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A Tarleton State University doctoral student and U.S. Army veteran Nicole Burkett has recently been named the inaugural recipient of the U.S. Army Women’s Foundation’s 6888th Scholarship, The Flash Today reported.
Nicole Burkett
The $2,500 award is in honor of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion – nicknamed the “Six Triple Eight” – a Women’s Army Corps (WAC) regiment of 855 women, primarily Black but some Hispanic, who deployed during WWII to sort and route millions of pieces of unprocessed mail the Army could not get to front-line troops.
The 6888th – the only all-female unit in Army history – was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in March 2022.
Burkett’s scholarly work traces the trajectory of Black women in the military. Pursuing an Ed.D. in educational leadership with an emphasis on higher education, Burkett wants to advocate for unheard voices and share stories of the vulnerable and underrepresented.
“As women veterans, sometimes we are not considered ‘real veterans’ because it is a mostly male-dominated organization,” Burkett said. “Additionally, as a Black woman in the military, you are sometimes seen as a commodity because of what you can do and not as a person because of who you are. Combat exposure has a way of changing your mindset to survive and also detach you from those you love.
“There is a preponderance of research about male veterans and some about women veterans; however, there is limited research about Black women veterans and even less about combat Black women veterans. In a growing culture of diversity, equity and inclusion, these stories have to be shared. The goal is to help more understand and see them as real people, not commodities.”
During her 24 years in the military, Burkett was stationed in countries including Korea, Japan, and Afghanistan.
Burkett holds three degrees, including a degree in healthcare administration and public administration with an emphasis on human resources. She also holds an associate degree in supply chain logistics.
Two Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs) – Crossville and McMinnville – have earned VETS Campus certification, signaling commitment to efforts to help veterans succeed academically.
The 2014 Tennessee Veterans Education Transition Support (VETS) Act – which established the VETS Campus program – requires schools to meet a set of seven programs, requirements, and qualifications to be certified by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
Such requirements include efforts such as mentoring and support programs; assessments of prior learning that gives academic credit to veterans for training and experience from military service; annual surveys of student veterans’ perspectives and needs; and special orientation programs.
“We’re delighted that TCAT Crossville and TCAT McMinnville have achieved this important milestone and made their campuses even more welcoming to our veterans than ever,” said Regina Watkins, director of veteran enrollment and benefits in the College System of Tennessee’s Office of Student Success. “It is an honor to have veterans at our institutions. We have a duty to serve them as they served us.”
These two recent certifications mean that 17 colleges in the College System of Tennessee are VETS campuses. The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) and the Office of Student Success aim to get all TBR colleges certified by the end of 2023.
The U.S. Air Force has eased body fat restrictions for recruits as of April 1, The New York Post reported. The percentage of body fat allowed has increased from 20% to 26% BMI (Body Mass Index) for males and 28% to 36% for females. These changes will allow up to 100 more recruits to join the Air Force a month.
The new body fat standards are part of several the Air Force initiatives to appeal to more candidates without lowering the branch’s standards, Air Force Recruiting Service spokeswoman Leslie Brown said.
“The Air Force is looking to open the aperture on qualifying a broader pool of young Americans for service in the Air Force. These changes bring the Air Force in line with DOD (the Department of Defense) policy,” Brown said.
The military has been facing issues with recruitment given national body weight trends. One out of three adults ages 17-24 is too overweight to enlist, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.. And since 2018, 71% of U.S. adults are not eligible to enlist due to weight, level of education, or criminal record.
“The military has experienced increasing difficulty in recruiting soldiers as a result of physical inactivity, obesity, and malnutrition among our nation’s youth. Not addressing these issues now will impact our future national security,” retired Army Lt. General Mark Hertling said.
To note, of U.S. active-duty service members, 19% of military personnel were reported to be obese in 2020, according to the CDC. It costs the DOD almost $1.5 billion annually to address obesity-related healthcare costs of service members and their families, including replacing military personnel removed from service due to their weight.
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