Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 3, Number 3, 1 March 1986 — Recommends Armed Forces Career for Young Women [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Recommends Armed Forces Career for Young Women

Kamaaina Family Member is Air Force General

United States Air Force Brigadier General Frances Iwalani Mossman comes from a family accustomed to ignoring traditional barriers and achieving success and prominence in a variety of fieids. Gen. Mossman is the first woman to achieve the rank of general or flag status in any of the United States' Armed Forces Reserves. Her father, the late Dr. Thomas M. Mossman, was the first person of Hawaiian ancestry to become a medical doctor. Dr. Mossman was City and County physician in Honolulu for many years.

Other well known members of the Mossman family include entertainers Bina, Doug and Sterling Mossman, who passed away Feb. 21; Maui Circuit Court Judge Boyd Mossman; and Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Moanikeala Akaka. Gen. Mossman, who makes her home in Southern California, agreed to be interviewed by Ka Wai Ola O OHA during a recent trip home. She and young nephew, Ian, visited OHA's Honolulu office for the interview. Ian is very good with transformers, likes to draw and enjoys fruit puneh. The general, a tall, slim, strikingly handsome woman is a graduate of Punahou and received her bachelor's degree in government from the University of Hawaii. She did graduate work at the University of California in Berkeley and earned a law degree from George Washington University.

Gen. Mossman joined the Air Force at Hiekam in 1953. Her military assignments have included air traffic control officer and instructor, intelligence officer, planning and programming officer and instructor at the Air War College. The general is the author of several military texts. Currently she serves as "understudy" or mobilization assistant to the director of programs and evaluation at the Pentagon in Washington.

Members of the active reserve go on active duty for a month or so eaeh year. In addition to training, reservists also fulfill daily operational needs of the military services during their tour of active duty. Gen. Mossman enthusiastically recommends a career in the armed forces for young women just out of school. She says there have been many changes since she joined up. Back

then", legislation prohibited women from being promoted to general. Women in service were not allowed to be married or have children. Now, she says, it is Air Force policy to try to assign husbands and wives to the same base. "The changes in the military mirror what is happening in society today". Actually, she says, "the military has pioneered women's rights by opening up to them a variety of non-traditional career opportunities."

In civilian life Gen. Mossman's career encompasses a wide range of activities. Following graduate work at UC Berkeley, she went to work for the Rand Corporation, a Santa Moniea and D.C. "think tank" as an associate economist. After a stint with Planning Research Corporation in Washington, Gen. Mossman did consulting work, took her law degree and then went to work for Orange County, Calif. as chief of zoning. She also served as California transportation commissioner and consultant for UCLA.

Her current interest is "manufactured housing" whieh she says has tremendous potential for providing affordable, attractive high quality homes. Manufactured houses are partially or completely fabricated in the factory, then transported to a home site where the unit is made ready for occupancy. Gen. Mossman says in some parts of this country , 60 percent of all new homes are "mobile manufactured housing". She is hopeful that Hawaii ean establish a factory eapahle of producing manufactured housing rather than rely on foreign imports. In addition to providing quality affordable homes for Hawaii, other advantages include the creation of loeal jobs and the possibility of exporting the units to other Pacific areas. Gen. Mossman, who has been making annual trips to visit relatives in the islands, says she is seriously considering a permanent move back home. She says she would like to become involved in a number of areas including state issues, planning and affordable housing.

Brig. Gen. Frances 1. Mossman