1. Charles W. Gill/Handout/Reuters/Corbis

2. 1861-1865  Hundreds of women disguise themselves as men to fight for the Union or the Confederacy during the Civil War. SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 5/6 Courtesy of the Trustees of the Boston Public Library

3. 1901  The U.S. Army becomes the first military branch to admit women when it creates an all-female Army Nurse Corps. During World War I, 21,000 women serve in the Corps. SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 5/6 U.S. Naval Historical Center

4. 1917-1918  During World War I (1914- 1919), female telephone operators known as “Hello Girls” serve overseas with the U.S. Army Signal Corps. However, they are not considered members of the armed forces and are not awarded veteran status until 1978. SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 5/6 U.S. Army Signal Corps Archives

5. 1943  The temporary Women’s Army Corps (WAC) is created during World War II (1941-1945). More than 150,000 women enlist as WACs to work in noncombat jobs. The Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard also create women’s divisions. SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 5/6 Bradshaw Crandell, Recruiting Publicity Bureau-United States Army via LOC

6. 1948  President Harry S. Truman signs bills that end racial segregation in the military and integrate women into the regular armed forces. Until 1967, women cannot make up more than 2 percent of any one branch of the military. SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 5/6 Library of Congress

7. 1973  The draft, or required military service, ends. Many more women join the armed forces, and the roles of servicewomen are expanded. Three years later, West Point and other U.S. service academies admit women for the first time. SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 5/6 Anna Clopet/Corbis

8. 1988  The Department of Defense adopts the Risk Rule. It bars women from assignments in areas where they are at risk for direct combat, enemy fire, or capture. SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 5/6 Levine Heidi/SIPA

9. 1990–1991  During the Persian Gulf War, 40,000 women are deployed— the largest number of female troops in U.S. history up to that point. Women are admitted into most military units but continue to be barred from direct-combat operations. SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 5/6 U.S. Department of Defense

10. 1994  The Risk Rule is abolished. Women are allowed to hold any position for which they qualify, except those in direct-combat units. SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 5/6 John S. Stewart/Getty Images

11. 2001– present  The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the first in which tens of thousands of U.S. military women live and fight alongside men for long stretches of time. That reality steps up the debate about whether women should continue to be barred from combat units. SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 5/6 David Turnley/CORBIS