Living Legends and Full Agency

Chapter 9 Commanding the Land: The Soldiers

Colonel Beverly “Sam” Stipe, U.S. Army, Retired

First Woman to Be Assigned to a Nike Hercules Battery Missile Unit First Female Assigned to a Patriot Battery Missile Unit

It was after seeing her father’s uniforms that were tucked away and long forgotten in the attic that first led to this senior Army officer’s love for the military. Later, she developed a passion to become an Air Defense Artillery Vulcan platoon leader following her commission. During her formidable military career, despite her designation as a noncombatant simply because of her gender, she virtually spent all of her time in roles ...