The hallway leading to the commander’s office is adorned with 40 framed pictures, arranged like a long arrow pointing forward, of the men in uniform who have led this sprawling post in the Ozarks.
Bucking the trend, the latest photo added to the wall is of Army Maj. Gen. Donna Martin, the first woman to lead Fort Leonard Wood since it opened in 1941. She’s also one of few African-Americans to do so.
“I don’t consider either of those an obstacle,” said Martin, 53. “I would like to think that the Army has chosen me to be in the positions I am in because I am the most qualified.”
Still, she agreed to share her story because she wants young women to know what’s possible in the military, which has become more inclusive.
“My wish, my desire is that at some point in our history there won’t be a ‘first woman’ doing anything, it will just be somebody doing something, you know just like ‘Maj. Gen. Martin is the commander of Fort Leonard Wood,’” she said. “I don’t even really like talking about myself, but it’s such a necessity to hear the story of women being successful for our future generations.”
Of 1.3 million active duty troops, nearly 17 percent of them are women, up from 15 percent in 2001. While that needle hasn’t moved much, the number of women is expected to increase following the December 2015 announcement to lift remaining restrictionson women serving in combat roles. As more women serve in combat, there will likely be more female brass.
There were recently 71 generals and admirals serving in the active duty military who were women, or 7.5 percent of the total, 939. Martin said the discrepancy hasn’t affected policy and procedures.
“We’ve had women in leadership positions for a long time, so I am not aware of any policy that would change because a woman is in charge,” she said.
That doesn’t mean there haven’t been hardships. Martin recalled an incident early in her 30-year-career when a male officer told her as a young lieutenant that he wouldn’t take orders from a female.
Maj. Gen. Donna Martin salutes at the beginning of a Veterans Day parade Nov. 11 in Waynesville.
“Now my company commander took care of that, and he’s subsequently out of the Army,” Martin said of the encounter. “But I gotta tell you, I have never heard that in the last 25 years. The culture of the Army is so much more accepting of all people.”
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
An “online exclusive” is an article or story that does not run in the print edition of the Houston Herald. Typically 2-3 are posted online every Wednesday morning. It’s another feature designed for users who purchase full web access from the Herald.
Click here to subscribe for print, digital or both.