pending challenges to continue the correct implementation of Resolution 1325 in all peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities.
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This paper analyzes the international and national regulations concerning the evolution in the world and in the Oriental Republic of Uruguay of gender equity, the elimination of discrimination against women, as well as the promotion and protection of the rights that the female gender has been forging, especially in the fields of security and defense. A brief review is made of women's participation in these areas, past and present, and of the process of inclusion in the Uruguayan Armed and Police Forces, concluding with some suggestions of what remains to be done to continue with the work of achieving full equality of roles and functions in society between men and women.
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