Truth Catches Up to Fiction Regarding Women in the Military

On January 24th when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta rescinded the 1994 Pentagon policy that banned women from combat, more than just the women who will now get to serve in combat were the beneficiaries of this decision.

Those of us who write female military fiction characters were also the beneficiaries.

With this real-life step forward, perhaps fiction authors will no longer get Amazon reviews saying that women cannot do “such and such” in the military. (Remember, we are talking here about fiction.)

Although women have already been serving in submarines in the U.S. Navy, my thriller LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS (written with my husband) still gets the occasional rebuke that women do not serve in subs.

And, yes, while Mitch and I first wrote this fictional story before women could serve in subs, now truth has caught up to fiction.

The January 24th Wall Street Journal article by Julian E. Barnes and Dion Nissenbaum entitled “Combat Ban for Women to End” said this about women in submarines:

Female officers now serve on large submarines, and the Navy has plans to add female enlisted personnel on those vessels. The Navy also will allow women to serve on smaller classes of submarines.

In the fictional world, female enlisted personnel have already served on a sub in the short-lived ABC drama “Last Resort,” while LCDR Mollie Sanders already serves on a smaller sub.

Still, I am pleased that truth has caught up to fiction. Perhaps this forward step in the U.S. military will help women move forward in other real-life areas that still block women’s advancement.

Click here to check out LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS on Amazon.

© 2013 Miller Mosaic LLC

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of fiction and nonfiction books/ebooks, including TOP TIPS FOR HOW TO MARKET YOUR BOOK ON AMAZON AND FACEBOOK and the cozy mystery CAST THE FIRST STONE.

Click here to visit her Amazon author page at amazon.com/author/phylliszimblermiller

She also has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is the co-founder of the online marketing company www.MillerMosaicLLC.com