Ep. 17: Womens' contributions to our national defense

This episode is all about the many contributions women have made to our national defense and how the military services are changing to better leverage the full talents of the American people. Leading off today's conversation, Joe speaks with U.S. Marine Corps attack helicopter pilot and combat veteran, Katey van Dam (1:33). Katey deployed in support of combat operations in Afghanistan and counter-piracy operations in the Horn of Africa/Gulf of Aden. She also co-founded No Exceptions, a non-partisan initiative that led the effort to get the Department of Defense to allow women to compete for jobs in the infantry, artillery, tanks, combat engineers and other previously closed military occupational specialties (MOSs). Next up, Ellen has a chat with Army veteran Phyllis Wilson (14:05) who served 37 years in the Army as a Military Intelligence (MI) Voice Intercept Operator. Phyllis has served around the globe – visiting more than 35 countries and had been mobilized numerous times to shoulder the duties of defense of the nation and has deployed to Iraq several times as an Intelligence Analyst with Special Operations. She now leads the efforts of the Womens Military Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery - whose mission is to capture and tell the stories of the many women who have defended our country. Lastly, Lindsay Knight (43:15) of Blue Star Families joins us for a discussion on what her organization is doing to strengthen the military community.

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