On the recordMarch 4, 2010
March is Women's History Month, and I rise today to pay tribute to the women who have served our country with honor and distinction. Women such as Major General Susan Lawrence, the commander of the Army's Netcom and 9th Signal Command at Fort Huachuca. She is a true inspiration to soldiers in Arizona and women everywhere. Women such as Lori Piestewa, a U.S. Army soldier killed during an attack in Iraq in 2003. A member of the Hopi tribe, she was born and raised in Arizona and became the first woman in the U.S. Armed Forces killed in Iraq and the first Native American woman to die in combat while serving in the United States military. And women such as Air Force Lieutenant Meredith Doran. Working from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, she is an aircraft traffic controller involved in the Haitian earthquake relief effort underway today. Women have voluntarily served in every conflict since the early days of the Revolutionary War, and their significant accomplishments are often overlooked. Every day, women fly jets in combat, engage enemies on the battlefield, and will soon also serve alongside their male counterparts on submarines. This month and all year long, we should recognize and remember the service, sacrifice, and the lives of the women in our United States Armed Forces and everything that they have given to our country.
