Timeline of women in warfare and the military in the United States, 2011–present

This article lists events involving Women in warfare and the military in the United States since 2011. For the previous decade, see Timeline of women in warfare and the military in the United States, 2000–2010.

2011 1 March: Kristin Werner became the first female Chief Gunner's Mate in the Coast Guard. March: Air Force Major General Margaret Woodward, 51, became the first American woman to lead a combat air campaign. She directed the airstrikes over Libya for 11 days, until NATO took over. 3 June: RADM Sandra Stosz assumed command of the Coast Guard Academy, becoming the first woman superintendent of that institution, and the first woman to command any U.S. service academy. 4 June: Heidi Shyu became United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. 17 June: BGen Loretta Reynolds, USMC became the first female commander at Parris Island. Furthermore, while serving a yearlong tour of duty with the group at Camp Leatherneck Afghanistan, Reynolds became the "first female Marine to command battle space", according to the website for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. She was the first woman in the Marine Corps to command units in a war zone.Parris Island Gets First Female General CBS News, June 17, 2011 June: RDML Gretchen S. Herbert, USN, assumed command of Navy Cyber Forces at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia Beach, Virginia. 29 September: Marcia M. Anderson became the first African-American woman to achieve the rank of major general in the United States Army Reserve. On 16 December 2011, 24-year-old Justine Sacco became the first woman to assume command of Delta FSC, 26th Brigade Support Battalion, forward support company of 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry 3rd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.' President Barack Obama named Brenda Sue Fulton to the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, making her the first openly gay or lesbian person to serve there. She is the executive director and co-founder of Knights Out, an organization of LGBT West Point graduates and their supporters, and a founding member of OutServe. The first all-female U.S. Air Force combat mission is flown by Maj. Christine Mau, Maj. Tracy Schmidt, Capt. Leigh Larkin, and Capt. Jennifer Morton, called the "Strike Eagles of 'Dudette 07'." They fly two F-15E jets in a sortie over Afghanistan. Capt. Donna Cottrell became the first female commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard's one-of-a-kind tactical drug interdiction helicopter squadron. For the first time, four sisters from the same family (the Robillards) graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Julie Bentz became the first female brigadier general in the American National Guard. Jessica Ray became the first female Avenger master gunner in the U.S. army. Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho became the first female U.S. Army surgeon general. The U.S. National Guard began using female engagement teams in 2011. A group of women from Port Hueneme became the first all-female team in Seabees history to take on and complete a construction project. The USS Constitution announces the selection of Senior Chief Aviation Maintenance Administrationman (AW/SW) Roxanne Rhoades, making her the first woman to serve as the Command Senior Chief onboard Old Ironsides. Margaret W. Burcham became the first woman to command a U.S. Corps of Engineers division when she took command of the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division located in Cincinnati, OH. The division consists of seven engineer districts that include over 4800 personnel operating in a 17 state region with the responsibility for the federal water resource development throughout the Great Lakes and Ohio River basins. The first group of U.S. female submariners completed nuclear power school and officially reported on board two ballistic and two guided missile submarines in November 2011. Pratima Dharm, born in India, became the U.S. Army's first Hindu chaplain, as well as the first female chaplain of Indian descent in the U.S. Army. Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta and Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell became the first gay couple to share the US Navy tradition of the "first kiss" on the pier. Brenda Sue Fulton was named to the West Point Board of Visitors, making her the first openly gay member of the board that advises the academy.

2012 On 29 May, the very first U.S. Air Force Medical Service Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Leadership Award ever given was presented to Senior Master Sgt. Lorraine A. Hieskill, superintendent of the 59th Surgical Inpatient Squadron, at the San Antonio Military Medical Center, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. 22 June: A sailor assigned to USS Ohio (SSGN 726) became the first female supply officer to qualify in U.S. submarines. July: Major General Sharon K.G. Dunbar, USAF, is the first female selected to serve in the dual positions of Commander of the Air Force District of Washington and Commander of the 320th Air Expeditionary Wing, Joint Base Andrews, Md. 20 July: VADM Nanette M. DeRenzi became the Judge Advocate General of the Navy. navy.mil (JAG Corps Public Affairs) 20 July 2012. 13 August: VADM Robin Braun, USN began serving as Chief of Navy Reserve and Commander, Navy Reserve Force.Vice Admiral Robin R. Braun Chief of Navy Reserve/Commander, Navy Reserve Force United States Navy Reserve official site. She is the first female commander of the U.S. Navy Reserve, and the first woman to lead any Reserve component of the U.S. military. 5 September: Pvt Stephanie Kasten enlisted as the first female in South Dakota in a combat MOS as a 13M crew member. Air Force Col. Ginger Wallace became the first known out member of the U.S. military to have their same-sex partner participate in the pinning ceremony tradition that had been reserved for spouses and family members. Her partner of 10 years, Kathy Knopf, pinned colonel wings on Wallace days after the two attended President Obama's State of The Union address as a guest of the First Lady. Navy Chief Elny McKinney and Anacelly McKinney became the first known same-sex couple to marry on a U.S. military base. They were wed at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego. The 50,000th graduate of the U.S. Navy's Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit in New York was a woman, MM3 Jenna Swindt, who completed her training in March. The U.S. Coast Guard hosted its first women's athletics leadership conference. The Pentagon announced that it would allow women in the U.S. military to serve in noninfantry battalion jobs, such as radio operators, intelligence analysts, medics, radar operators, and tank mechanics, beginning in summer 2012. It began on 14 May. Cicely Verstein became the first woman in America to qualify for an Army combat-arms support job. Col. Dawne Deskins became the first female commander of the U.S. military's Eastern Air Defense Sector in Rome, New York. Margaret W. Burcham became the first woman to be promoted to general officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Five "Tigertails" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron One Two Five (VAW-125), embarked aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) as part of Carrier Air Wing Seventeen (CVW-17), flew an historic flight on 25 January when they participated in the U.S. Navy's first all-female E-2C Hawkeye combat mission. Commander Monika Washington Stoker, United States Navy, became the first African American woman to take command of a U.S. Navy missile destroyer. Brig. Gen. Laura Richardson became the U.S. Army's first female to serve as a division deputy commander. Janet Wolfenbarger became the U.S. Air Force's first female four-star general. The U.S. Marine Corps opened its Infantry Officers Course in Quantico, Va. to women for the first time in its history. Two women joined; one dropped out on 28 September after not completing the introductory endurance test. The other passed that test but was dropped later because of unspecified medical reasons. Col. Jeannie Leavitt became the first woman to take command of a U.S. Air Force combat fighter wing. Gwendolyn Bingham was named the first female White Sands Missile Range commander in the U.S. military. The U.S. Air Force has now identified at least 31 women as victims in a growing rape scandal, a four-star general announced. U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta changed the policy that the unit commander would decide whether to move ahead with the investigation and prosecution of reported sexual assaults, a policy accused of placing the decision in the hands of commanders who work with, and are often close friends of, the accused. Under the new policy announced by Panetta, the decision rests higher up the chain of command, at the level of colonel (or, in the Navy, captain). Lt. Britta Christianson became the first female supply officer to qualify in submarines in the United States. Michelle Howard of the U.S. Navy became the first black woman to earn a three-star-rank in the U.S. armed forces. Capt. Delana Small became the first female chaplain in a U.S. combat arms unit. She joined the 101st Airborne Division, also known as the "Screaming Eagles." Col. Giselle Wilz became the first woman in the North Dakota National Guard to achieve the rank of "full bird" colonel. Karla Marie MacArthur became the first female judge advocate in the South Dakota Army National Guard. Kathryn Neff became the first female Marine to graduate from the [American] Sapper School and the first interservice graduate to win the Sapper Spirit Award. Jennifer Walter became the first female brigadier general in the Iowa Air National Guard. The first Riverine Combat Skills Course (RCS) class in the United States to include women graduated in 2012. The women were: Chief Engineman Patricia Cooper, Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Brittney Hellwig, Master-at-Arms Seaman Brianna Tran, and Master-at-Arms Seaman Angela Evans. The first same-sex marriage at the U.S. Military Academy was held for a lieutenant and her partner (Ellen Schick and Shannon Simpson) at the Old Cadet Chapel in West Point's cemetery. The first same-sex marriage at the U.S. Military Academy's Cadet Chapel at West Point (not to be confused with the Old Cadet Chapel) was held for Brenda Sue Fulton and Penelope Dara Gnesin. Fulton was a veteran and the communications director of an organization called Outserve, which represents actively serving gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender military personnel. The U.S. Air Force launched an initiative to rid its ranks of material seen to objectify women. Pictures and calendars featuring half-naked women were removed from Air Force work spaces and public areas in an attempt to combat sexism and rape culture. Three Sailors assigned to USS Maine (SSBN 741) and USS Wyoming (SSBN 742) became the first female unrestricted line officers to qualify in U.S. submarines 5 Dec. Lt. j.g. Marquette Leveque, a native of Fort Collins, Colo., assigned to the Gold Crew of Wyoming, and Lt. j.g. Amber Cowan and Lt. j.g. Jennifer Noonan of Maine's Blue Crew received their submarine "dolphins" during separate ceremonies at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga., and Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Wash. CWO2 Kilohana Akim became the first female Pacific Islander of Hawaiian descent to make INV3 in the U.S. Coast Guard when she was promoted on 1 June 2012. Sonja Dyer became the first female maneuver Brigade S-3 in the U.S. Army. Ens. Kimberlee D. Hazle was commissioned as the U.S. Navy's first female Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment (ALRE) Boatswain (Bos'n). Chief Warrant Officer Laura E. Freeman became the first female Material Maintenance Specialty (MAT) warrant officer in the U.S. Coast Guard when she was commissioned MAT2 on 1 June 2012.