New Dacowits Chair Announced

The Department of Defense announced that effective today, retired Lt. Gen. Frances C. Wilson, U.S. Marine Corps, will serve as the chairperson of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS). She succeeds Holly Hemphill of Alexandria, Virginia.   Wilson spent nearly 37 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, and served as the president of National Defense University and as the commandant, Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Since retiring in 2009, she has been part of various organizations in the Virginia Tidewater area, serving as an appointed member of the City of Virginia Beach Mayor's Military Economic Development Advisory Committee, and as the chair, board of directors, Hampton Roads and Central Virginia USO. She was appointed by the Virginia governor as a member of the board of trustees, Fort Monroe Authority, and board of visitors, Virginia Military Institute. Wilson has also been a DACOWITS member since June 2012.   In addition to a bachelor of science from Michigan State University, Wilson earned four master degrees and a doctor of education from the University of Southern California. In addition to several military school curricula she completed a federal executive fellowship at the Brookings Institution as well as the Harvard University's JFK School of Government's Senior Executive Course in National and International Security. Wilson was honored with the University of Southern California Alumni Association's Alumni Merit Award in 2009 and recognized as one of Virginia's Most Influential Women by the Virginia Lawyers' Media in 2014.   DACOWITS, established during the Korean War in 1951 by Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall, is an independent advisory committee that provides the department with 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.    The committee's 2014 charter authorizes a total of 20 members, who perform a variety of duties including visiting military installations each year, conducting a review and evaluation of current research on military women, and developing an annual report with recommendations on these issues for service leadership and the secretary of defense.   DACOWITS members include prominent civilian women and men representing a distribution of demography, academia, industry, public service and other professions. Selection is on the basis of experience in the military or with women's-related workforce issues.   Members are selected for a four-year term, without compensation, to perform a variety of duties including visiting military installations each year, conducting a review and evaluation of current research on military women, and developing an annual report with recommendations on these issues for service leadership and the secretary of defense.