MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Camp Pendleton recently hosted a celebration in honor of the 60th Anniversary of Women in the Corps. The luncheon, sponsored by the Women Marines Association, included guest speakers, a cake-cutting ceremony and a pageant of uniforms.
Maj. Gen. William G. Bowdon, commanding general, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and retired Lt. Gen. Carol A. Mutter, who is the current president of the Women Marines Association addressed the more than 300 guests gathered at the South Mesa Club here.
Coincidentally, Mutter entered the Marine Corps officer ranks in 1967 - the same year Congress raised the ceiling on promotions for women, clearing the way for their consideration as general officers.
Mutter remains the highest-ranking woman Marine ever - and a case study for how far women have come since they first entered the general Marine Corps population in 1943.
"There have been tremendous changes since I joined," said Mutter. "And in all cases, as new roles and responsibilities opened up for women, the women did an absolutely superb job proving that they were able to do more and contribute to military readiness."
When Mutter was commissioned in June 1967, the law stated women could go no higher than lieutenant colonel, and that women could constitute no more than 2 percent of the total force. The Marine Corps policy limited women to only 1 percent and allowed those women to serve only in designated "women" units, not in the Fleet Marine Force.
Congress shattered those limits later that year - paving the way for Mutter to become the first woman in the Corps ever to be promoted to major general and lieutenant general.
A total of five women have served in the Corps' general officer ranks.
Mutter hopes to draw from her own experience to help today's women Marines succeed in the Corps.
" I feel a real responsibility to other women to share what I've learned along the way," she said. "I want to give back -- including to young people, because they are our future."
She said every woman Marine is responsible for the reputation of woman Marines as a whole.
"Women in the Corps are still a small percentage. They will continue to find themselves in units where they are a very small minority. Like it or not, their actions and job performance will determine the opinions of many men who don't have many opportunities to serve with women. So, there is always a need to understand the responsibility to all the other women in the Corps," Mutter added.
Another notable attendee was retired Lt. Col. Nita Bob Warner, who traveled from Florida to attend the conference.
Commissioned in 1943, the first year the Corps was permanently opened to women, Warner served twice at now-closed Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. Warner said she is attending the luncheon to see some of the Marines that served with her during her 24-year career.
" The most important thing I did while I was in the Marine Corps was make some of the best friends, from 1943 to today," Warner said.