With 28 years of service behind her, Army Colonel Ellen Haring, a West Point graduate, realized she’d hit the brass ceiling. As a woman, she’d been excluded from combat arms specialties, a career requirement to reach the military’s senior ranks. Then, in 2011, she read about The Molly Pitcher project. Led by Professor Anne Coughlin at University of Virginia Law School and her four dedicated students, the goal was to develop a lawsuit capable of bringing down the Department of Defense’s combat exclusion policy for women. Colonel Haring immediately got in contact with Professor Coughlin and the timing couldn’t have been better. Col. Haring, along with Sgt. Major Jane Baldwin, became the original plaintiffs in this first iteration of legal action that would, by 2013, compel Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to rescind the combat exclusion policy for women.

Join Daria as she speaks with two powerhouse women: Ret. US Army Colonel Dr. Ellen Haring and Anne Coughlin, the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Professor of Law at the University of Virginia. Learn about the unlikely origins of this legal action, the dogged determination required to get this lawsuit off the ground and find out who the heck was Molly Pitcher. (hint: Revolutionary War)

#veteran #veterans #veteransbreakfastclub #virtualevents #virtual #zoomevents #liveevents #webinar #history #interview #militaryhistory #military #army #navy #marinecorps #marines #airforce #coastguard #vbc #nonprofit #501c3 #happyhour #911 #september11 #sept11 #generation911 #lioness #specialopslioness #paramount+ #iraq #OEF #OIF #WaronTerror #afghanistan #war #cia #Female #FET #Cultural #CST #Exclusion #Policy