AIR NATIONAL GUARD FIRST
TO WELCOME WOMEN

by Beverly L. Pack

For almost 200 years, the history of the Georgia National Guard did not include women in its ranks. But all of that changed on 18 November 1956 when First Lieutenant Ellen L. Jones was sworn into the Georgia Air National Guard's 116th Tactical Hospital unit at Dobbins Air Force Base. Colonel John T. Mauldin, an Atlanta physician and Commander of the Tactical Hospital, administered the oath of office to Lieutenant Jones.

Lieutenant Jones, a nurse at Georgia Baptist Hospital, had been attached to the Air Guard since 20 August 1955, as an Air Reserve Officer. She had received her nurse's training at a Vicksburg, Mississippi infirmary.

The appointment of Lieutenant Jones became possible by the passage of Public Law 845 by the 84th Congress, in July 1956. This law authorized female Reserve Officers of the Army and Air Force to be appointed as nurses or women medical specialists of the Army National Guard of the United States or Air National Guard of the United States.

The National Guard had 13 hospital units nationwide which authorized 558 nurses and four women medical specialists. This authority provided a means of enhancing mobilization potential of these medical units. Not only would the nurses receive training within the units but they would also assist with the training of the unit enlisted personnel. If the unit were ordered to active duty, the number of nurses that otherwise would have to be assigned to these units by the Departments of the Army and the Air Force would be reduced by the number of nurses and medical specialists who already were members of the units. Hospital units of the United States Army Reserve already had female nurses and women medical specialists assigned to them. This bill provided similar authority to the National Guard and the Air National Guard. The bill also authorized 48 drills annually and not more than 15 days of active duty for training each year. As a result of this law, both the Armed Forces Reserve Act of 1952 and the National Defense Act of 3 June 1916 had to be amended to include the appointment and enlistment of women into the Army and Air National Guard.

With a current strength of over 11,700 male members of the entire Georgia National Guard, Lieutenant Jones, in a modest response to her induction, couldn't understand what all the "fuss" was about.

With five more vacancies on Colonel Mauldin's staff for nurses, two Atlanta residents became the second and third women in the Georgia Air National Guard on 19 June 1957. Unlike Lieutenant Jones who had prior military service, Betty Silas (left in photo) and Jane Inez Flake (right in photo) were commissioned Second Lieutenants and sworn in by their commander.

Lieutenant Silas, age 26, was a native of Langley, South Carolina and worked in the Orthopedic Department at Georgia Baptist Hospital where she had served for the previous four and a half years.

Lieutenant Flake, age 22, a native of Brooklet, Georgia had also graduated from Georgia Baptist Hospital where she had worked in the emergency clinic. At the time of her commission, she was employed with Drs. Florence and Scott, Atlanta Urologists.

By summer, the three new nurses (L-R, First Lieutenant Jones, Second Lieutenant Flake, Second Lieutenant Silas) participated in their first annual summer encampment at Travis Field from 30 June to 13 July 1957.

Lieutenant Flake graduated from Flight Nurse Training on 13 December 1957 at Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama, becoming the first Flight Nurse in the Georgia Air National Guard. Her 5-week training at Gunter included some 11 hours of flying time in the C-47 and C-131 and instruction in care of polio, pediatrics and psychiatric patients in flight. She attained the rank of Captain by the summer of 1962.

The career of Lieutenant Jones continued to flourish over the years with her promotion to Lieutenant Colonel on 17 August 1968.

National Guard, State of Georgia. "Lt. Ellen L. Jones becomes First Woman in Ga. Nat'l Guard," The Georgia Guardsman, Atlanta, GA, Nov - Dec 1956, Vol. 6 No. 6, p. 7.

National Guard, State of Georgia. "Lts. Flake, Silas Become ANG Nurses," The Georgia Guardsman, Atlanta, GA, Jan - Feb 1957, Vol. 7 No. 1, p. 5.

National Guard, State of Georgia. "Whistling Jets of 116th Fighter Interceptor Wing Mastered by ANG Pilots at Travis Field Camp," The Georgia Guardsman, Atlanta, GA, Jul - Aug 1957, Vol. 7 No. 4, pp. 16 - 17.

National Guard, State of Georgia. Photo Page, The Georgia Guardsman, Atlanta, GA, Jan - Feb 1958, Vol. 8 No. 1, p. 10.

National Guard, State of Georgia. Photo Page, The Georgia Guardsman, Atlanta, GA, Jul - Aug 1958, Vol. 8 No. 4, p. 4.

Public Law 845, 84th Congress, 2nd Session, July 30, 1956, Legislative Response by the House of Representatives and the United States Senate to the Chairman of the Armed Forces Committee, Honorable Carl Vinson, D-Ga.

You may write to me at email Beverly L. Pack