Bookcover: More Than a Uniform: A Navy Woman in a Navy Man's World

More Than a Uniform: A Navy Woman in a Navy Man's World

Contributors: Foreword by Admiral Arleigh Burke, U. S. Navy (Retired), Former Chief of Naval Operations, U. S. Navy

May, 1997

Published

224

Pages

35 b&w photos. Index.

Features

Recommended Text

Ideal for Classrooms

Out of Print

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Paperback

Limited

About Collins and Levine's More Than a Uniform

In 1942, four days after Congress passed a law allowing women to serve as commissioned officers in the military, Winifred Quick Collins joined the Navy. In her role as Personnel Director of the Midshipmen’s School at Smith College, she developed procedures for the classification of the 6000 women officer candidates who reported for duty during the ensuing year. She continued to help shape the Navy’s personnel policies for women during the next twenty years, working alongside such celebrated Navy leaders as Chester Nimitz, Bill Halsey, George Anderson, Arleigh Burke, and Hyman Rickover.

Overcoming a troubled and poverty-stricken childhood to eventually win top college scholarships then head a jobs program during the Depression, Collins made it to the top of every ladder she climbed. As a pioneer among female commissioned officers, she was in a unique position to observe not only how Navy women overcame discriminatory obstacles, but also how the Navy came to depend on women as an essential component of its standard operations.

“This book is a continuous lesson in how to overcome obstacles and do it with finesse and humor… Those interested in an easy-to-read, very personal story will enjoy this book.” —Brig. General Vaught, USAF Ret.

Classroom Adoption

More Than a Uniform: A Navy Woman in a Navy Man's World is a recommended text for use in classrooms where the following subjects are being studied: History, Military.

Overcoming a troubled and poverty-stricken childhood to eventually win top college scholarships, Collins made it to the top of every ladder she climbed. She joined the Navy in 1942. As a pioneer among female commissioned officers, she was in a unique position to observe not only how Navy women overcame discriminatory obstacles, but also how the Navy came to depend on women as an essential component of its standard operations. She retired in 1962 at the rank of captain, the highest rank a woman could then hold.

Adopted By

[“California State University at Fullerton for "American Military Heritage"”]

About the Authors

WINIFRED QUICK COLLINS was in the first group of women trained for Navy service as commissioned officers. As Chief of Naval Personnel for women, she retired in 1962 at the rank of captain, the highest rank a woman could then hold. She currently lives in Washington, D.C.

More from Winifred Quick Collins

HERBERT M. LEVINE taught political science at the University of Southwestern Louisiana and is now a freelance writer living in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

More from Herbert M. Levine