First US female four-star general nominated

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-24 07:49

WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush nominated on Monday the first woman four-star general in the country's history.

If approved by the Senate, Army Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody would make the US history by becoming the highest-ranked military officer in the country.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced in news release the president's nomination as the commander of Army Material Command at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, who would be in charge of "the teams of soldiers, civilians and contractors responsible for providing material readiness and development, new technology, acquisition support and logistics."

According to the news release, Dunwoody has served in several command positions since she joined the Army in 1975. Her current role is the Army's deputy chief of staff for logistics as one of the five women carrying three-star duties.

The Pentagon statistics show that 57 active-duty women and 47 female reservists wear stars on their shoulders in the armed forces. About 194,000 women serve in the forces currently, accounting for 14 percent of the total.

Since September 11, 2001 attacks, there have been more than 193,400 women deployed in support of US operations, with 97 killed and 585 injured in Iraq.