19 www.CharlestonWomenPodcast.com | www.ReadCW.com | www.Instagram.com /CharlestonWomen One woman who has lived that story is Mount Pleasant resident Allison Ashe-Arriola. “I’m currently serving in the Navy Reserves. I spent a little over 10 years on active duty and have been in the Reserves for nine, making 19 to date. I spent 12 years as a Naval Aviator flying SH-60B and MH60R Seahawk helicopters. I loved my time flying, especially flying missions on my deployments across the Western Pacific all the way to the Middle East, as well as instructing. But I had a second passion I really wanted to pursue in international work, so I redesignated in the Reserves to become a Foreign Area Officer which is a military diplomacy role. We are international engagement professionals bringing a unique combination of operational experience, cultural knowledge and language expertise to the fleet. That’s been an amazing experience at military headquarters and embassies around the world. Some of the highlights have been working security cooperation in India, Malaysia, Bahrain and Germany.” As any service member can attest, Ashe-Arriola said, “the biggest challenge of serving in the Navy is having to leave my family to serve. I mobilized to the Middle East a few years ago, and while being away was rewarding because I was contributing to a really important mission, it was also heartbreaking to leave my husband and kids for so long. We also want to make sure our children can still get what is needed. I’ve known women who’ve sent milk shipments on dry ice across the world to their babies.” But even beyond the challenge of balancing family with career, AsheArriola acknowledged that there are other hurdles. “Women are still a minority in the Navy. A lot has changed over the years, improving the culture to be more inclusive of women, and I’ve been very fortunate to have great experiences. But we definitely have unique challenges to overcome in a system that was originally designed with men in mind. There will be challenges, as with anything, but a positive, can-do attitude will carry you through those challenges.” Currently, there is a small exhibit on the USS Yorktown devoted to covering the story of women in the Navy. Hunt’s team is in the process of writing a master plan which will include broadening their story — one that will educate and inspire all who visit The Fighting Lady and will surely ignite a spark for the next generation of women sailors to pursue their dreams. Feature Timeline of Women in the Navy 1862 Catholic nuns served as nurses on U.S. Navy’s first hospital ship 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt established WAVES for shore-side duty 1948 Women’s Armed Forces Integration Act allowed women to serve in the regular Navy 1972 USS Sanctuary became the first ship with a mixed male-female crew 1974 First woman to be promoted to admiral and first woman Navy aviator 1990 Navy appointed first woman to command a U.S. Naval station and first woman to command a ship 1994 Women assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower 2016 All military positions became open to women 1908 Congress established Navy Nurse Corps 1944 Women in the Navy Nurse Corps were given full military ranks 1961 First woman officer in the Navy to be ordered to shipboard duty 1973 First women to begin Navy flight school 1976 Women first admitted to U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis 1993 Women appointed to duty on combatant ships 1998 First woman appointed to command a combatant ship 2022 First woman to fly with the Navy’s Blue Angels Allison Hunt, Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum Executive Director.
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