"FLOTUS hails broken 'brass ceilings." (Photos)

FLOTUS hails broken 'brass ceilings'
By CAROL E. LEE | 11/18/09 4:00 PM

First lady Michelle Obama hosted military women in the East Room for an afternoon tea Wednesday, where she praised a sergeant who was killed in the Fort Hood shooting as an example of women’s contribution to the armed forces.

Obama told the story of Staff Sgt. Amy Krueger, who Obama said enlisted in the Army after 9/11 and answered her mother's skepticism about her ability to take on Osama bin Laden with the confident reply: “Watch me.”

“That phrase ‘watch me’ sums up the spirit of our women in uniform throughout our history,” Obama said. “When others doubted you or dismissed you or questioned whether you could endure the training or complete the mission that was your response: ‘Watch me.’”

In her 15-minute remarks, Obama hailed the attendees for breaking “brass ceilings” and said she was proud to sponsor a new Coast Guard cutter bearing the name of Commander Dorothy Stratton, who led the SPARS during World War II. She also highlighted the first Marine One air craft commander who flew an all-female mission in July, “proudly carrying my husband” from the South Lawn to Andrews Air Force Base.

Thanking members of the Joint Chiefs and their wives for attending, Obama told them: “This wasn’t in the script but please stand so that we can recognize and thank all of you … I know you weren’t supposed to do this but you can do it. It’s my house.”

The room was overwhelmingly filled with women, including the first female four-star general and the first African American woman to hold the post of head nurse at Walter Reed. Also attending were Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano – "We’re so proud to have her on our team," Obama said – and second lady Jill Biden, who pledged that she and Obama would “use our platforms” to raise awareness about the concerns of military families.

As Napolitano introduced "first lady Obama," she joked that afternoon tea doesn’t quite capture that grit of what female service members do.

"Maybe that depends on what you put into the tea, I don't know," she said.

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/1109/whats_in_that_tea_8884a0a4-2097-4e67-aea7-3c3a0b654e8c.html