THE WATCH STAFF
When U.S. Army Gen. Laura J. Richardson became the first woman to lead U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), her appointment resonated with women in the military across the hemisphere.
SOUTHCOM, based in Doral, Florida, near Miami, oversees U.S. military operations across South and Central America and the Caribbean. Richardson, 57, is the third woman to lead one of the U.S. military’s 11 unified combatant commands. U.S. Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson was the first when she led U.S Northern Command from 2016 until her retirement in 2018.
“We will draw upon the strength in our neighborhood from partners who share our values of freedom, democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law and gender equality,” Richardson said during her October 29, 2021, swearing-in as SOUTHCOM commander.
Richardson, an Army helicopter pilot, was a highly visible role model for gender equality during her first official visit to regional security partner Colombia from November 16-18, 2021.
“Everywhere we went in Colombia, there were women lining up wanting to take pictures with her,” Lt. Col. Duilia Turner, chief of SOUTHCOM’s Women’s Peace and Security (WPS) office, told Air Force Magazine in a November 24, 2021, article about the visit.
SOUTHCOM’s WPS office, established in 2020, is part of a national effort to promote the meaningful contributions of women in the defense and security sectors around the world and has reached more than 20 countries across the SOUTHCOM region.
(Pictured: Gen. Laura J. Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command, addresses Colombian service members during a discussion on the implementation of the Women Peace and Security initiative.)
In addition to talks with Colombia’s senior military leaders, Richardson also met with service members at Tolemaida Air Base to discuss the WPS initiative and noncommissioned officer development. The base is home to U.S.-made Blackhawk helicopters.
“I think because she’s an aviator, when she saw another woman aviator … there was the eyeball-to-eyeball connection that was really special to see,” Turner, who accompanied Richardson, told Air Force Magazine.
Women make up 32% of the Colombian Air Force, compared with 21% of the U.S. Air Force, a Colombian Air Force spokesperson told the magazine.
“When we share those values of trust, democracy, equality under the law, we have this connection that can only help us to foster this in our region for stability,” Turner explained. “It’s a quiet weapon system, … and that’s a strategic advantage of women, peace and security.”
Turner told Air Force Magazine that Richardson was moved by her visit to Tolemaida, where aviators and other female Colombian service members were motivated by her presence.
“Sometimes,” Turner said, “it takes someone on that level to make that inspirational impact to show, ‘Wow, you really can go super far.’”
IMAGE CREDIT: U.S. EMBASSY COLOMBIA