5 Lessons from the First Women Graduates of the Military Academies on their 40th Anniversary

COVID-19 has made this year's school graduation season a unique experience. Forty years ago this month (May 1980), the armed services academies in the United States had a unique experience too. After almost 200 years as a male-only school, the US Military Academy (West Point) graduated its first 62 female cadets in May 1980. The other three academies did as well, with 55 women graduates at the Naval Academy, 98 women at the Air Force Academy, and 14 women at the Coast Guard Academy.

A 1975 law had opened the formerly men-only academies to women. That law came on the heels of a 1972 law, Title IX, that prohibited discrimination based on sex in federally-funded educational programs. Many prominent universities in the US - e.g., Yale, Princeton, Georgetown - had only opened to women in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The 229 women in those 1980 academy classes were pioneers. Some rose to the rank of general. Janet Wolfenbarger (Air Force) became the first female 4-star General in the Air Force. Susan Helms (Air Force) was an astronaut and achieved the rank of Lieutenant General (3 stars). Susan Machiko (Air Force) achieved the rank of Major General (2 stars). Anne Macdonald (Army) achieved the rank of Brigadier General (1 star).

Here are 5 leadership lessons from the women in those graduating classes.

1 - Don't Assume the Motivation of First-Timers - While some of the woman in the class may have been motivated to be the first women in the academies, some just wanted to be there for the same reasons as their male classmates. One of the Air Force cadets put it this way: "Of course I knew we would be the 'first class with women,' but I was pretty na?ve about the implications... I understood it was important and a first, but it never dawned on me that this was a 'really big deal' until I arrived. My goal wasn’t to be 'part of the first group.' I wanted a college education and to become an officer." Another of the women in the class put it this way: "At 17, the idea of being part of history, or making history, was not at the forefront... For me, it was about becoming an officer and serving, not so much about 'making a point about what women can do.'”

LESSON -> Just because someone is a "first" in their role, don't assume they are as focused on their "first" status as others are. They may simply have the same goals and motivations as their predecessors.

2 - Handle Naysayers - There were people who didn't want the women to be there. For example, General William Westmoreland, a former Army chief of staff and West Point superintendent, expressed the attitude of many military men when he called the move to admit women "silly," and said, "Maybe you could find one woman in 10,000 who could lead in combat, but she would be a freak, and we are not running the military academy for freaks." One of the West Point women described the attitude this way: "Unfortunately, there was animosity toward us. Really, the reaction from the men ran the gamut: some were curious, some ignored us, some were helpful, and some were hostile and difficult." One of her colleagues summarized it this way: "“There were three types - There were those who didn’t want us there so they harassed us as much as they could; then there were those who felt sorry because we were getting harassed so much and tried to treat us better, which made the first group even angrier; and then there was that group that just treated us like the guys.” To succeed, the women had to overcome the naysayers, on top of all the other demands on them as cadets. One of the Air Force cadets described her strategy this way: "don’t fixate on the naysayers and opponents, stay focused on the objective (graduation and a commission), and just keep going until you get there."

LESSON -> Figure out who the naysayers are and don't let them win by distracting you from your goals.

3 - Appreciate Supporters - The introduction of women into the academies didn't just impact the women cadets, it had an impact on their male classmates too. Some of their male classmates supported them either directly or indirectly. One of the Air Force female cadets explained it this way: "And we never could have succeeded without our male classmates. They helped us along, prior enlisteds who taught us to shine shoes, or avid runners who explained techniques. They pulled an arm over their shoulders and helped us through and over and under on the assault course. They were only in the newspapers or magazines if they happened to be standing behind one of us, or sometimes were even asked to move out of a frame for better pictures of the women of ’80. They were called out for having women in their class but stayed unified with us to be —not men and women — but the Class of 1980. They are an integral part of the story of our journey to graduation. They have been unsung these past 40 years but are very much our brothers in the achievement."

LESSON -> If you are a "first-timer" in a role, recognize the impact your "first-timer" status has on your colleagues. Appreciate how they are supporting you, directly and indirectly.

4 - Stick Together - The women knew that they would share many challenges and had a better chance of overcoming them by working together. They knew they would be judged collectively, so they understood their actions would reflect on their female classmates. One of the West Point cadets said it this way: "When a guy says something wrong, they ask 'What's his problem?' Women are held responsible for what every female here says." They also helped each other overcome the hazing that came their way. One of the Air Force cadets shared this story: "I was a 'jock' and excused from a Saturday morning run with rifles. I had three other roommates who were not. When the upperclassmen came to retrieve my roommates (loudly of course), I was told I had 10 minutes to get the room in SAMI (Saturday morning inspection) order. As soon as they left, 10 doors popped opened and my fellow female cadets from other squadrons walked into my room with sponges and cleaning supplies. They told me to get dressed and they would take care of the room. When the upperclassmen returned, my room was SAMI ready and I was in perfect service dress. The look on the upperclassmen's faces was priceless. They could not believe the room was ready for inspection. This would not have happened without the help of my 'sisters.' They did a brief inspection and quietly left."

LESSON -> Recognize and support the communities you are in because you have a shared stake in their wins and losses.

5 - Choose Mentoring over Hazing - The first class of women in the service academies had few women figures to look up to at the academies. There were no females in the classes above them and there were few female staff and teachers. After surviving their experience as the first female new cadets, it could have been tempting for this first class to make sure every new female cadet behind them had to go through the same hazing they did. From the numbers, though, it seems like women cadets have played the role of mentors and role models instead of as hazers. At West Point, the attrition rate for women improved from being nearly 10 percent more than men in the class of 1980 to only a 1 percent dropout difference between men and women in the class of 1983. In 1990, a mere 10 years after the first women graduated, a female cadet even became the first woman Brigade Commander over all the cadets at West Point. By 2018, the number of female graduates at the Air Force Academy more than doubled from the 1980 level of 98 to 212 in the 2018 class.

LESSON -> Weak leaders push down their successors as competition. Great leaders pull them up as teammates.

Every member of the class of 1980 at the service academies became part of history. We owe them a thanks not only for their service, but also for the lessons they left behind for leaders today.

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About the Author: Victor Prince is a corporate trainer, executive coach, and best-selling author who helps organizations build leadership, strategy, communications, and critical thinking skills. Earlier in his career, Victor was a consultant at Bain & Company, a marketing executive at Capital One, and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He has an MBA in Finance from Wharton. Follow Victor on LinkedIN to access his 100+ articles on leadership, strategy, learning & development, and more.