These candid photos of American women in the military defy propaganda, and expectations
A unique archive portrays servicewomen more truly than official recruitment ads
It was the dawning of a new era, Reagan’s America, and the U.S. Army wanted a new breed of soldiers capable of handling the challenges of a Cold War that was heating up. The resulting “Be All You Can Be” recruitment campaign launched in 1981, selling a high-tech, fast-paced world of limitless potential, adventure, and self-determination. Be brave. Be strong. Be a man.
Efforts to appeal to the other half of the nation’s citizenry were a little less slick. Although women were allowed to begin joining the Army through the Women’s Army Corps during WWII, official recruitment ads mirrored feminized home-front propaganda of the day. Blue-eyed blondes wearing make-up and skirts were the women Uncle Sam wanted to type up memos and hand fighting men cups of coffee. Stylized publicity stills of America’s first female soldiers featured form-fitting uniforms and lipstick, the women all smiles for the camera. Confusion over messaging has persisted, bursting into the public eye in 2013 when a leaked email written by Colonel Lynette Arnhart demanded that photographs of “average looking women” should be used for official military purposes to better convey the realities of service.
But military news agencies have been showcasing military women without concern for recruitment drives or advertising potential. The Morning Calm, a biweekly for soldiers and their families stationed in Korea, has even gone so far as to create an archive dedicated to straightforward representations of women working in the armed forces. Mundane routines at missile command or the sweat and toil of vehicle maintenance offer a more nuanced look at life in uniform, while no-frills coverage of field operations and deployments counter any attempts to sell military service as an action movie or fantasy lifestyle. If there is any lipstick being worn in these images, it’s the result of personal choice, not marketing strategy, and no one’s wearing a skirt behind a machine gun turret.
