Retired Gen. Ann Dunwoody – the most decorated female Army general in history and the armed forces’ first female 4-star general – was honored with the Thayer Award on Oct. 10 at a ceremony at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The Sylvanus Thayer Award has been awarded by West Point since 1958 “to an outstanding citizen of the United States whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify personal devotion to the ideals expressed in the West Point motto, “Duty, Honor, Country.”

That certainly sums up the general’s career.

Gen. Dunwoody led the Army Materiel Command before she retired in 2012 and is considered one of the premier logisticians of our time. Her unit “manages the global supply chain, synchronizing logistics and sustainment activities across the Army.”

In 2008, Dunwoody was the first woman in the U.S. military (or any uniformed service) to achieve a four-star officer rank for a career that spanned nearly 38 years.

According to the award announcement, Dunwoody achieved several notable “firsts” in addition to becoming the first female 4-star general.

She was the first woman to command a battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division; the first female general officer at Fort Bragg, NC; and the first woman to command the Combined Arms Support Command at Fort Lee, Virginia.

For Dunwoody, service to the country runs in the family – her great grandfather, grandfather, father, brother, sister, niece, and husband are all war veterans too.

But as a female officer in a male-dominated field, she had to overcome doubts from her colleagues.

She revealed her strategy for dealing with detractors in a 2015 interview with Army Times following the release of her book A Higher Standard: Leadership Strategies from America’s First Female Four-Star General:

“…I had advocates, then there were detractors. They just don’t like you, maybe they think it’s a man’s Army and women don’t belong here. The key is how you deal with people. You don’t stoop to name-calling. You be professional, demonstrate you’re capable and sometimes you convert people. In the military, people want the best leader on the team.”

Over the years, she revealed that sometimes she got the benefit of the doubt, but other times she had to push the issue to be accepted:

“I’ve watched doors open my entire career. Some are opened for you, some you have to kick down. I believe if someone is qualified, and I mean fully qualified, they should be able to go through that door.”

Her commitment to hard work and excellence certainly played the largest role in her success. Now she’s serving as a role model to other women in the armed forces.

The highly decorated veteran has received multiple honors over the years, including the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Legion of Merit. She’s even been recognized by France with its National Order of Merit.

In 2018, she was inducted into the inaugural class of the 82nd Airborne Division Hall of Fame.

Scroll down below to hear Gen. Dunwoody talk about her illustrious career.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: Army Times, CNN, West Point Association of Graduates