 Welcome to All Hands Update, I'm Petty Officer Ian Cotter. Women accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or WAVES, was established July 30th, 1942, to augment the war effort. At the end of World War II, there were more than 8,000 female officers and many thousands more enlisted WAVES. I think it was crucial for establishing a couple of things. One is that women can do any job, that the military is not solely a Mayo Preserve, but second, it showed just how important it is to get the best of America, the best of America has to offer, whether male or female. Today, women serve on surface ships, submarines and nearly every community is open to them in the Navy. This year, the Navy promoted Admiral Michelle Howard as its first female four-star admiral. Women throughout the fleet continue to make indispensable contributions to our Navy mission and operations.