DACOWITS (Video File)

Mission: The Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) was established in 1951 by then Secretary of Defense, George C. Marshall. The Committee is composed of civilian women and men who are appointed by the Secretary of Defense to provide advice and recommendations on matters and policies relating to the recruitment and retention, treatment, employment, integration, and well-being of highly qualified professional women in the Armed Forces. In addition, beginning in 2002, the Committee will provide advice and recommendations on family issues related to recruitment and retention of a highly qualified professional military. Historically, DACOWITS' recommendations have been very instrumental in effecting changes to laws and policies pertaining to military women.

Vision: The Defense Department has engaged in a comprehensive review of personnel management and quality of life programs necessary to support today’s force – and a future force transformed in accordance with the vision of the 2002 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). The strategic plans that resulted from the 2002 QDR, which include the Military Personnel Human Resources Strategic Plan, QDR Military Compensation Review Report, and the Social Compact for Families, are providing a roadmap for action, laying out both short and long term changes, many with significant magnitude and duration. As the Department undertakes this radical transformation of human resource management, it is important to watch the effects of policy changes on the composition, utilization, and morale of the force. The DACOWITS has been charged with assisting in this process. The focus of the Committee’s support will be targeted to military readiness as they address issues concerning women and families in the military as they undergo organizational transformation and deployment to support the strategic security needs of the United States.

Strategy: The Committee will provide a report to the Department of Defense at the end of each year or upon issue resolution. Information will be gathered through installation visits, business meetings, relevant reports and survey data, and input from individual Service and family members. This combination of research and first-hand experiences will provide a solid basis for recommendations.

Topics: What strategies have female leaders used to navigate their careers? DACOWITS recognizes that “what works” may be generation-dependent, and may vary with where one is in their career. Additionally, DACOWITS will continue to address the issues of military families by understanding the educational needs of the school-age military children. DoD is committed to advancing quality education for all military students, wherever they may live.

In order to provide tomorrow’s generation of female Service members with a roadmap to success, and to augment the information available to military planners, DACOWITS seeks to gather lessons learned from current female leaders regarding the strategies that have helped them to reach their goals in the military.

• What are the career barriers that women Service members encounter, or have encountered, and how have they changed over time?
• Which strategies have been most successful at helping women overcome career barriers and promoting their success and how have these success strategies changed over time?
• How do success strategies differ for women at different points in their careers?
• To what extent do the success strategies that helped today’s senior officers and enlisted women (e.g., 05, E7 and above?) apply to today’s junior female Service members? (e.g., 01-03 and E1-E4?)
• What strategies are employed in the military specifically to develop female leaders, and how do they work?

DoD recognizes and, in partnership with a variety of private organizations, continues to address the unique schooling-related needs experienced by military dependent children and youth. Other than supporting military-connected schools, what further initiatives might DoD consider to advance quality education and ease the impact of transitions/deployments for military youth?

• What additional schooling options do Service families desire for their children?
• How and to what extent could educational vouchers help military families to obtain the quality education they seek for their children?
• How and to what extent could home schooling support help military families to obtain the quality education they seek for their children?
• What other types of initiatives could help military families to obtain the quality education they seek for their children?
• How does military housing policy impact children’s schooling options?
  

Membership: The Committee provides an invaluable service to the Department as an independent body of "citizen" advisors. The Committee’s operations and output are focused and formalized. This requires a dedicated core of members who are available to receive specialized training on Service issues and group facilitation techniques, and who can provide meaningful feedback and assessments. The Committee is composed of not more than 15 civilian members, representing a distribution of demography, professional career fields, community service, and geography. Members are selected on the basis of their experience in the military, as a member of a military family, or with women's or family-related workforce issues. Members must be U.S. citizens, and are selected without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, mental or physical disability, age, marital status or sexual orientation.

Authority: The DACOWITS is authorized under the provisions of Public Law 92-463, the Federal Advisory Committee Act. By law, the DACOWITS Charter is valid for only two years at a time.

4000 Defense Pentagon, Room 2C548A, Washington, DC 20301-4000
For more information, call (703) 697-2122 or DSN 227-2122.