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First woman four-star General in U.S.

Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man, she says

— Photo: AP

Done that: General Ann E. Dunwoody at the Pentagon on Friday.

WASHINGTON: Ann E. Dunwoody, after 33 years in the Army, has ascended to a peak never before reached by a woman in the U.S. military: four-star General. At an emotional promotion ceremony, General Dunwoody looked back on her years in uniform, said it was a credit to the Army — and a great surprise to her — that she would make history in a male-dominated military.

“Thirty-three years after I took the oath as a second lieutenant, I have to tell you this is not exactly how I envisioned my life unfolding,” she told a standing-room-only auditorium. “Even as a young kid, all I ever wanted to do was teach physical education and raise a family.

“It was clear to me that my Army experience was just going to be a two-year detour en route to my fitness profession,” she added. “So when asked, ‘Ann, did you ever think you were going to be a general officer, to say nothing about a four-star?’ I say, ‘Not in my wildest dreams.”’

She added: “There is no one more surprised than I — except, of course, my husband. You know what they say, ‘Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man.”’

General Dunwoody hails from a family of military men dating back to the 1800s. Her father, 89-year-old Hal Dunwoody — a decorated veteran of World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam — was in the audience, along with the service chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, plus the Joint Chiefs chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen.

General Dunwoody, whose husband, Craig Brotchie, served for 26 years in the Air Force, choked up at times during a speech in which she said she only recently realised how much her accomplishment means to others.

“This promotion has taken me back in time like no other event in my entire life,” she said. “And I didn’t appreciate the enormity of the events until tidal waves of cards, letters, and E-mails started coming my way.

“And I’ve heard from men and women, from every branch of service, from every region of our country, and every corner of the world. I’ve heard from moms and dads who see this promotion as a beacon of home for their own daughters and after affirmation that anything is possible through hard work and commitment.”

She was sworn in as commander of the Army Materiel Command, responsible for equipping, outfitting and arming all soldiers. Just five months ago, she became the first woman deputy commander there.

General Dunwoody (55) has made it clear that she feels no need for special acclaim for her historic achievement.

There are 21 woman general officers — all but four at the one-star rank of brigadier. It was not until 1970 that the Army had its first one-star: Anna Mae Hays, chief of the Army Nurse Corps.

Women now make up about 14 per cent of the active-duty Army and are allowed to serve in a wide variety of assignments. They are still excluded from units designed primarily to engage in direct combat, such as infantry and tank units.— AP

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