Women Warriors

Tammy Duckworth, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army

Following her family traditions, Ladda Tammy Duckworth joined the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in 1990 as a graduate student at George Washington University and later became a commissioned officer in the United States Army Reserve in 1992 

Choosing to fly helicopters, as it was one of the few combat jobs open to women, she became a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot. She later transferred to the Illinois Army National Guard in 1996 and then found herself deploying to fly Operation Iraqi Freedom combat missions. 

During the Iraq War, in 2004, Lt. Col Duckworth’s helicopter was stuck by a rocket propelled grenade. She thankfully survived the crash but suffered from severe combat wounds, losing both of her legs and damaging her right arm. 

Despite this, she continued to serve as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard until she retired from the Army in October 2014. 

In 2006, she became director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Only three years later, President Obama appointed her assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.  

In 2012, Tammy was elected to Congress, representing Illinois’ 8th District, and in 2016, was elected a U.S. senator. This made her the first disabled woman and only the second Asian-American woman in the Senate. In April 2018, Duckworth also became the first female senator to give birth while holding office. 

As the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Duckworth worked toward developing an incentive program that would give employers a tax credit for hiring war veterans, as well as programs providing veterans and their families with better mental care, health care and housing resources. 

As the assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairsfocused on putting a stop to the cycle of homeless veterans and developed resources tailored towards female veterans. 

“I was hurt in service for my country. I was proud to go. It was my duty as a soldier to go. And I would go tomorrow.” Ladda Tammy Duckworth 

Back To Blog
  • Need Assistance?

    Here to Serve You


    We understand the obstacles and unique challenges women veterans face and are here to assist you.

    Get Help
  • Other Inquiries

    Contact

  • Get News & Updates

    Subscribe

  • Do your finances keep you up at night? Not sure ho Do your finances keep you up at night? Not sure how to achieve financial freedom?

Join us on March 1st for a webinar on the First Steps to Financial Freedom.

During this webinar you will learn about important topics to take the first steps to create your financial plan, understanding credit and minimizing debt, saving to build wealth, and more.

Two live sessions are available to accommodate our national community: 
East Coast and Midwest – 6:00pm Central Time/7:00pm Eastern Time
West Coast – 6:00pm Pacific Time 

The very first step to financial freedom is showing up! 

Register today by clicking the link in our bio.
    Meet Major General Marcia Anderson. In 2011, Ander Meet Major General Marcia Anderson. In 2011, Anderson became the first African American woman in the United States Army’s history to achieve the rank of Major General in the United States Army Reserve. Her last two assignments before her retirement were Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Human Resources Command and Deputy Chief, U.S. Army Reserve. In this role, Anderson, had oversight for the planning, programming and resource management for the execution of an Army Reserve budget of $8 billion that supported over 225,000 Army Reserve Soldiers, civilians and their families. 

Learn more by clicking the link in our bio. 
.
.
.
.
#BlackHistoryMonth #BlackHistory #BlackLeaders #BlackWomen #Leadership #WomenInTheMilitary #MilitaryWomen #Military #WomenMakingHistory #Inspiration
    Meet Master Sgt. Natasha Smith. She is the 81st He Meet Master Sgt. Natasha Smith. She is the 81st Healthcare Operations Squadron internal medicine flight chief and sharing how her family, faith and heritage have been the cornerstones of her military career.

“My children are my inspiration. They inspire me to be a better mother, daughter, sister and Airman! It is my mission to show them there is nothing too hard for them to accomplish.” - Master Sgt. Natasha Smith.

Learn more by clicking the link in our bio.
.
.
.
.
#BlackHistoryMonth #BlackHistory #Success #WomenInTheMilitary #MilitaryWomen #MiitaryMom #MilitaryKids #Inspiration #Military #RoleModel
    A heartfelt thank you to the Green Foundation for A heartfelt thank you to the Green Foundation for the generous $25,000 investment in our mission! Our donors are critical partners in ensuring women veterans can achieve success in their after-service lives. You too can support the personal and economic wellbeing of women veterans and their families. 

To make an impact or learn more visit our website by clicking the link in our bio.
.
.
.
.
#Nonprofit #FoundationforWomenWarriors #FFWW #WomenWarriors #WomenVeterans #WomanVeteran #Veterans #Veteran #Military
    Happy Presidents' Day! Happy Presidents' Day!
    The Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Lab The Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor reported the median childcare price for a family with one child ranged from $4,810 to $15,417 in 2018.  Today, childcare costs continue to increase significantly. An infant enrolled in licensed childcare in San Diego costs an average of $19,000, a price tag more costly than in-state college tuition.

According to the San Diego Foundation Workforce, Childcare & Change Report, Californian’s pay 26% higher than the national average for childcare, and San Diego is 15% higher than the state average. For many, this reality threatens not only their financial stability, but potentially their employment. 

Our childcare program allows women veterans to focus on their education and advancing their careers while their children are in safe and reliable care. To learn more or apply visit the link in our bio.
.
.
.
.
#WomenVeterans #WomanVeteran #FemaleVeterans #FemaleVeteran #Veteran #Veterans #MilitaryVeterans #WomenInTheMilitary #MilitaryWomen #MilitaryWoman #MilitaryKids #MilitaryFamily #Military #FoundationForWomenWarriors #FFWW #WomenWarriors #HonorHerService #EmpowerHerFuture
    Meet Joy Allen. Allen serves as Deputy Department Meet Joy Allen. Allen serves as Deputy Department Head for Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Corona Division’s Performance Assessment Department, which serves as the independent analysis and assessment agent across several warfare areas including Air Defense, Integrated Air and Missile Defense, Surface, Strike, and, Cyber. 
 
The department's expertise is utilized across unit level, multi-ship, and strike group compositions, and she ensures everything runs smoothly and assists with daily, high-level operations that are critical to warfighter success and combat capability.
 
“I am grateful for the opportunity to work in a leadership role for our Navy.” - Joy Allen
 
Learn more by clicking the link in our bio.
.
.
.
.
#BlackHistoryMonth #BlackHistory #WomeninSTEM #BlackWomenInSTEM #Leadership #USNavy #NavalSurface #NavalSurfaceWarfareCenter
    Join us on Saturday, March 25th, 2023, at 5:30pm a Join us on Saturday, March 25th, 2023, at 5:30pm at The Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) located in Balboa Park for a special in-person screening of The Six Triple Eight Documentary followed by a Q&A. 

The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, known as the Six Triple Eight, was the only all-black female battalion to serve in Europe during WWII. Confronted with racism and sexism from their own leadership and troops, they cleared a backlog of over 17 million pieces of mail. The 6888th ensured troops stayed in touch with their loved ones back home. President Biden signed into law on March 14th, 2022, a Congressional Gold Medal to recognize the women of the 6888th.

Ticket are $25 per person and must be purchased in advance. Limited tickets are available and will not be sold on site.

Buy your tickets today, visit the link in our bio.

#SixTripleEight #6888 #6888th #NoMailLowMorale #6888thCentralPostalDirectoryBattalion #Veterans #Veterans #WomenVeterans #WomanVeteran #FemaleVeterans #FemaleVeteran #Military #WomenInTheMilitary #MilitaryWomen #MilitaryWoman #BlackHistory #BlackHistoryMonth #WomensHistoryMonth #WomensHistory #CongressionalGoldMedal #WomensArmyCorps #USArmy #Army #WomenInTheArmy #Soldiers #BreakingBarriers #PavingTheWay #RoleModels #Inspiration #Trending