 Welcome to All Hands Update, and this is your weekly update on Navy history. On October 7, 2001, four weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush announces that U.S. and British forces have conducted airstrikes on Taliban and al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan, beginning Operation Enduring Freedom. A mix of airstrikes from land-based bombers, carrier-based fighter jets, and Tomahawk cruise missiles would continue for five days. On the same day in 1976, President Gerald Ford signs public law 94106, allowing a mission of women into service academies. Just months after the law was signed, 81 women entered the U.S. Naval Academy, 119 entered West Point, and 157 enrolled at the U.S. Air Force Academy. If you enjoyed these facts and would like to know more, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website.