Women in military
equal to task,
says general

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

Women in uniform are "no longer a modern nicety, but a necessity," former Defense Secretary William Cohen enjoyed saying.

But retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Carol Mutter, who recently spoke to Hawaii Marines about the significance of women in the military, believes it is more a case of "women not wanting equality, but being equal to the task."

Until 1999, Mutter was only one of four women to wear three stars. When she signed up for Officer Candidate School in the summer between her junior and senior year at the University of Northern California, only 1 percent of the Marine Corps was female.

"I really was going to be a teacher," said Mutter, who majored in computers. "That's what women did in the 1960s."

That was until she got a letter from a Marine Corps recruiter.

Today, she believes progress is being made, with women making up nearly 512 percent of the 172,000 Marine Corps.

She disregards the idea that women in uniform means a lowering of standards.

"That's not true," says Mutter, who holds two master's degrees from Salve Regina University and the Naval War College. "Women are equal to the task and proving it every day."

Since retiring Jan. 1, 1999, Mutter has become the national president of the Women Marines Association and has served as a consultant in the development of proposals for government contracts.

She also has served on the board for the Far East Boy and Girl Scouts Council and as an associate director of the Armed Forces Communications-Electronics Association.

While on active duty, Mutter was in charge of one of only three major logistic commands in the Marine Corps that is programmed to go to war in support of ground and aviation forces. In that capacity she commanded 6,000 Marines and sailors and was the first woman to lead a major command.

The Marine Corps in 1943 was the last service to accept women. They served in supply, clerical and maintenance positions in the states. "They did what was needed in the rear, to free up the men to fight," Mutter said.

Today, women still are not allowed in infantry, tank and artillery units in the Marine Corps, although they can become aviators.

It will take another two or three decades, Mutter believes, before "the country is ready" for women to be integrated into combat units in the Marine Corps. Much of it has to do with the nature of combat, she said, which is highly dependent on upper-body strength.

She and her husband, also a retired Marine Corps officer, now live in Indianapolis.