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Women's History Month - Brief Article

Army Reserve Magazine, Spring, 2001 by Randy Pullen

Mardi marked historic period for Army Reserve women

WASHINGTON (March 19, 2001)--This year's Women's History Month was especially historic for women in the Army Reserve.

Among the many historic "firsts" this March was the nomination of an Army Reserve woman to become the Army's first Asian Pacific American woman general and the selection of the first African-American woman for an Army Reserve general officer assignment.

The month kicked off with Col. Coral Wong Pietsch being nominated for promotion to brigadier general March 1. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she will become the Army's first Asian Pacific American woman general, as well as the first woman general in the history of the Army Judge Advocate General Corps. Pietsch serves as the Chief Judge (Individual Mobilization Augmentee), U.S. Army Legal Services Agency, Falls Church, Va.

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A flurry of firsts came two weeks later on March 14, with the release of the 2001 General Officer Assignment Advisory Board list. Among these was the selection of Col. Carrie L. Nero to become Chief Nurse, 3rd Medical Command, Decatur, Ga., a brigadier general assignment. She will become the first black woman, as well as the first black woman nurse, to serve in a brigadier general assignment in the Army Reserve.

Nero was joined by several other women making history in March 2001, one of whom was the person she is replacing at the 3rd MEDCOM.

Brig. Gen. Karol A. Kennedy has been selected to take command of the 99th Regional Support Command (RSC), Oakdale, Pa., a major general assignment. She will become the first woman to command an RSC, a major Army Reserve command. There are 12 RSCs in the continental United States, Puerto Rico and Hawaii and one Army Reserve Command (ARCOM), an equivalent organization, in Europe. The 99th RSC commands Army Reserve units in Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia.

Brig. Gen. Donna F. Barbisch has been selected to become the Military Assistant (Individual Mobilization Augmentee), Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), Washington, DC, a major general assignment. She will become the first Army Reserve nurse to serve in a major general position and also the first Army Reserve nurse to serve in a non-Army Medical Department major general assignment. Barbisch is currently the Chief Nurse, 3rd MEDCOM.

Col. Paulette M. Risher has been selected to take command of the 353rd Civil Affairs Command, Bronx, N.Y., a brigadier general assignment. She will become the first Army Reserve woman to serve in a brigadier general Civil Affairs (CA) position. Civil Affairs is a key Army Reserve specialty. All but one CA unit, the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion, Fort Bragg, N.C., are in the Army Reserve. There are four Army Reserve CA Commands in the Army, which fall under the command of the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Col. Donna L. Dacier, an Active Guard Reserve officer, has been selected to become Deputy Commander of the 63rd Regional Support Command, Los Alamitos, Calif., a brigadier general assignment. She is the first full-time Army Reserve woman selected to become the deputy commander of an RSC.

Lt. Col. Randy Pullen is with the Public Affairs and Liaison Directorate Office of the Chief, Army Reserve

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Women's History Month - Brief Article

Army Reserve Magazine, Spring, 2001 by Randy Pullen

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