{"id":48210,"date":"2018-02-27T20:14:16","date_gmt":"2018-02-27T20:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/27\/women-vso-commanders-say-their-historic-roles-havent-meant-big-challenges\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:58:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:58:43","slug":"women-vso-commanders-say-their-historic-roles-havent-meant-big-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2018\/02\/27\/women-vso-commanders-say-their-historic-roles-havent-meant-big-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"2 women commanding vets\u2019 groups say their historic roles haven\u2019t meant big challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 This week, for the first time ever, two women are testifying before Congress as the top officials at major veterans organizations, helping to set the national agenda on a host of care and program issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/veterans\/2017\/11\/02\/va-unfazed-by-criticism-of-sexist-motto\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">a big deal to many in the veterans community<\/a>, but not to the two commanders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both women \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2017\/08\/05\/gulf-war-vet-becomes-first-woman-to-lead-a-major-veterans-organization\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Disabled American Veteran National Commander Delphine Metcalf-Foster<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2017\/08\/24\/american-legion-elects-its-first-female-national-commander\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">American Legion National Commander Denise Rohan<\/a> \u2014 said they see historic significance in their roles, but also emphasized their gender really hasn\u2019t meant many differences than past leaders\u2019 work on veterans issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA lot of folks would think the older veterans wouldn\u2019t be as accepting of it,\u201d said Rohan, an Army veteran who has been active in the Legion for 32 years. \u201cBut I have not found anyone concerned. I did my time, they see I did my time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Metcalf-Foster said in her congressional testimony on Tuesday that she was \u201cthe first, but I\u2019m confident not the last, woman commander of DAV.\u201d She is an Army Reserve veteran and the daughter of a 10th Cavalry Regiment \u201cBuffalo soldier,\u201d and said that background is what catches her membership\u2019s attention, not the fact that she is a woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt hasn\u2019t really mattered,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing a first sergeant in the military, where most of my company were males, it\u2019s just like another team. And DAV is that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2017\/11\/02\/va-unfazed-by-criticism-of-sexist-motto\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/636005034607321664-3h4a6825-1-jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">VA unfazed by criticism of \u2018sexist\u2019 motto<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">IAVA officials say the current department motto ignores women veterans and needs to be updated.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Women veterans advocates have long lamented the lack of public awareness of their presence in the military and civilian community. About 11 percent of the national veterans population is women, a figure that\u2019s expected to grow to nearly 18 percent by 2040.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Army vet Mary Stout served as commander of Vietnam Veterans of America from 1987 to 1991, but none followed over the next 25 years. But in recent years, women have made inroads in a handful of prominent, traditionally male roles within other veterans organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three years ago, the American Legion named Army veteran Verna Jones the first female executive director in the organization\u2019s century of operations. In 2017, officials at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America promoted Army veteran Allison Jaslow to the same post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1680\" height=\"1120\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Denise-Rohan-Banquet-Mid-Winter-Conf-20-22-Jan-2017-134md.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45115\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Denise-Rohan-Banquet-Mid-Winter-Conf-20-22-Jan-2017-134md.jpg.jpg 1680w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Denise-Rohan-Banquet-Mid-Winter-Conf-20-22-Jan-2017-134md.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Denise-Rohan-Banquet-Mid-Winter-Conf-20-22-Jan-2017-134md.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Denise-Rohan-Banquet-Mid-Winter-Conf-20-22-Jan-2017-134md.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Denise-Rohan-Banquet-Mid-Winter-Conf-20-22-Jan-2017-134md.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1680px) 100vw, 1680px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Denise Rohan, an Army veteran and longtime member of American Legion leadership, was elected the group&#8217;s first female national commander on Aug. 24 during the organization&#8217;s convention in Nevada. (Photo courtesy the New York American Legion)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Army veteran Marsha Four has served as vice president of Vietnam Veterans of America since 2013. Several other women are in the leadership chain of command for other veterans service organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Metcalf-Foster has made expanding women\u2019s health care and support programs one of the key focuses of her time in office. Rohan has focused on a host of family support issues. But both have also been vocal advocates on broader health care reforms, increased VA funding and better benefits delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rohan said one small difference she has seen is that her election has opened the door for more conversations about other women veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen I meet the World War II veterans and Korean War veterans, they are so proud,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd what they want to do is tell me about their daughters\u2019 and their granddaughters\u2019 accomplishments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday, before Metcalf-Foster\u2019s testimony before lawmakers, Senate Veterans Affairs\u2019 Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., joked that her election to the top DAV post resulted in \u201cthe first time I ever kissed a national commander.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But aside from that the only mention of her historic status were a few congratulations from lawmakers amid standard policy and procedural questions. Metcalf-Foster said she was happy to keep it to the important work at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe work together,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t look at gender. We don\u2019t look at anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The leaders of Disabled American Veterans and the American Legion both say they haven&#8217;t seen any particular problems due to their status as the first women to lead the groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":85858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,12,26,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3222],"class_list":["post-48210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"E7D4U6ZHWNBHZA44UCL23K5FQY","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2018\/02\/27\/women-vso-commanders-say-their-historic-roles-havent-meant-big-challenges\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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