For over 50 years, the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) served as a force for the successful integration of women into the military and steady expansion of women’s roles in our armed forces. In the Bush Administration, the Committee’s mission and responsibilities were downgraded. For the sake of overall readiness and effectiveness of our armed forces, DACOWITS should be restored as a meaningful advisory body with authority to independently advise the Secretary of Defense on issues concerning military women.
