“Bonnie Koppell was the first female rabbi to serve in the U.S. military; she joined the army reserves in 1978 while a rabbinical student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was ordained in 1981. Bonnie served in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Noble Eagle. She spent Passover in Iraq in 2005 and Hanukkah 2005/2006 with Jewish service members in Kuwait and Afghanistan, and was deployed to Iraq for Passover 2006. Bonnie also made a Passover trip to Kuwait in 2010. She has received many military awards, including three Meritorious Service medals, two Army Achievement Medals, Physical Fitness Excellence awards, and an Army Commendation Medal. ”
From an anonymous submission to The Female Soldier tumblr.
