Carolyn Becraft Papers, 1978-

Carolyn Becraft Papers

Printer-friendly |

Collection Overview

Title: Carolyn Becraft Papers, 1978-

ID: OGLMC1685

Primary Creator: Becraft, Carolyn

Extent: 2.5 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 01/02/2019

Subjects: Military History, University of North Dakota - Alumni, Women's History

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Carolyn Becraft Papers have been divided into five series as follows:

Series 1: Biographical

Series 2: Writings

Series 3: Media Coverage

Series 4: Organizational Records

Series 5: Miscellaneous

Series 6: Audio and Video

Collection Historical Note

A native of North Dakota, Carolyn Becraft has spent her entire career working with the military community, primarily on family and personnel issues. One of her main concerns has been the role of women serving in the U.S. military.

After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 1966 with a BS in Home Economics/Nutrition she served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. She left the Army with the rank of Captain after she became pregnant with her first child. At the time, women could not remain in the service once they started a family. Accompanying her Army husband to Germany, she received a master's degree from the University of Southern California. Her thesis topic was "The Effects of the Women's Movement on Wives of Military Officers."

After returning to the U.S. in 1980, Ms. Becraft focused on issues pertaining to Army families. As the Chair of the Army Family Action Committee, she designed the Family Action Planning Process used today by the Army to identify and prioritize family policy issues. In 1982 she was hired by the Women’s Equity Action League (WEAL) to direct the Woman and the Military Project that focused on advocacy for military spouses and women serving in the military. The grant was funded by the Ford Foundation. She later took the project to the Women's Research and Education Institute (WREI). During this period she worked extensively with the media, Department of Defense, Capitol Hill, Congressional committees, and testified before Congress on women's issues. As a result of her advocacy numerous laws and policies were adopted by the Department of Defense that dramatically improved conditions for military women and military families. She has also served as Director of Communications for the International Center for Research on Women.

In 1993, Ms. Becraft was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Military Community and Family Policy), where she was directly responsible for all community support policies that govern military services. She also had direct responsibility for the worldwide Commissary and Exchange systems and the Department of Defense Dependent Schools in the U.S. and throughout the world. In 1998 she was confirmed as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), a position she held until 2001. Upon leaving the Defense Department Ms. Becraft assisted numerous organizations with Strategic Planning and Executive Coaching Services.

Throughout her career, Ms. Becraft has been a passionate advocate for women serving in the military as well as for improved quality of life for military families. Some of the accomplishments she achieved include leading the effort to repeal combat exclusion laws that restricted women serving in the military from being assigned on ships and from flying fighter aircraft; establishing spouse employment assistance programs; instigating changing the use of word "Dependents" to "Family Members" when referring to military family members; establishing policy to standardized tuition assistance service wide including military spouses; establishing a preventive new parent support program; and sponsoring conferences addressing military families' concerns.

Subject/Index Terms

Military History
University of North Dakota - Alumni
Women's History

Administrative Information

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Source: Carolyn Becraft, Burke, Virginia

Acquisition Method: Donation; 2019-3402

Separated Materials:

The following books featuring Carolyn Becraft were separated and added to Special Collections Stacks:

Addis, Elisabetta, Valeria E. Russo, and Lorenza Sebesta, eds. Women Soldiers: Images and Realities. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994.

Becraft, Carolyn. "Women in the Military," in The American Woman, 1987-88: A Report in Depth. New York: W.W. Norton, 1987.

Becraft, Carolyn. "Evolution of Women in the US Military," in Women in Uniform: Perceptions and Pathways. School of History, University College, UNSW, Australian Defence Force Academy.

Francke, Linda Bird. Ground Zero: The Gender Wars in the Military. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.

Holm, Maj. Gen. Jeanne Holm. Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1992.

Katzenstein, Mary Fainsod. Faithful and Fearless: Moving Feminist Protest inside the Church and Military. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998.

Schneider, Dorothy and Carl J. Sound Off! American Military Women Speak Out. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1988.

Stiehm, Judith Hicks. Arms and the Enlisted Woman. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989.

Willenz, June A. Women Veterans: America's Forgotten Heroines. New York: Continuum, 1983.

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). Carolyn Becraft Papers. OGLMC 1685, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota.

Processing Information: Processed by Susanne Watts and Curt Hanson in Summer 2019.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Biographical ],
[Series 2: Writings],
[Series 3: Media Coverage],
[Series 4: Organizational Records],
[Series 5: Miscellaneous],
[Series 6: Audio and Video],
[All]

Series 1: Biographical

Box 1

Folder 1: General

Folder 2: University of North Dakota

Item 1: "Fitting Families into Military Life," University of North Dakota Alumni Review. July/August 1994
Item 2: "Outstanding Achievers Receive Alumni Association's Highest Honor," University of North Dakota Alumni Review. September/October 1999
Item 3: Sioux Awards Banquet Program, 15 October 1999
Item 4: "Where Memories Begin," University of North Dakota Alumni Review. November/December 1999.
Item 5: "Conversations with Carolyn Becraft on Leadership...," Business @ UND. Fall 2010
Item 6: "Honorary Degree Dinner Program Celebrating Carolyn Becraft and Greg Page", 13 May 2016
Item 7: General Commencement Program, 14 May 2016

Series 2: Writings

Box 1

Folder 3: "The Woman's Movement: Its Effect on the Wives of Military Officers." Master's Thesis at the University of Southern California, 1978

Folder 4: Congressional Testimony

Item 1: House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights, Judiciary Committee, 26 October 1983
Item 2: House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Military Personnel and Compensation, Armed Services Committee, 1 October 1987
Item 3: Presidential Commission on Women in the Armed Forces, 4 May 1992

Folder 5: Speeches

Item 1: "Where We’ve Been--Where We Are Going," WOPA, 19 March 1990
Item 2: "How Susie Slew Goliath,” Women Military Aviators Convention, 24 October 1991
Item 3: "Family Support: The Second Generation,” Army Family Action Plan Planning Conference, 26 October 1993
Item 4: DoDEA Worldwide Superintendents Meeting, 14 February 1996
Item 5: Quantico, Virginia, 22 February 1996
Item 6: “Breaking the Mold,” Fort Knox Commencement, 29 May 1996
Item 7: "Changes for Women in the Military,” Women’s History Month, Brevard College, 25 March 1999
Item 8: “Assuming Leadership in the Traditional Male Environment,” Central California Women’s Conference, 14 September 1999
Item 9: Senior Enlisted Leadership Forum, 7 October 1999
Item 10: United States Naval Academy, 1999 and 2000
Item 11: Great Lakes Graduation, 12 May 2000
Item 12: Navy Acquisition Professional Community Conference, 24 October 2000
Item 13: Spouse Employment Industry Forum, 25 October 2000
Item 14: Executive Career Planning Seminar, 1 November 2000
Item 15: Senior Enlisted Leadership Forum, 6 November 2000
Item 16: “A New Era of Learning,” CAEL Conference, 16 November 2000
Item 17: “Is There a Personnel Crisis?” CAN Annual Conference, 29 November 2000
Item 18: National Association of Institutions for Military Education Services Annual Meeting, 8 December 2000
Item 19: Executive Career Planning Seminar for Hispanics, 10 January 2001
Item 20: "Where We Have Been--Where We Are Going," Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, undated
Item 21: Women's Democratic Club, undated
Item 22: DACOWITS Speech, undated
Item 23: SHAPE Commencement, undated

Folder 6: Correspondence, 1985-1993

Folder 7: Correspondence, 1997-2001

Folder 8: Articles, 1988-1989

Item 1: "Role Conflict and the Commander's Spouse," Military Chaplain's Review, Winter 1988
Item 2: "Personnel Puzzle," Proceedings (publication of the U.S. Naval Institute), April 1989
Item 3: "Women Do Belong in the Military," Air Force Times, 10 July 1989
Item 4: "Are Women Now the U.S. Military's..." (complete title undetermined), San Diego Tribune, 3 September 1989
Item 5: "Women in the Military," The Bureaucrat: the Journal for Public Managers, Fall 1989

Folder 9: Articles, 1991-1992

Item 1: "Army Women Have Earned Right to Fight," Army Times, 17 June 1991
Item 2: "Women in the Military," The Bureaucrat: the Journal for Public Managers, Fall 1991
Item 3: "Women in the Military: 1980-1990," Women and Critical Justice, 1992
Item 4: "Women in the U.S. Armed Services: the War in the Persian Gulf," Women and Critical Justice, 1992
Item 5: "Women in the Military: an American Success Story," undated

Folder 10: Proposals

Item 1: "Strategies for the Lean Years," Unsolicited Proposal to the Office of the Chief, Family Support Directorate, Community and Family Support Center, 14 June 1988
Item 2: "The Army Family - 1990s and Beyond," Decision Resources Corporation, undated

Series 3: Media Coverage

Box 1

Folder 11: 1983-1991

Item 1: "Women Compete Despite Barriers." Navy Times, 21 November 1983
Item 2: "Women in the Military: Opening Fire on Old Issue," Washington Times, 11 July 1989
Item 3: "Women in the Military: a Look at Why They Join and How They're Changing the Services," Military Lifestyle, October 1989
Item 4: "Should Women Make War?" Raleigh News and Observer, 14 January 1990
Item 5: "Women Head to Iraq," Valdosta Daily News, 16 August 1990
Item 6: "Women in Combat," 22 August 1990
Item 7: "Rank and Female File," The Guardian, 29 August 1990
Item 8: "Raising the Profile of the Female Force," National Journal, 8 September 1990
Item 9: "Watching Women Go to Gulf War," Houston Chronicle, 6 March 1991
Item 10: "A Debate on Women and War," Philadelphia Inquirer, 24 March 1991
Item 11: "Ongoing Debate: Combat Exclusion Laws," Army Times, 15 April 1991
Item 12: "Women at War," Austin American-Statesman., 7 April 1991
Item 13: "Report: More than 33,000 Women served in Combat Support Positions," Stars and Stripes, 15 April 1991
Item 14: "Women in the Military: Aftermath of Desert Storm," Defense Media Review, 30 April 1991
Item 15: "Pentagon Backs Legislation Allowing Women to Fly Combat Missions," Inside the Pentagon, 30 May 1991
Item 16: "Women in Combat: Why Rush to Judgment?" Backgrounder , 14 June 1991
Item 17: "Combat Role for Women Stalled by Senate Panel," Washington Post, 10 July 1991
Item 18: "Vote Near on Women in War," Washington Times, 30 July 1991
Item 19: "The Right to Fight," Newsweek, 5 August 1991
Item 20: "The New Top Guns," Time, 12 August 1991
Item 21: "Equality, Yes - Militarism, No," The Nation, 28 October 1991
Item 22: Equal Opportunity, special edition of Current News, a publication by the American Forces Information Service., October 1991

Folder 12: 1992-1994

Item 1: "Women in Combat," Proceedings, February 1992
Item 2: "Women in Combat: a New Front to an Old War," Minerva's Bulletin Board, Spring 1992
Item 3: "Women in the Ranks," Anniston Star, 14 May 1992
Item 4: "Female POWs Abused," Washington Times, 12 June 1992
Item 5: "Strength May Settle Combat Issue," Army Times, 13 July 1992
Item 6: "Bomber Pilots: Flight Deck is a Man's World," Chicago Tribune, 16 July 1992
Item 7: "Military Women Say 'Lesbian Baiting' Rising," Austin American-Statesman, 24 August 1992
Item 8: "Women in the Military," CQ Researcher, 25 September 1992
Item 9: "Official Reminds Communities of Youth Funding," Stars and Stripes, 23 October 1993
Item 10: "Former NMFA Board of Governors Member Appointed to Pentagon Family Post," Newsletter of the National Military Family Association, December 1993
Item 11: "'I've Lived the Life': For Family Policy Chief, Change is the Watchword," Navy Times, 6 December 1993
Item 12: "Carolyn H. Becraft: Warrior for Military Families," Press Pack, 27 December 1993
Item 13: "New Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Appointed," Military Family, January-February 1994
Item 14: "Family Job Prepared Fargo Native for Job at Pentagon," Fargo Forum, 20 March 1994
Item 15: "DOD Waging Campaign to Stop Neglecting Teens," Stars and Stripes, 19 May 1994
Item 16: "Swap More Ideas, DOD Official Says," European Starts and Stripes, 23 May 1994
Item 17: "A Perfect Match: Carolyn Becraft Brings Firsthand Experience of Military Life to Her Department of Defense Position," Military Lifestyle, September 1994
Item 18: Talking with Carolyn Becraft: Personal Experience as a Commissary Customer Makes This DOD Official a Perfect Fit for DeCA Oversight Role," Military Grocer, October 1994
Item 19: "Becraft Gathers Information on Naples Visit," Panorama, 28 October 1994
Item 20: "Where Will the New Money Go?" Army Times, 28 November 1994

Folder 13: 1995-1999

Item 1: "School Lunch Bill Leaves Out Military Children," New York Times, 9 March 1995
Item 2: "Forging Partnerships into the Twenty-First Century: The Military and the Higher Education Community," Adult Learning, March/April 1995
Item 3: "Data Delays Stall Ritalin Study," Army Times, 12 June 1995
Item 4: "Commentary," Military Clubs and Recreation, July 1995
Item 5: "ALA Military Spouse of the Year," National Military Family Association Newsletter, January 1996
Item 6: Bosnia Watch, April 1996: Features a photograph of Sheryl Crow (musician), Sinbad (comedian), Becraft, First Lady Hillary Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton at a USO show in Bosnia
Item 7: "DOD Aims to Reduce Stress of Deployment," Stars and Stripes, 3 May 1996
Item 8: "Becraft's Resale View," Military Market, June 1996
Item 9: "'We Did it for the Kids!' Guam Gets DoD Schools," National Military Family Association Newsletter, August 1997
Item 10: "DoD Schools Open for Military Families on Guam," Military Family, Fall 1997
Item 11: "When push came to shove, a school was built," Army Times, 5 January 1998
Item 12: "People on the Move: Around the Agencies," CQ Daily Monitor, 8 July 1998
Item 13: "Key Advocates for Better Pay," Navy Times, 3 August 1998
Item 14: "Fargo Woman Rises in Ranks of Navy," Detroit Lakes Tribune, 23 August 1998
Item 15: "Asst. Secretary of Navy to Address Childcare," The Daily Orange, 9 April 1999
Item 16: "Becraft Advocates Improved Childcare," The Daily Orange, 12 April 1999
Item 17: Community Service News - A Navy Tradition, Summer 1999
Item 18: "Former Fargo Woman OK'd for Navy Post," Fargo Forum, 15 August 1999
Item 19: "Naval Official, UND Alum Has Seen Dramatic Changes for Women in Military," Grand Forks Herald, 15 October 1999
Item 20: "Seabees Celebrate Birthday Abroad Intrepid," Naval Reserve Association News, September 1999
Item 21: "Interview with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Carolyn Becraft," undated and unidentified publication
Item 22: "Fargo native appointed to defense post," unidentified and undated newspaper
Item 23: "A New Lease on Life?" newspaper column by Al Kamen, undated

Series 4: Organizational Records

Box 1

Folder 14: Conferences

Item 1: "Report on Family Issues," First Army Family Symposium, October 1980
Item 2: "Report on Family Issues," Extract, First Army Family Symposium, October 1980
Item 3: "The Army and the Family: Partners in Progress," Third Annual Army Family Symposium, October 1983
Item 4: "Women in Combat," Harvard Law School Symposium on Women in the Military, April 1991
Item 5: "Rethinking Who Fights Our Wars - and Why," speech by Dr. Paul Roush, Harvard Law School Symposium on Women in the Military, April 1991
Item 6: "War's Aftermath: The Issue of Women in the Military," Cosponsored by the Center for Defense Journalism, the Rockford Institute, and the Office of Senator Daniel Coats, April 1991
Item 7: List of Attendees, WAF/CP's 14th Annual Meeting, April 1991
Item 8: "Women and the Global Economy: Research and Action," 10th Annual Meeting of the National Council for Research on Women, June 1991
Item 9: "Rethinking Who Fights Our Wars - and Why," speech by Dr. Paul Roush, National Council for Research on Women, June 1991
Item 10: "Blacks in the Military: From Desert Storm to Reductions in Force," Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, June 1991
Item 11: Women Officers Professional Association, Annual Professional Development Symposium, July 1991
Item 12: Official Conference, National Association of Veterans Program Administrators, October 1991
Item 13: "Women in the Military: International Perspectives," Women's Research and Education Institute, April 1992
Item 14: NAIMES Meeting, National Press Club, December 2000

Folder 15: Department of Defense, Guam Correspondence, 1997-2000

Folder 16: Department of Defense, Report of Task Force on Women in the Military, January 1988

Folder 17: Department of the Navy, Update Report on the Progress of Women in the Navy, 1990

Folder 18: Department of the Navy, Roadmap for Navy Family Research Final Report, August 1980

Folder 19: Presidential Commission, Women's Best Defense Committee, 1992

Folder 20: Veteran's Affairs Advisory Committee on Women Veterans, 1992-1993

Folder 21: Women's Equity Action League, Testimony by Becraft, 1983-1987, undated

Folder 22: Women's Equity Action League Publications

Folder 23: Women's Research and Education Institute Conferences, 1991-1994

Folder 24: Women's Research and Education Institute Correspondence, 1991-1992

Folder 25: Women's Research and Education Institute, Ford Foundation Grant, 1990-1992

Box 2

Folder 1: Women's Research and Education Institute Publications

Item 1: News, Notes and Comments, October 1990
Item 2: Women and the Military Project: Selected Bibliography
Item 3: The American Woman, 1992-1993: a Status Report (advertising pamphlet)
Item 4: Hire a Vet: She's a Good Investment
Item 5: Women in the Military: Where They Stand, 19994
Item 6: Women in the Military: Where They Stand (2nd edition), 1998
Item 7: Women in the Military: Where They Stand (3rd edition), 2000
Item 8: Women in the Military: 1980-1990 by Carolyn Becraft, 1990
Item 9: Women in the U.S. Armed Services: the War in the Persian Gulf by Carolyn Becraft, 1991

Folder 2: Women's Research and Education Institute, "Leadership Project to Promote Employment Opportunities for Recently-Separated Veterans: a Proposal Submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor", 1992

Series 5: Miscellaneous

Box 2

Folder 3: Photographs

Photograph 1: Portrait, 8 x 10" color
Photograph 2: Becraft with two unidentified pilots in front of a plane, 8 x 10' color
Photograph 3: Becraft with two unidentified pilots in front of a plane (identical to photograph 2), 3.5 x 5" color
Photograph 4: Becraft in front of an American flag and an unidentified flag, 4 x 6" color
Photograph 5: Becraft with two unidentified soldiers at the Korean Demilitarized Zone, 3.5 x 5" color, October 1996

Folder 4: Press Releases

Folder 5: Miscellaneous, Handwritten Meeting Notes

Series 6: Audio and Video

This series consists of interviews and presentations by Carolyn Becraft. In addition to these tapes, Becraft presented at a TEDx talk in Grand Forks on February 7, 2014. Her speech was entitled "Leadership and Social Change" and can be streamed on YouTube.

The Department of Special Collections has digital versions of each of the tapes.

Box 3

Cassette Tape 1: Fresh Air with Terry Gross, WHYY radio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 4, 1991
Cassette Tape 2: Diane Rehm Show, WAMU radio in Washington, DC, January 4, 1988
Cassette Tape 3: Encounter with Neal Lavon, a Voice of America Discussion Program, August 11, 1991: Carolyn Becraft interviewed along with Elaine Donnelly of the Coalition for Military Readiness
Cassette Tape 4: Diane Rehm Show, WAMU radio in Washington, DC, 1991
Cassette Tape 5: The Derek McGinty Show, "Women in the Military," WAMU radio in Washington, DC, June 22, 1992
Videotape 1: The Morton Downey Jr. Show, "Women in Combat"; The Today Show, "Arms & the Woman" (July 31, 1989)
Videotape 2: NBC Morning News, "Women in Combat" (February 1, 1991); News Forum, "Women at War" (February 16, 1991); House Armed Services Committee, "Parents in the Military" (February 19, 1991)
Videotape 3: Currents, WNET/Thirteen, "Women Warriors" (1986) - approx. 30 minutes
Videotape 4: CBS News Eye on America, Tailhook scandal, (August 11, 1992) - approx. 4 minutes
Videotape 5: WHMM, America's Defense Monitor, "Women Warriors" (February 28, 1993) - approx. 30 minutes
Videotape 6: Swearing in of Carolyn Becraft as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, November 19, 1993 (2 copies) - approx. 13 minutes
Videotape 7: Women in the Military Conference, Women's Research and Education Institute, July 28, 1992 - approx. 4.5 hours
Videotape 8: American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), "Women in the Military" (March 1991) - approx. 1 hour, 12 minutes
Videotape 9: "Not Just Another Class" (regarding women at West Point), directed by Joan Jordan - approx. 11 minutes; CSPAN II, Woman's National Democratic Club, "Women in the Military" by Carolyn Becraft (November 1, 1990) - approx. 60 minutes
Videotape 10: CSPAN Live Call-In Program with Carolyn Becraft, "Women in the Military" (November 25, 1983) - approx. 60 minutes
Videotape 11: The Today Show, February 1991 - approx. 5 minutes
Videotape 12: CNN, "Sonya Live" (July 2, 1992) - approx. 28 minutes; CNN, "Crossfire" on the Tailhook Scandal (July 2, 1992) - approx. 30 minutes

Department of Special Collections
Digital Finding Aids