Thread by @USArmyCMH

UNIT PROFILE – BATTERY X #WWII

With the establishment of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in World War II, women entered military service as something other than nurses for the first time.

#Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC #WW2 #WW2History #WomensHistoryMonth

The original concept for the WAAC was to assign women to critical non-combat roles and “free a man to fight.” They were expressly excluded from combat-related duties, and – as the name "auxiliary" implied – were not considered a formal part of the Army.
#MilitaryHistory

However, Army Chief of Staff GEN George C. Marshall experimented with allowing women to serve in a limited combat role as range-finder operators with anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) units of the Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) in the Continental United States beginning in 1942.

Marshall consulted COL Edward W. Timberlake, commander of the air defenses of Washington, DC, and WAAC Director COL Oveta Culp Hobby. They selected WAAC 3rd Officer (equivalent to 2LT) Elna Hilliard to oversee the experimental program dubbed "Battery X."
#Diversity @USArmy

Eleven WAAC officers and 58 enlisted women were selected and received six weeks of training as range-finder instrument operators, learning about the operations and employment of anti-aircraft defenses at a firing range on a sub-post of Ft. Miles at Bethany Beach, Delaware.

On graduation, they were expected to train other women to eventually replace male range-finder instrument operators at harbor defense installations in the U.S. Despite its obvious potential, the experiment proved short-lived and remains relatively unknown. @TRADOC @SecArmy