Military & Armed Forces

Barkalow was among the first women to enter the military academy at West Point. Her new memoir, "In the Men's House," chronicles her rise from cadet to commander. She currently works in the Pentagon as a special assistant to the Army Chief of Staff.

National Organization for Women vice president Patricia Ireland says that the cultural place and treatment of women both in Arab countries and the American military is evidence of a gender apartheid. She joins Fresh Air to explain her organization's positions.

Terry talks with Marie Burke, a wife and mother in Calhoun, Georgia. Burke has three sons, all of whom are in the Georgia National Guard and have been called to active duty.

Terry interviews Jim Creighton, the staff councilor with Friends Military Counciling, a group sponsored by the Quakers; he advises men and women in the military who object to the Gulf War. Afterwards, she speaks with Sergeant Reginald Bullock, an Air Force recruiter in the Philadelphia area. We'll find out how his job has changed in the past week,

Terry Gross talks with the military historian about the conflict in the Middle East. They discuss when war is warranted, and acknowledge the suspicions many citizens may have about those motives. Howard teaches at Yale University.

Terry talks with Alex Molnar, the founder of the Military Families Support Network, a support group that's very critical of the government's handling of the war.

Marian Faye Novak was pregnant when her husband, David, a Marine, was sent to Vietnam. Her daughter, Jeannie is now an army officer serving in the Gulf war. We talk with Marian about her new memoir about the Vietnam War, Lonely Girls with Burning Eyes, and her feelings today about her daughter's military service. We also talk with David about what it's like for him to be waiting at the other end.

Terry talks with Louise Hall, of the Military Family Support Network. As a mother with a son in the Gulf, she shares her continuing anxieties about his safety.

Terry talks again to Sir Michael Howard, professor of military and naval history at Yale. He'll discuss the Allied military strategy in the Gulf and how it compares to past wars throughout history.

Carolyn Becraft is an expert on issues concerning military families and women in the military. She's the director of the Women and the Military Project. She and Terry will discuss the role of women in the Gulf War.

Tim Weiner reports on national security issues and the justice department for the Philadelphia Inquirer. In 1988, he won his second Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles on secret Pentagon spending. He discusses the A-X weapon - a stealth bomber which has just been put into production. It's predecessor, the A12, was cancelled because of cost overruns and unnaccountability.

Marty talks with science writer Seth Shulman about how the military has left toxic wastes in bases all across the country. His new book is "The Threat at Home: Confronting the Toxic Legacy of the U.S. Military." (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Schwarzkopf commanded American troops in the Mideast during the Gulf War. He's got a new memoir, "It Doesn't Take a Hero," in which he claims "hawks" in the Bush administration pushed to start a land offensive against Iraq before troops were ready and diplomatic efforts were exhausted.

Military policy expert Carolyn Becraft joins Terry to discuss how women soldiers will participate in the U.S.'s humanitarian mission in Somalia.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the new, much-hyped film starring Tom Cruise, Demi Moore and Jack Nicholson.

Terry speaks with Admiral Ge LaRocque, director of the Center for Defense Information in Washington, D.C. They discuss the future of the American military: Is the American military becoming a world police force in the post-Cold War era? General LaRocque offers an analysis of yesterday's allied air strike on missile bases in southern Iraq and also sheds light on question of military invervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Balkans. They also talk about the American military and the U.N. and how the military may fare during the transition between the Bush and Clinton presidencies.

Writer Allan Berube wrote the book, "Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women In World War II." He spent ten years interviewing gay and lesbian veterans, searching out wartime letters, and consulting newly declassified government documents. He found that hundreds of thousands of gays entered the military despite a procedure for screening out homosexuals. Terry will talk with him about the ban on gays in the military and the hearings going on now, and whether it should be repealed.

Journalist Randy Shilts is the national correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle. His book, "And the Band Played On," was one of the earliest written about the AIDS epidemic and it's impact on the gay community. Shilts' new book is about gay life in the military, called "Conduct Unbecoming." He started the it in 1988, before the current debate about gays in the military.

Stewart Udall served three terms in Congress, and as Secretary of the Interior under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He is the author of a new book, "The Myths of August", (Pantheon) which chronicles his struggle as one of the first lawyers to represent thousands of Americans who were injured or killed by the testing of atomic weapons. Udall spent years investigating and litigating cases filed by Southwestern families who had been harmed by atmospheric testing of atomic bombs, and by families of Navajo men who developed lung cancer after mining Uranium for the Government.

Nelson Peery has just published his memoir, "Black Fire: The Making of an American Revolutionary," about coming of age against a background of racism, the Depression, and World War II. The book chronicles Peery's travels west during the Depression, and his experiences as a soldier fighting in World War II. He writes about his simultaneous love for America and hatred for the people who discriminated against African Americans, especially in the Army.