Issue date: 6/27/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Wade Barker Senior Jessica Simmons was a lot of things during the past school year: Student, leader, Ross Volunteer and Commanding Officer. Simmons, the Squadron 3 Commander, was the only female commander in the Corps of Cadets for the 2006-2007 academic year. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: File - The Battalion Count of Women in the Corps (Aug.) [Click to enlarge]

A record-breaking number of women were enrolled in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets in the 2006-2007 academic year, with 195 female members out of the 1,697 cadets. This number is the highest it has ever been since women were allowed to first join the Corps in 1974.

Officials at the Office of the Commandant said the number is projected to grow as more incoming female Corps members prepare to arrive at A&M in August.

Col. Jon Hall, the assistant commandant for Corps recruiting, said his goal each year is to recruit 15 percent females, from both freshmen and transfer students.

"Last year we were right on the mark with 15 percent, but this year I hope to surpass that and reach 20 percent female enrollment for the Corps," Hall said.

Hall said most of his female recruits are enrolled in a junior ROTC program at their high schools, and that it is a natural transition, for both males and females, to move up to university level ROTC programs. Hall said he doesn't recruit any differently for females.

After women were allowed to join the Corps, life was much different for female members. For several years after their admittance, women were not allowed to participate in the Ross Volunteers, the Aggie Band, Parson's Mounted Cavalry, Rudder's Rangers and other elite cadet organizations.

A senior in the Corps in 1976, Hall said he remembered when women were forced to be in separate outfits. "There are now two different types of outfits in the Corps - some integrated and some male-only outfits," Hall said.

"What we want to do in the Corps of Cadets is try to emulate real life - what life is like outside of college," Hall said. "In both the corporate and military world there are both women and minorities, so we want to show Corps members what life is like."

In the past few years, women have taken on more powerful positions within the Corps, including outfit commander.

Mary Diamond, a senior human resources management major, will be the next commander for Squadron 3, nicknamed the Thunderbirds, when Corps training starts in August. "An increase in women in the Corps has taken a long time, and acceptance of women in the Corps didn't come about until the 21st century," Diamond said.

Diamond said there is a certain mentality women must maintain if they are going to be in the Corps.

"You can't come in thinking you are different. You have to think, 'I am a cadet' and give it all you've got," Diamond said.

Squadron 3 is the first outfit in the Corps to have two women commanders in a row, with A&M graduate Jessica Simmons preceding Diamond.

Diamond, who was also a Ross Volunteer, said her outfit is the most diverse in terms of women and ethnic minorities.

"We all have different ideas, but we bring those together and become more open-minded and well-rounded because of it," Diamond said. "Women bring a different aspect to the Corps: we bring that family environment feeling and organization."

Hall said it has been rare for females to be outfit commanders, but he has seen more women, like Diamond and Simmons, take on leadership positions within the past few years.

"We do tell all the ladies that they can compete equally for any position in the Corps, across the board," Hall said. "They can apply for Ross Volunteers or Corps Commander and be completely successful if they choose to take on that role."

Col. Groves, the assistant commandant for operations and training, said in addition to the record-breaking 195 women enrolled at the end of this year, the fall of 2006 was also record-breaking, with 102 freshmen women joining the Corps.

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