Timeline of women in warfare and the military in the United States, 2000–2010

This article lists events involving women in warfare and the military in the United States from 2000 until 2010. For 2011 onward, please see Timeline of women in warfare and the military in the United States, 2011–present.

2000 Spring: The first woman commands a U.S. Navy warship at sea (Kathleen McGrath). The vessel is assigned to the Persian Gulf. 1 June: Deborah Walsh became the first woman in the U.S. Coast Guard promoted to chief warrant officer in Aviation Engineering (AVI). 1 July: Regina Mills became the U.S. Navy's first female Aviation Deck LDO. July: Lucille "Pam" Thompson became the first African-American woman to serve as a U.S. Coast Guard special agent. She served in this capacity until July 2004. The U.S. Air Force promoted the first female pilot to brigadier general. U.S. Navy women are among the victims when the USS Cole is attacked by a suicide bomber in Yemen. The Women at Sea (WAS) Distribution and Assignment Working Group was established in the U.S. Navy. The Army National Guard promoted the first woman to major general. First woman in the U.S. Coast Guard promoted to Flag Officer: RADM Vivien Crea. First woman in the U.S. Coast Guard promoted to Reserve RADM: Mary P. O'Donnell, USCGR. First African-American woman in the U.S. Coast Guard promoted to master chief petty officer: Angela McShan. Eleanor Mariano became the first Filipino-American woman to be promoted to rear admiral in the navy.

2001 Spring: Coral Wong Pietch became the first woman Army Judge Advocates General (JAG), and the first Asian-American woman to reach the rank of general in the United States Army. 11 September: During the 9/11 terror attacks, U.S combat pilots Lt. Col. Marc H. Sasseville and Lt. Heather "Lucky" Penney-García were ordered to bring down the hijacked airliner United Airlines Flight 93 by ramming their F-16s into it. The plane crashed in Pennsylvania before they could do so, however. Furthermore, in the attack at the Pentagon ten active duty, reserve, and retired servicewomen were among the casualties. Servicewomen were activated and deployed in support of the war on terrorism. The first female Blue Angel flight surgeon was Lt. Tamara Schnurr, who was a member of the 2001 team. An Air National Guard security force woman became the first woman to complete the U.S. counter-sniper course, the only U.S. military sniper program open to women at the time. Soledad Rodriguez became the first woman assigned to the Deep Submergence Unit (DSU) in the Navy. The US Army Women's Museum opened at Ft. Lee, Virginia. Susan Woo became the first female West Point cadet to win an East/West Center Scholarship. Kimberly Pienkowski became the first female West Point cadet to win a first team all-America in air rifle. COL Ann Horner became the first female garrison commander at West Point. CDR Sharon Donald-Baynes became the first African-American woman to command an operations ashore unit in the U.S. Coast Guard when she took command of Group Lower Mississippi River based in Memphis, Tennessee. ENS Andrea Parker became the first black woman to graduate with an engineering degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. CAPT Norma Hackney became the first woman in the U.S. Navy to have a major combatant command afloat, USS Saipan (LHA 2). CMDCM Evelyn Banks became the first female Command Master Chief of an Airwing in the U.S. Navy, CVW-14.

2002 March: Vernice Armour becomes the first African-American female combat pilot in the United States military. She flew the AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopter in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and eventually served two tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. June: CAPT Jane M. Hartley, USCGR, was designated as the Commanding Officer of Marine Safety Office Wilmington, North Carolina and as such became the first woman in the U.S. Coast Guard to become Captain of the Port. October: Diane E. Beaver lawyer and former officer in the United States Army. drafted a legal opinion Judge Advocate General Corps advocating for the legality of harsh interrogation techniques that were being proposed for use at Guantanamo, including waterboarding; exposure to extremes of temperature; the use of non-injurious physical contact; and "scenarios designed to convince the detainee that death or severely painful consequences are imminent for him and/or his family." She also advised that Category II and III methods (the harshest) "undergo a legal review prior to their commencement".Dunlavey Memo, 11 October 2002 29 October: Rear Admiral Annette E. Brown, USN assumed duties as commander, Navy Region Southeast on 29 October 2002. Brown was the first woman to command Navy Region Southeast. Lieutenant Junior Grade Angelina Hidalgo, USCG, became the second Hispanic-American female to command an afloat unit. An enlisted female U.S. Marine (Sergeant Jeannette L. Winters) is killed in an aircraft crash in Pakistan, the first woman to die in the Global War on Terror (specifically Operation Enduring Freedom). The U.S. Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) is issued a new charter narrowing its focus to issues pertaining to military families, recruitment, readiness and retention. A retired Marine three-star general is appointed chairman of the new, downsized advisory committee. For the first time in US history, a woman becomes the top enlisted advisor in one of the military components. She is sworn in as the Command Sergeant Major of the US Army Reserve. Jeannie Huh becomes the first female West Point cadet to win a Mitchell Scholarship. Lauren Rowe becomes the first West Point cadet to win Patriot League "Defensive Player of the Year" award in women's soccer and only the second to win regional first-team all-America recognition. Then-CDR Gail Kulisch took command of the Atlantic Strike Team, becoming the first female commanding officer of a Strike Team in the U.S. Coast Guard. Cadet 1/c Sarah Salazar became the first Hispanic female regimental commander at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. CAPT Deborah Loewer became the first female SWO (1110) to be selected for flag officer in the U.S. Navy. MIDN 1/C Emelia Spencer became the first woman from the U.S. Naval Academy to be selected as a Rhodes Scholar. CMDCM Jacqueline DiRosa became the first female Force Master Chief in the U.S. Navy (Bureau of Medicine and Surgery – BUMED). Sheryl Gordon became the Alabama National Guard's first female general officer.

2003 January: 2003 US Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal emerges. March: PFC Jessica Lynch, USA, is embroiled in a controversy over differing accounts of her capture and rescue in Iraq. March: Shoshana Johnson becomes the first black female prisoner of war in United States history. 23 March: SPC Lori Piestewa, USA, is killed in action. She is the first woman soldier to be killed in action in the 2003 Iraq Conflict, and the first Native American woman to be killed in action while serving in the United States Military. 7 April: Capt Kim Campbell, USAF, gains favorable notice when she successfully pilots her aircraft back to base despite extensive damage in a combat mission. October, RDML Deborah Loewer, SWO, became the first warfare qualified woman promoted to flag rank in the U.S. Navy. 15 September: SPC Alyssa Peterson, United States Army, died a "non-hostile weapons discharge" at the Tal Afar airbase on the Syrian–Iraqi frontier. Subsequent investigation revealed that she had been placed under suicide watch after refusing further participation in interrogation sessions which she said constituted torture of Iraqi prisoners. 2 November: SPC Frances M. Vega, United States Army, was killed as a surface-to-air missile was fired by insurgents in Al Fallujah and it hit the U.S. Chinook helicopter that she was in. She was one of 16 soldiers who lost their lives in the crash that followed.Griffith, Frank. "Puerto Rican soldier killed in Chinook helicopter downing buried with full military honors" . Associated Press, 10 November 2003. December: U.S. Coast Guard helicopter pilot LCDR Sidonie Bosin was recognized by the First Flight Centennial Commission's 100 Heroes Committee (formed for the commemoration of the Wright Brothers first powered flight) as being one of the "top 100 aviators of all time." She was also the first female aviation officer in charge of air crews deployed to the Coast Guard cutter Polar Sea in the Antarctic, including one of an all-female flight crew. Kayla Williams, United States Army, was deployed to Iraq. She later wrote about her experiences in her book, Love My Rifle More Than You. Mary L. Walker, the General Counsel of the Air Force, gained notoriety for her role in a 2003 review by the United States Department of Defense of the so-called Torture Memos.Rumsfeld Memo to the Pentagon Counsel, 15 January 2003Memo From the Pentagon Counsel to the General Counsel for the Air Force, 17 January 2003From History Commons ,Dana Priest and R. Jeffrey Smith, "Memo Offered Justification for Use of Torture", Washington Post, 8 June 2004. A copy of the report is available here .Report of the Pentagon Working Group, 4 April 2003 The U.S Marine Corps Logistics Base's first female brown belt instructor was certified (Cpl. Theresa Barnes). First active-duty women in the U.S. Coast Guard to serve in a combat zone: when CGC Boutwell served in the Persian Gulf in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom from January 2003 to June 2003. LT Holly Harrison became the first U.S. Coast Guard woman to command a cutter in a combat zone. She was also the first Coast Guard woman to be awarded the Bronze Star Medal. Rear Admiral Carol I. Turner became the first female chief of the U.S. Navy Dental Corps. Sarah Schechter became the first female rabbi in the U.S. Air Force. Air Force Academy removed its sign stating "Bring Me Men". In 2004 they replaced it with a sign stating "Integrity First. Service Before Self. Excellence in All We Do," which is the Air Force's statement of core values. The U.S. Navy opens Sea Operational Detachments (SEAOPDETS) to women. CMDCM Beth Lambert became the first female command master chief of an aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy, . CMDCM Evelyn Banks became the first female CNOCM of U.S. Navy Recruiting.

2004 2 January: CPT Kimberly Hampton, USA, becomes the first female military pilot to be shot down and killed by an enemy in United States history.Editorial: 11 September brought a 'new normal': Status quo has been upended. The Beaufort Gazette, S.C. wire feed distributed by Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. Washington: 10 September 2006. pg. 1*. Wire feed distributed by Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. She is also the first female combat casualty in Iraq from South Carolina."Parents, fiancé lay to rest first woman from South Carolina to die in Iraq" , Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-09-28."Seven Inducted into South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame." South Atlantic Conference. press release. June 11, 2004. Retrieved 28 September 2007. 9 April: SPC Michelle Witmer is killed in Baghdad. She is the first woman from the United States National Guard to be killed in action in history. Her sister was subsequently removed from action by the military, citing the risk that enemy forces might target her in an effort to harm U.S. morale. 13 August: MGySgt. Abigail D. Olmos, support equipment asset manager, became the first female Master Gunnery Sergeant in her field.