WAC Voices: The Transition of the Women's Army Corps into the Integrated Army, 1973-1978

In order to attract volunteers after the end of the draft in 1973, the Army began an intensive advertising campaign aimed at young women. In these ads the Army promoted itself as the ultimate equal opportunity employer -- something not always available in the civilian world. However, these advertisements implied that the Army was just another employer competing for competent applicants. What the ads failed to acknowledge is that the Army is not a job, but a culture, and a masculine one at that. What was it like for these women to suddenly find themselves members of the biggest men's club in the world? And would women find true equal opportunity in this man's Army? In an effort to answer that question, the research contains oral history interviews conducted with women who served in the Army during 1973-1978 transition period