Meet General Ann Dunwoody, the first woman four star general in United States history. See her photos, biography, and video below. She was promoted by President Bush on November 14th, 2008 after confirmation by the Senate in July.
Ann Dunwoody
It will be ironic to some that the nation’s first 4-star female general was promoted by George Bush, the man who Barack Obama essentially ran against on a platform of “change.” Critics will point out that Obama passed up the opportunity to promote Hillary as the nation’s first female vice president, and was roundly criticized during the campaign for perceived sexism.
Now women have change they can believe in, so to speak, an accomplished woman named Ann Dunwoody getting promoted by an unpopular Republican president. The dynamics are interesting and help explain why the GOP’s John McCain got a substantial majority of the vote from white women on November 4th.
As a biography, Ann E. Dunwoody is 55 years old, born appropriately in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
At the time of her nomination in June, she said:
“I grew up in a family that didn’t know what glass ceilings were. This nomination only reaffirms what I have known to be true about the military throughout my career, that the doors continue to open for men and women in uniform.”
It was 38 years ago when the Army’s first one-star female general was appointed, Anna Mae Hays, again by an unpopular Republican president named Richard Nixon. There are now 21, General Dunwoody included.
She graduated from the Command and General Staff College in 1987, after which she eventually became the 82nd Airborne Division’s first female battalion commander at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Her litany of accomplishments include the Distinguished Service Medal and Defense Superior Service Medal.
Dunwoody became a 3-star general in 2005, which was also a first in the military.
Ann Dunwoody Photos
Ann Dunwoody Video
November 14th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Will any plaudits be reserved for Pres Bush, esp by the feminists of NOW and other groups? Doubt it. Pres Bush has done more than any previous position to put minorities and womwn in all sorts of positions of power (from top to bottom). Where are the liberal elites who have latche don to this mantra of “change”?
November 14th, 2008 at 11:50 am
“Meet General Ann Dunwoody, the first four star general in United States history.”
there have been 210 four star generals in the army. actually all “generals” have four stars, that is what the term means.
george washington was the first, of course he was in the continental army. grant was second, sherman third, sheridan fourth, blackjack pershing 6th, macarthur was 9th, marshall 11th, eisenhower 12th, bradley 22nd, patton 24th, ridgway 30th, westmoreland 70th, alexander haig 95th, schwarzkopf 137th, colin powell 139th, wesley clark 162nd, petraeus 191st, ann dunwoody 196th, Martin E. Dempsey 197th
November 14th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Gen. Dunwoody is the first female, four star General in U.S. History. A four star General is in effect, a full General. The ranks are Brigadier (1 star), Major (2 stars), Lieutenant (3 stars) and General (4 stars).
November 14th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Dunwoody was not the first three-star, as this article claims. Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy was. Her biography, Generally Speaking, did poorly and ended up on the shelves of Dollar Tree. As an Army officer in a specialty still reserved for males, I’ll tell you that GEN Dunwoody is squared away and is a world leader in logistics. She was a fine DCS-LOG and is perfect for Army Materiel Command.
November 14th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Acknowledging what Bush or any other Republican has done for women and minorities would bring attention to the lie of their mantra that the Republicans are just old white men. In fact, the opposite is true. But in good Orwellian fashion, the democrats expect you to believe what they tell you rather than your own eyes and ears.
November 14th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Ann E Dunwoody is First Female Four-Star General…
Meet Ann E. Dunwoody. Today she became the first female Four-Star General in the United States Army. Read about it and see photos and a video below.
Ann E. Dunwoody
Ann E. Dunwoody was confirmed by the Senate in July and promoted by President George W…
November 14th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
How exciting! My husband Bentley Bruce Dunwoody felt very proud when we watched this announcement on television. Great going Gen.
February 20th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
[...] When she was nominated as a four-star (a rank that must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate), Gen Dunwoody said: [...]
August 25th, 2009 at 6:08 am
While this article is interesting, it sounds more like a political pitch than just a newsworthy article.