ESU speaker discusses role of women in today’s military

A presentation on the role of women in today’s military will be one of the last events of the Women’s History Month observance at Emporia State University. Maj. Beth Behn, Army Staff College Ft. Leavenworth, will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 26 in Visser Hall room 330 on the ESU campus.

Her presentation draws from her own broad experience about the lives and work of American women in today’s military.

A West Point graduate, Behn has served in the U.S. Army in Haiti and in Kuwait during Operation Desert Thunder. She also served in Iraq from January-June 2006. Behn is currently a student and part-time instructor at the Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

A native of Cedar Falls, Iowa, Behn attended the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1990 to 1994.  Following her graduation, she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Transportation Corps and assigned to Fort Eustis, Va.  While at Fort Eustis, Behn served as a platoon leader, company executive officer, and detachment commander in the 24th Transportation Battalion.  She deployed to Haiti in support of Operation Uphold Democracy in 1995 and to Kuwait in support of Operation Desert Thunder in 1998.

After promotion to Captain and completion of the Combined Logistics Officer Advanced Course in 1998, Behn was assigned to Fort Hood, Tex.  There, she served as a battalion logistics officer in the 180th Transportation Battalion for 15 months before assuming command of the 96th Transportation Company.  Behn served as a company commander for 18 months.  Near the end of her tour, she was selected for the Army’s advanced civil schooling program.

Behn attended two years of graduate school at the University of Massachusetts where she earned a master’s degree in American history.  She returned to West Point in 2004 for a three-year tour as an instructor in the history department.  She was promoted to Major in December 2004. In the midst of her assignment to West Point, she deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and served as a staff officer with the 17th Field Artillery Brigade in Baghdad from January to July 2006.

In July 2007, Behn moved to Fort Leavenworth for a one-year assignment as a student at the Army’s Command and General Staff College.  She is scheduled to graduate and move on to her next operational assignment in June.

Her major awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, United Nations Service Ribbon, and Humanitarian Service Ribbon.

ESU’s Ethnic and Gender Studies Program sponsors Maj. Behn’s presentation. The public is invited.

For more information, contact Karen Smith, program director, at 620-341-5570.

Last Updated March 20, 2008>