Center for Women Veterans News
On July 15 - 17, 2011, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs held its fifth National Training Summit on Women Veterans in Washington, DC at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill. The event drew nearly 700 participants, including women Veterans, active duty military women, guard and reserve forces, representatives from Veterans Service Organizations and nonprofit agencies, as well as VA staff who serve women Veterans--convened to discuss issues facing women Veterans and women service members.
Watch video highlights from The Summit. Visit the Summit Web page for more.
Major General Angela (Angie) Salinas began her military career when she enlisted into the Marine Corps in May 1974. Following recruit training at Parris Island, S.C., she served as a legal services clerk until 1977 when she was selected for the Enlisted Commissioning Program and commissioned a second lieutenant in December 1977.
She has commanded at every rank and has served as Series Commander, Woman Recruit Training Command, Parris Island, South Carolina; Commanding Officer, Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Maintenance Battalion, Camp Pendleton, CA; Commanding Officer, Recruiting Station Charleston, West Virginia; Commanding Officer, 4th Recruit Training Battalion; and Commanding Officer, 12th Marine Corps District, San Diego, CA.
She served in a variety of staff positions throughout the Marine Corps serving as a legal officer with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Cherry Point, N.C.; Executive Officer, Headquarters Company and Battalion Operations Officer, Woman Recruit Training Battalion; Adjutant, 3rd Maintenance Battalion, Okinawa Japan; Adjutant, 1st Maintenance Battalion, Camp Pendleton, CA; Executive Officer, Recruiting Station Charleston, West Virginia; Major’s Combat Service Support Ground Monitor; Deputy, Special Assistant for General/Flag Officer Matters, Joint Staff; Assistant Chief of Staff, Plans and Policy; G-5, III Marine Expeditionary Force; Depot Inspector, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, CA; and Operations Officer, Marine Corps Recruiting Command and Chief of Staff, Marine Corps Recruiting Command, Quantico, VA.
In June 1989, Major General Salinas assumed command of Recruiting Station Charleston and became the first woman in the Marine Corps to command a recruiting station. In June 1992, she became the first woman assigned as a combat service support ground monitor responsible for the assignments of over 1000 senior officers. She was the first female assigned as a plans and policy officer for a major combatant command in 1999, and in May 2001 when she assumed command of the 12th Marine Corps District, became the first woman to serve as a recruiting district commanding officer. She is the first woman to command the Marine Corps Recruit Depot/Western Recruiting Region in San Diego, CA.
Major General Salinas is a 1976 graduate of Dominican College of San Rafael, CA, where she received her B.A. in history. She received her Master’s from the Naval War College in 1992. She is a graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School, the Naval War College’s Command and Staff College and the Army War College.
Jaimy (Just) Rand is an Ohio native and a 1986 graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, NY where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Systems Engineering and was commissioned as a Military Police Officer in the US Army. She went on to serve in numerous leadership and staff roles throughout a 21+ year career on Active Duty as an Officer in the Military Police Corps and as an Army Acquisition Officer. Her military career culminated with her assignment as Commander, Fort Hood Contracting Command including duty as Executive Office, Iraq Contracting Operations, Joint Contracting Command-Iraq/Afghanistan. In addition to assignments in the US and Europe as well as deployments to the Balkans and Iraq, Jaimy completed numerous civilian and military courses including Army Combined Arms and Service Staff School, Air Command and Staff College and numerous Defense Acquisition University Program Management and Contracting Courses where she attained Level III Certification in Contracting and Level II Certification in Program Management and Test and Evaluation. She earned an MBA in 1996 at the University of Texas-Austin and a Masters in Public Administration in 1999 at Auburn University-Montgomery. Jaimy is recipient of multiple awards and badges including the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Army Staff Identification Badge, Air Assault Badge, and Jungle Expert Patch.
Selected for promotion to Colonel and attendance at Senior Staff College, Jaimy instead decided to retire in October 2007. After retiring from active duty she was employed by General Electric Company as a Senior Global Commodity Leader for 16 months. She subsequently accepted her current position as Chief of Acquisitions at the Erie Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Erie, PA.
Jaimy has been married to Frank Rand (First Sergeant, US Army Retired) for twenty years. Their home is in Erie, PA where they reside with their daughter.
Watch VA's HerStory video. Watch VA's National History Month Video, Our History is Our Strength.VA Study on Women Vietnam Veterans
The study "Long-Term Health Outcomes of Women Veteran's Service During the Vietnam Era" otherwise known as HealthViEWS (the Health of Vietnam Era Women’s Study ) is sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This study will seek to contact approximately 10,000 women to participate in a mail survey, a telephone interview, and a medical records review. The study aims to determine: the prevalence of lifetime and current psychiatric conditions including PTSD among women who served during the Vietnam Era; the physical health of women who served during the Vietnam Era; and the level of current disability in women who served during the Vietnam Era. For more detailed information on the study, please call the Perry Point Coordinating Center at 1-800-949-1003 x6122 or x5291.
Lioness Documentary
Lioness, a documentary that takes an intimate look at war through the eyes of U.S. military women, follows five female Army support soldiers who served together for a year in Iraq supporting Marine Corps units in direct ground combat. Visit the Lioness Web site for more information.*†
Special Monthly Compensation
Did you know you may be eligible for a special monthly compensaton? VA broadened its coverage of special monthly compensation for women Veterans who suffered loss of breast tissue related to their military service. The benefit covers those losing 25 percent or more tissue from a single breast or from both breasts in combination. It includes loss by mastectomy or partial mastectomy, or following radiation treatment. In addition to breast tissue loss, special monthly compensation rates also apply when a Veteran experiences loss of a reproductive organ or its use. Women Veterans with service-connected breast tissue loss who are not receiving the special monthly compensation should contact VA (1-800-827-1000) to find out if they are eligible.
Visit the Veterans Benefits Administration Web site for to learn more.
†VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked Web site.
