Ann Dunwoody Accomplishments

General Ann E. Dunwoody Ann Dunwoody is the first woman to ever be promoted to the rank of four star general in the US Army. Ann was a great leader because she was able to achieve so much even in the face of adversity. This paper will inform you how Ann grew up, her achievements in college, her achievements after she became active duty Army, and what she achieved following her retirement from the Army. Ann Dunwoody was born in January 1953 in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Ann’s father had been an officer in the army and was a decorated veteran after his retirement, and four generations of her family had graduated from the United States Military Academy. (Albert) She grew up living the typical army lifestyle of relocating every few years and living

(Moore) This was a huge achievement given that it was 1970. This took two years for Congress and the Department of Defense to sign into law. It then took another 38 years for Ann Dunwoody to shatter the ceiling by pinning on four stars with the rank of General. It is at this point in her career where Ann is also the Chief of Army Material Command. With the women’s rights movement and the end of the draft the pentagon was compelled to review the status of women in the military. (Moore) The Army committee had recommendations to separate the women’s corps to increase the specialties offered to women. The Army committee also pushed opening ROTC and military academies to women and also changed the law that required automatic discharge if a woman became pregnant. It was after these recommendations were followed that women could serve in 430 of the 467 military specialties, but they could not command any unit that had a combat mission. At this time the Army had stopped the involuntary separation of pregnant soldiers but they were still having difficulties balancing family needs and service needs. (Moore) As of 1972 even though women could enroll in ROTC none of them had been commissioned, and even with the recommendation of the Army committee women were still not allowed to enroll in any military academies. It was in 1975 that President Ford signed the bill allowing women to

She is an accomplished, strategic leader, with a wealth of experience in the complexities of global logistics and large-scale operations. Her exemplary military achievements and broad scope of managerial responsibilities make her a strong addition to L-3’s board. I look forward to her contributions and guidance. (L-3 Communications) Through the research that I have gathered on General Ann Dunwoody I have determined that she is a strong leader. The reason’s that this is true is that throughout her career in the army she showed perseverance in every situation. At the start of her career she was entering into a field that had generally shunned women. Still she rose to the occasion and showed that she was worthy of doing what was considered to be a “man’s job” and eventually she went on to lead those men that at one point had felt women didn’t belong in the military. General Dunwoody was a strong leader because it is obvious from her history that she refused to back down. She stood up for what she believed in and many women that came after her admired her for that and could only hope to achieve what she achieved. It became obvious to me that Ann was an individual that could wear many hats throughout her career, she is an admired leader, a friend, a devoted wife and someone who fights fiercely for what she believes in. I enjoyed learning about General Dunwoody. I think that everyone