 The first U.S. Naval Academy class to include women graduated May 28, 1980. In October 1975, President Gerald Ford signed a bill stating the United States Military Academies would begin admitting women in the fall of 1976. The Secretary of the Navy determined the number of female midshipmen based on the number of women needed in the Navy and Marine Corps. When the Academy's class of 1980 was inducted in 1976, it included 81 female midshipmen. Janey Mines was among the first group of women and the first African American woman to graduate from the Academy in 1980. Today, women comprise nearly 20% of entering plebs or freshmen at the Academy and they pursue the same academic and professional training as their male classmates. For more information on the United States Naval Academy, visit their website. From the Defense Media Activity, I'm Petty Officer Tony Rosa.