Puerto Rico sends about 10% of its sons and daughters into the military, a higher percentage than nearly all of the 50 states. More than 375,000 Puerto Ricans have served in the U.S. armed services, and thousands have been women. A special Puerto Rican unit of the Women’s Army Corps was formed in World War II, with 200 women chosen from more than 1,000 applicants. Ever since, Puerto Rican women have served alongside other American men and women.
Some firsts
- Dr. Dolores Piñero was the first Puerto Rican woman to serve as a U.S. Army doctor, working as an anesthesiologist in World War I and continuing after the end of the war at a special Army hospital treating patients with the Spanish flu.
- Carmen Garcia Rosado was one of the first women to join the Women’s Army Corps unit in World War II.
- Second Lieutenant Carmen Lozano Dumler was one of the first Puerto Rican women to become a United States Army officer.
- Tech4 Carmen Contreras-Bozak was the first Latina to serve as an interpreter in the Army.
- Lieutenant Junior Grade Maria Rodriguez Denton was the first Puerto Rican woman to earn a position as an officer in the U.S. Navy.
- Rose Franco was the first Puerto Rican woman to become a Chief Warrant Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.
- Captain Julia Benitez Aviles was the first Puerto Rican servicewoman to earn the rank of captain.
- Lieutenant Colonel Olga E. Custodio was the first Latina in the U.S. military to serve as a pilot.
- Brigadier General Irene “Ramba” Zoppi is the first Puerto Rican woman to hold the position of Brigadier General in the U.S. Army Reserve, with service in Kuwait, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.
- Colonel Maritza Sáenz Ryan is the head of the Department of Law at the United States Military Academy. She is the first woman and first Hispanic West Point graduate to serve as department head.
Continuing service
As Puerto Rico becomes increasingly important in current military strategy, women make up about 36% of recruits and 17% of those in active service at Ft. Buchanan. That percentage is comparable to the average for female service members across the nation.
Women are eligible for all military positions in Puerto Rico, including combat and leadership roles, technical jobs, and medical work.
Puerto Rican members of the U.S. armed services qualify for any leadership position because they hold U.S. citizenship. This opportunity does not exist for enlisted members from the three Freely Associated States (FAS) of Palau, the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia , which do not have U.S. citizenship. Federal law requires that all military officers have U.S. citizenship and does not allow granting of security clearance to non-citizens, which limits high level job opportunities for them in the military.
