On Oct. 12 and 13 at Red Rock Park, off N.M. 118 in Gallup, the second annual Veterans Summit is held. Military veterans, retirees, National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve service members, transitioning active-duty personnel, along with family, friends, and members of the community, are invited to attend this free event.

A special program and presentation centers on the involvement of women who participated in combat roles while serving in the armed forces.

Through the efforts of David C’de Baca, a retired Army colonel living in Corrales, who has been seriously researching the history of the Army’s Navajo Scouts, an interesting aspect of that colorful unit came to light.

In 1886, as the Apache conflicts were winding down, one last effort at recruiting a couple dozen new scouts was made.

Aside from a number of young men, two Navajo women also answered the call. Once these women successfully passed the entry tests, they were signed on as full-fledged members of the company of Navajo Scouts for a six-month tour of duty out of Fort Wingate.

These two women, Mexicana Chiquito (also registered as Nal-Kai) and Muchacha, participated in the final capture of Geronimo and his followers in September of 1886, and were honorably discharged on Oct. 11 that same year. Both Chiquito and Muchacha received pensions in recognition of their services.

On the morning of Oct. 12, two officers from the United States Army Women’s Museum in Fort Lee, Va., will make a special presentation about these two women, the first female enlistees of the U.S. Army to serve and fight in a strictly combat situation.