Timeline of American women in war and the U.S. military from 1945 to 1999 - Wikipedia

On September 28, 1975, a Bill authorized the admission of women to military academies. From the article:

"1970s
Late 1970s: Women first served in “topside” roles at the American missile alert facilities, such as maintenance and security, beginning in the late 1970s.[39]
1970
Anna Mae Hays, Chief of the Army Nurse Corps, became the first U.S. female brigadier general on June 11, 1970. Minutes later, Elizabeth Hoisington, Director of the Women’s Army Corps, became the second.[40]
1st Lt Patricia Murphy was named the first female U.S. Marine certified military judge.[17]"
1971
Mildred Inez Caroon Bailey became the director of the Women's Army Corps.[41]
The Air Force promoted the director of Air Force women, Jeanne Holm, as its first female brigadier general.[40]
Jane Leslie Holly, an Auburn University alumni, becomes the first woman to graduate from the AFROTC commissioning source.[citation needed]
A U.S. Air Force woman completes Aircraft Maintenance Officer's School and becomes the first female aircraft maintenance officer.[citation needed]
The first woman is assigned as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Air Force Reserve.[2]
A staff sergeant becomes the first female technician in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.[2]
1972
January: Commander Elizabeth Barrett arrived in Vietnam, and was the highest ranking female naval line officer in Vietnam. By November 1972, she had become the first female commander in a combat zone, leading the 450 enlisted men in the [U.S.] Naval Advisory Group, a position she held until she left Vietnam in March 1973.[42]
28 March: A bill was introduced in the U.S. House to authorize the appointment of women to “any military service academy” although this bill failed. Congress eventually lifted restrictions on 7 October 1975 with a rider attached to the Defense Authorization bill that year (Public Law 94-106).[5]
10 April: The U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, Admiral Chester Bender, established an official board “to determine the need for permanent women officers in the regular Coast Guard.” The board concluded in their report submitted in May 1972 that: 1) "No need for regular women officers in specific billets currently exists in the Coast Guard except in cases where a male applicant with adequate qualifications is not available. This requirement in itself does not justify initiation of a program at this time. In fact, a program of such small size is not desirable; 2) Nevertheless, considering all factors, it is in the overall best interest of the Coast Guard to begin a controlled women officer program with provisions for integration into the regular Coast Guard included; 3); Planning and execution of a women officer program in the Coast Guard is overdue.[5]
August: Wilma L. Vaught became the first female Air Force officer to attend the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.[16]
Hospitalman Elena J. Peckenpaugh was assigned to the first U.S. Navy ship with a mixed male-female crew.[citation needed]
The first women's Reserve Enlisted Basic Indoctrination classes in the U.S. Coast Guard were established in 1972. Four ratings were made available: Yeoman, Storekeeper, Radioman, and Hospital Corpsman.[5]
The U.S. Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is opened to Army and Navy women.[2]
The U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, publishes Z-116 declaring the Navy's commitment to equal rights and opportunities for women.[2]
Concurrent will All Volunteer Force establishment, the U.S. Department of Defense authorized provisions to permit Services to retain uniformed mothers on a case-by-case basis.[7]
The Hospital Ship USS Sanctuary is the first U.S. Naval vessel to sail with a male/female crew.[2]
Alene Duerk became the first female admiral in the U.S. Navy.[43][44]
Mildred C. Kelly became the first African-American woman E9 (Sergeant Major) in the U.S. Armed Forces.[26]
1973
February: The first women since 1945 were admitted to Officer Candidate School in the U.S. Coast Guard.[5]
November 1: Enlistment of women in the U.S. Coast Guard authorized for four-year tours of active duty. The ratings to be held by these women were limited to yeoman (YN), storekeeper (SK), hospital corpsman (HM), photo-journalist (PA), dental technician (DT), and musician (MU).[5]
November 30: Kati Garner qualified as the Navy’s first female SCUBA diver.[45][46]
Legislation ended the Women's Reserve in the U.S. Coast Guard and women were officially integrated into active duty and Coast Guard Reserve. Female reservists then serving on active duty were given the choice of enlisting in the regular Coast Guard or completing their reserve enlistments.[5]
1LT Virginia Fry becomes the first full-time female faculty member at West Point when she serves as a geography instructor in the Department of Earth, Space, and Graphic Sciences.[13]
Combat exclusion for women in the U.S. Coast Guard ends.[5]
Alice Jefferson became the first SPAR to be sworn into the regular U.S. Coast Guard.[5]
Lieutenants Victoria Voge and Jane McWilliams became the U.S. Navy’s first two women flight surgeons.[47]
The first female enlistee was accepted into the regular U.S. Coast Guard on 7 December 1973.[5]
Gail Harris became the first female Intelligence Officer in a Navy aviation squadron in 1973.[48][49]
The first U.S. Navy women earn military pilot wings. LTJG Judith Neuffer had been the first woman selected for flight training in 1973.[2][7]
The first woman in the history of the U.S. armed forces is promoted to major general (Mary E. Clarke).[2][50]
Women Officer School (WOS), Newport, Rhode Island, was disestablished, and Officer Candidate School (OCS) training was gender integrated to support men and women.[7]
Pregnancy as a reason for mandatory separation from the U.S. Navy was abolished. Women could now request to remain on active duty if pregnant.[7]
Janet Sebastian Cox became the first woman to join a Kauai unit of the Hawaii National Guard.[51]
The U.S. military accepts its first female chaplain (Dianna Pohlman, in the Navy).[2][52]
The U.S. Supreme Court rules unconstitutional inequities in benefits for the dependents of military women, in the case Frontiero v. Richardson. Until then, military women with dependents were not authorized housing nor were their dependants eligible for the benefits and privileges afforded the dependents of male military members, such as medical, commissary and post exchange, etc.[2]
1974
January 15: The first group of women ever enlisted as "Regulars" in the U.S. Coast Guard report to Cape May.[5]
February 29: U.S. Coast Guard: Radioman (RM), Fire Control Technician (FT), Telephone Technician (TT), and Boatswain's Mate (BM) rating opened and school-qualified proviso dropped, thus sanctioning non-rated women.[5]
Mixed-gender basic training begins in the U.S. Coast Guard.[5]
Eleanor L'Ecuyer became the first woman on active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard promoted to Captain since World War II.[5]
Faye Glenn Abdellah became the first nurse officer in the U.S. to receive the rank of a two-star rear admiral.[53]
Lieutenant Sally D. Murphy, the first woman to qualify as an aviator in the Army, became the first female U.S. Army aviator and U.S. Army helicopter pilot.[citation needed]
First women commissioned through NROTC.[citation needed]
The Navy became the first U.S. service to graduate a female pilot (LT Barbara Allen Rainey.) They graduated six in 1974.[7][42][54][55]
1975
March 14: Donna Tobias graduated from Second Class Dive School, thus becoming the Navy’s first woman deep sea diver.[56]
May: Kathleen Byerly became the first female officer in the United States Navy to serve as the flag secretary to an admiral commanding an operational staff.[57] She was one of 12 women named persons of the year by Time Magazine in 1975.[58]
August 11: A Department of Transportation press release noted that the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, ADM Owen Siler, announced “that women will join the Corps of Cadets at New London. Admiral Siler said his decision to admit women to the Academy was based on the many contributions he expected women to make in the peace-time missions of the Coast Guard. He noted that current statutes do not bar the admission of women to the Coast Guard Academy and that action by Congress will not be required. This decision is also in keeping with the strong commitment of the leadership of the Department of Transportation to assure equal rights for women.” An article in the CGA Alumni Bulletin noted that the Academy “thus becomes the first of the armed forces to open its doors to women.” (Alumni Bulletin (September/October 1975), p. 8.[5]
November: The Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard approved a new uniform for women in the Coast Guard designed by Edith Head, a Hollywood fashion expert.[5]
1975-1980: Project Athena conducted at West Point. This joint Military Academy-Army Research Institute effort was one of the nation's first systematic studies of the integration of women into an all-male institution.[13]
U.S. Navy women were assigned to service craft (e.g., tug boats).[7]
The term Woman Marine is discontinued; all women in the U.S. Marine Corps are considered Marines. Women are allowed in every occupation or billet in the U.S. Marine Corps except Infantry, Artillery, and pilot-aircrew, because of general service restrictions.[citation needed]
Fifteen sea intensive ratings were closed to women in the U.S. Navy.[7]
The U.S. Navy begins screening URL women for CDR, CO, and LCDR XO billets ashore.[2][7]
The U.S. Air Force places the first woman on operational crew status.[2]
1976
1 January: All aviation ratings in the U.S. Coast Guard opened to women. This completed opening to women all ratings in which "their service would not unacceptably impact the sea-isolated/shore duty ratio." [5]
February 1976: The U.S. Coast Guard Academy first announced the appointments of 50 cadets to enter with the Class of 1980, including three women: Cathryn Lis of Bristol, CT; Susan Kollmeyer of Groton, CT; & Cynthia Snead of Melbourne, FL. The Coast Guard News Release published on 4 February 1976 regarding their announcement noted that: “Of the four largest federal service academies (Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard) the Coast Guard Academy is the first to offer an appointment to a woman.” (USCG News Release No. 7-76; 4 February 1976).[5]
Debra Chambers Buchanan and Debra Lee Wilson became the first female coxswains in the U.S. Coast Guard.[5]
The United States Air Force Academy, United States Coast Guard Academy, United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy become coeducational. USAF eliminates the WAF program; with women more fully integrated with men in the service it is considered unnecessary. 119 women became the first women cadets at West Point when they joined the Class of 1980.[13]
Women are first allowed to train as jet fighter pilots in the U.S. Air Force.[59]
At the end of 1976, Gail Harris was requested by name to report to Kamiseya, Japan, to the Fleet Ocean Surveillance Information Facility and became the first female and first African American female to be designated an Intelligence Watch Specialist in the U.S. Navy, as an Intelligence Watch Officer.[48]
Mrs. Sue Peterson became the first female instructor in the Department of Physical Education at West Point.[13]
The U.S. Navy promoted a female line officer, Fran McKee, to flag rank in 1976. RADM McKee thus became the first Navy woman who was not a nurse to achieve star rank, as well as the first female unrestricted line officer appointed to flag rank.[7][40]
Women began attending U.S. Navy Aviation Officer Candidate School.[7]
2nd Circuit Court decision indicating involuntary pregnancy discharges in the U.S. Navy violated the 5th Amendment.[7]
The U.S. Air Force selects the first female reservist for the undergraduate pilot training program.[2]
1977
Military veteran status is granted to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) who flew during World War II.[2]
The first mixed-gender crews afloat in the U.S. Coast Guard occurred in October, 1977 when 24 women reported on board the CGCs Gallatin and Morgenthau as members of their permanent crew. Twelve women—two officers and 10 enlisted—served on board each.[5]
Janna Lambine became the first female designated as a U.S. Coast Guard aviator.[5]
Connie Swaro became the first active-duty female in the U.S. Coast Guard promoted to E-7 on 1 August 1977.[5]
Cheryl Stearns became the first female member of the Golden Knights, the U.S. Army's elite parachute team. She served two 3-year tours with them.[60]
1978
January: YN2 Ella Bragg became the first woman to reenlist in the regular U.S. Coast Guard since the Service began accepting women as regular enlistees.[5]
All officer career fields and enlisted ratings in the U.S. Coast Guard opened to women.[5]
YNC Holly became the first female company commander in the U.S. Coast Guard at TRACEN Cape May. She commanded the first all-female company Gulf-101.[5]
Marlene DeTienne attended the Law Enforcement School of the U.S. Coast Guard in Yorktown as a BM1. DeTienne was the first female active-duty BM1 in the Coast Guard and the first woman to attend LE school. She was invited to be the Coast Guard's enlisted representative to the 1979 DACOWITS Conference and was the only female (and only BM1) in the Ops Center during the 1980 Mariel Boat Lift. She was the first woman to make BM3 by striking.[5]
Margaret A. Brewer, Director of Information and former Director of Women Marines, becomes the first woman to reach the rank of general in the United States Marine Corps, as she is promoted to brigadier general.[40]
The CBS made-for-television movie “Women at West Point” airs.[13]
MAJ Nancy Freebairn becomes the first female tactical officer at West Point.[13]
The women's basketball team called the “Sugar Smacks,” the first women's team to gain varsity status at West Point, finishes its initial varsity year with an 18-5 record.[13]
The first Army woman is promoted to two-star general. She is also the first woman officer to command a major military installation.[citation needed]
The U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) assigns the first woman aircrew member to alert duty.[2]
Judge John Sirica rules the law banning U.S. Navy women from ships to be unconstitutional in the case Owens v. Brown. Congress approves a change to Title 10 USC Section 6015 to permit the Navy to assign women to fill sea duty billets on support and noncombatant ships. The USS Vulcan, a repair ship, receives the first of many navy women to be assigned shipboard under the amended law.[2][7]
Surface Warfare and Special Operations communities in the U.S. Navy were opened to women.[7]
SKCM Margaret I. Gramlich became the first woman assigned to a Command Master Chief ashore billet in the U.S. Navy.[7]
Navy Nurse Joan C. Bynum became the first black woman promoted to the rank of Captain in the U.S. Navy.[citation needed]
The Women's Army Corps (WAC) is disestablished and its members integrated into the Regular Army of the U.S.[2]
Patricia Fornes, as a first lieutenant, was the first woman officer to serve on a combat missile crew at a Titan II facility.[39]
1978/1979: Jeanette Roberts Burr became the light-keeper of the New Dungeness Light Station, becoming the first uniformed U.S. Coast Guard woman to become a light-keeper. She was the first woman light-keeper since Fannie Salter (who retired in 1947), a civilian Coast Guard employee.[5]
1979
21 June: SN Ina J. Toays became the first woman to be awarded the U.S. Coast Guard Medal.[5]
Kathy Gerard becomes the first female Brigade Executive Officer at West Point.[13]
COL Mildred Hedberg becomes Chief of Staff, USCC, at West Point.[13]
The women's swimming team at West Point finishes its first varsity season undefeated and captures the New York State AIAW Division B Swimming Varsity Championship.[13]
Beverly Kelley became the first female commanding officer afloat in the U.S. Coast Guard when she took command of the CGC Cape Newagen.[5]
LT Kay Hartzell became the first female commanding officer of an isolated duty station in the U.S. Coast Guard when she took command of LORAN Station Lampedusa, Italy.[5]
Sandra Ward West graduated from C-130 Flight Engineer School in the U.S. Coast Guard at Little Rock AFB, becoming the first woman to both attend and graduate from that school. She was the first female C-130 Flight Engineer.[5]
Second woman to make BM1 in the U.S. Coast Guard: Debra Chambers Buchanan.[5]
Cadet 1/c Linda Johansen became Regimental Commander of the Cadet Corps of the U.S. Coast Guard, the first woman to win Corps command at any of the four service academies.[5]
Gail Harris became the first female and African American instructor at the Armed Forces Air Intelligence Training Center at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado.[48]
Hazel Johnson-Brown was promoted to brigadier general in 1979, making her the first black woman general officer in the history of the US military and the first black Chief of the Army Nurse Corps. She was also the first Chief holding an earned doctorate.[2][26]
The U.S. Naval Flight Officer (NFO) program opened to women.[7]
The first woman U.S. Naval aviator obtains carrier qualification (LT Lynn Spruill.)[2][7]
The first woman obtained Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) qualification in the U.S. Navy.[7]
The U.S. Marine Corps assigns women as embassy guards.[2]"