Newspaper Page Text
2
November 2, 1995
. . . pulling their own weight
Women in the military
Rhonda Jones
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
All the attention the media has
of late given to Shannon
Faulkner’s fight with the Citadel
has afforded the issue of wom
en’s place in the military a place
in the public overmind. The at
tention has mainly focused on
the flak that some women get
from male peers —the post-
Faulkner cheering at the Cita
del, the Tailhook scandal ... But
there are some for whom a mili
tary career has not been a battle
with anyone except themselves.
Fort Gordon’s own Colonel
Sharon I. Richie and Captain
Kelly T. Knitter are two such
women.
A product of a Philadelphia
government-housing project and
large, close-knit family, Col.
Richie found herself, in the late
’6os, going to the Army for help
with tuition. New York’s Wagner
College, from whence she was to
walk away in 1971 with a BS in
nursing, had cut their scholar
ship funding. So the Army of
fered her a full scholarship for
her junior and senior years at
Wagner, in return for three years’
service.
She said it was the first time
since seventh grade that she had
not had to work and attend school
at the same time. Back in those
times, she said, she and her six
siblings had to help out with
making ends meet.
The next step was for the
young, Northern-born-and-bred
student to attend basic training,
which, for her, was a “real eye
opener,” especially since none of
herbrothers hadever beenin the
military. They sent her to Texas.
One surprising thing, she said,
was that the officers were very
personable, and even socialized
with the recruits, a feature which
no doubt contributed to her feel
ings of closeness to the people
there. “It was camaraderie like
I’d never had before,” she said.
On top of that, she found the
classes interesting, and was so
energized by the whole experi
ence that she marched straight
to the personnel office and tried
to sign up for 20 years. But, she
was told, “it doesn’t work like
that.”
So, she spent a year as a med
ical surgical nurse and began
work on her master’s in the field
of psychiatric nursing as a clini
cal nurse specialist from the
University of Texas in San Anto
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Colonel Sharon I. Richie:
The Army offered her an
education and a lot more.
“1t was comraderie like I'd
never seen before.”
nio. At this point she is working
on her doctoral thesis for the
George Washington University,
majoring in organizational be
havior and spirituality in orga
nizations.
When asked if her male peers
and commanders were support
ive of her, the Col. became seri
ous. “Oh absolutely ... absolute
ly.”
One of those supportive peers
was someone she came to know
during a year-long stint as a
White House Fellow in the Office
of Intergovernmental Affairs, a
good friend whose success she
has followed over the years. Colin
Powell.
When asked if she admired
him, the colonel smiled and nod
ded. “Ah ... very much.” But, she
said, then she had no idea what
he would become. “Then, he was
just a wonderful person.”
Captain Knitter’s days are just
as full, beginning at 6:30 with
PT, or physical training. Then
her work-day begins. As she is a
company commander, her work
centers largely around manag
ing the soldiers under her: help
ing them cope with personal prob
lems, discussing training for the
upcoming month. Mainly, she
said, “I give guidance to my lieu
tenants ... and just develop sol
diers to be high-quality for the
Army.”
Her first experience with mili
tary surroundings occurred when
she and her sorority sisters at
Monmouth College in Illinois
decided to take an ROTC class,
“because it was fun and easy and
LLocalNews
Capt. Kelly T. Knitter:
“If you know you can’t han
dle it, you should not apply. |
think 1 can dodge a bullet as
well as any man.”
it was worth half a credit.” After
that, the young women took a
ranger class, which allowed them
to spend time outside and train
in the woods. But, she said, at
tending basic camp in the sum
mer of 1987 is what gave her the
first real taste of “army life” and
she knew she wanted to make a
career of it.
“The first thing I loved about
the Army,” she said, was travel
ing overseas to Korea, which she
did as a platoon leader and com
pany executive officer for the
304th Signal Battalion. “The sol
diers were outstanding,” she said,
“very committed. ... and the Army
family was very strong.” Theré is
security, she said in “knowing if
you fall someone’s there to pick
you up.”
She also insists that, in spite of
the stories that keep popping up
in the news, she has never had a
problem in the Army with unfair
treatment, based on gender or
race.
Of her male peers, she says,
“They’ve alwaysbeen able to trust
my judgment and they've sup
ported me 100 percent.”
She has received good ratings
from her commanders, and says
the “best part” is when they com
mend her on her devotion to her
mission and her soldiers.
Her thoughts on Shannon
Faulkner’s battle with the Cita
del are twofold. “I commend her
100 percent on her persistence,”
she said, and is pleased to hear
that others are following in
Faulkner’s footsteps. She is, how
ever, disappointed that Ms.
Faulkner didn’t follow through.
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ply has “very high standards,”
which she feels Ms. Faulknerjust
wasn’t able to meet.
The mention of women in com
bat caused her to momentarily
dropthe soldier’s veneer and shift
in her seat. “I think I can dodge a
bullet just as well as a male can.
... Youhave toidentify your weak
nesses,” she said, because war
requires mental, physical, emo
tional, and spiritual prepared
ness. “If you know you can’t han
dle it, you should not apply. ...
There are women out there who
can handle it out there.” Howev
er, she said, “I am not one of
those.”
Though women are still not
allowed to participate in ground
combat, they are allowed to cov
er positions that do not involve
hand-to-hand fighting. Aviation,
for example, and the operation of
field artillery.
According to public relations
representative Henry Holmes, if
Fort Gordon were attacked, the
women stationed there would be
justasresponsible as the men for
its defense, whatever that might
entail.
According to Cpt. Knitter, there
is no job at the Fort that women
are not able or allowed to do. “...
They have women military po
lice here,” she said.
Mr. Holmes said that, at least
at one time, the 513th Military
Intelligence Brigade was com
manded by a woman. That job
requires the rank of major-pro
motable or lieutenant colonel,
and the ability to command
around 500 or 600 people. “And
that’s pretty high-ranking,” he
said.
The captain would like to see a
female chief of the Signal Corps
in the near future, but is afraid
that won’t happen. “Females sac
rifice a lot for family,” she said.
“Males do too, but ... if (women)
want to stay in the Army, they
have to sacrifice something. If
they’re willing to do so, they can
make it to any rank.”
According to figures from Pub
lic Relations, 17 percent of the
population at Fort Gordon is fe
male, including 5 colonels, 27
lieutenant colonels, 52 majors
and 137 captains.
The Citadel is part of the South
Carolina university system, and is
not affiliated with the U.S. Army.
Approximately one-third of Cita
del students go on to military ca
reers, according to the Fort Gor
don office of public relations.
Sconyers bad
for business
From page one .
plaints from small business op
erators saying they cannot ac
cess the systems,” Mr. Mack said.
Because county contracts are of
ten very large, minorities have
great difficulty meeting the bid
bonding requirements. The bond
ingprocedureisan essential safe
guard in case a contractor is un
able to complete a project as bid,
Mr. Mack explained. Further,
Mr. Mack pointed to the success
ful model currently in use by the
City of Atlanta and Fulton Coun
ty. Those models, Mr. Mack ex
plained, have encouraged an ex
pansion of business and created
an atmosphere of entrepreneur
ship.
While most commissioners
were willing toadopt a wait-and
see attitude, Mr. Sconyers, early
on, exhibited an aversion to rem
edies that would redress decades
of apparent discrimination.
“It [the study] is a waste of
money because we already sup
port the CSRA Business League,”
Mr. Sconyers told reporters back
in March, 1994 when the propos
al was being discussed. Mr.
Sconyers’ objection to spending
$60,000 to fund the study was a
clear indication of his myopic
view of social and economic plan
ning for a multi-racial communi
ty.
InNovember, 1994, Dr. Danny
Boston, the consultant who had
conducted the study, revealed
that from 1992-1994 less than 5
percent of county business went
toqualified women and minority
vendors. The disparity was huge.
In 1992 the largest award to a
white-owned firm was
$6,861,066; the largest to a mi
nority firm was $231,409 for the
same time period.
Mr. Sconyers’ reaction il
lustrated his inability to see the
advantages of helping women
and minority business owners.
Rather than show some leader
ship, he saw fit to attack minor
ity vendors. Mr. Sconyers ranted
and raved on about the evils of
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promoting fairness for minority
and women business owners. Af
ter suggesting that a proposed
ordinance to set goals for minor
ity and women inclusion was un
constitutional Mr. Sconyers be
rated minority vendors.
“That’s the exact reason that
jail is in the shape it’s in today,”
Mr. Sconyers told The Augusta
Chronicle. “By letting minorities
comein because they can’t afford
to get bonded, and they can’t af
ford to meet other criteria other
contractors have to meet, and we
give them a job because they’re a
minority. I can’t go along with
that.”
Mr. Sconyers never did follow
up his tirade with facts implicat
ing minority firms with shoddy
workmanship. No matter, the
damage had been done.
With the urging of the right
wing Augusta Chronicle editori
al writers and the duplicity of
the sitting white county commis
sion members, the proposed or
dinance was successfully blocked.
In the third week of December,
1994, the county commission
deadlocked alongraciallines. The
minority business enhancement
proposal could not win a majori
ty. All four white comissioners
opposed the ordinance -- all four
blacks voted in favor of it.
Frustrated minority business
owners bemoaned the killing of
such a promising ordinance, but
all that Mr. Sconyers and the
other commissioners could offer
was a series of seminars on “how
to do business with the county.”
Inanother week, with the back
ing of black Commissioner
Freddie Lee Handy, Mr. Sconyers
was appointed chairman of the
county commission for the new
year. At the time Mr. Handy gave
his explanation for backing Mr.
Sconyers.
According to Mr. Handy, Mr.
Sconyers had assured him that
he would work aggressively for a
plan that would give minorities a
“greater opportunity to share in
the contracts let by the Rich
mond County Commission.”
That has yet to occur.
EQUAL HOUSING
LENDER