The Nurse Corps
The Army Nurse Corps (ANC) was officially established in 1901. The ANC was to support the Army Medical Department. These were the first women in the Army. Then, in 1908, Teddy Roosevelt signed the Naval Appropriations Bill establishing the Navy Nurse Corp (NNC). The Naval Medical School Hospital in Washington, D.C., received its first 20 women. Unfortunately, 
room and board were not included, so the women had to foot the bill. The ANC and the NNC had reserve units so that nurses would always be available in times of need. The Airforce Nurse Corp (ANC) began on July 1, 1949, when Army flight nurses were transferred to the Airforce.
Since then, women have served as nurses in the military. In 1917, 20,000 women nurses were signed up by the Red Cross. These women served in American units. Although kept away from the battlefields initially, they were eventually moved closer. By 1920, they were given the relative rank of officer, but it wasn’t until 1947 that nurses received permanent commissions. Men weren’t admitted to the ANC until 1956.
