The four highest-ranking women in the U.S. military share their experiences.

In the history of the U.S. military, there have been hundreds of four-star generals and admirals, but only ten have been women. Well, tonight, in honor of Women's History Month, we sat down in an exclusive interview with the only four females currently serving at the military's highest rank. Great to meet you. For the first time, all together. Thank you. It's a pleasure to serve, and there's four of us, right? A first. And so, pretty soon there will be no more firsts. The highest-ranking women in their branches. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan is the head of the Coast Guard, America's first female service chief, and the only woman to sit in with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The journey we've all been on has taken sustained, persistent efforts, endeavor. Yes, there's been some difficult people along the way, but, you know, they're not sitting here in these chairs right now. Army General Laura Richardson flew helicopters in Iraq and led an assault helicopter battalion. She now leads the U.S. Southern Command. Where else in the military can you be a helicopter pilot, work at the White House, work at the United States Capitol, work at the Pentagon, and lead American sons and daughters in combat? General Vanovos, for a long time, you were the only female four-star. What was that like? Yeah, it was lonely. Air Force General Jacqueline Vanovos leads the U.S. Transportation Command. As a teenager, she had her pilot's license before her driver's license. But when she signed up for the Air Force, she wasn't allowed to fly fighter jets because she's a woman. A senior leader said, really, there really is no reason that women should be here, and you don't belong here. I talked to fellow wingmen who were helping me so that I would be sharp so that when I ended up flying with that person again, I would demonstrate that I had every right to be there. Admiral Lisa Franchetti is the number two officer at the Navy and once commanded a carrier strike group. On her first deployment, her commanding officer told her she wasn't welcome there, a situation each of these women have faced. He made it very clear to me that he didn't think women should be on our ship, and he was going to make sure that I did not succeed. But how did you deal with it, being discriminated against, knowing that a boss didn't want you to succeed? I just worked harder. And, you know, I was going to make sure that what he wanted to have happen wasn't going to happen. Today, all four of these women, who are also mothers, recognize how far women have come in the U.S. military and acknowledge how far they still have to go. When I talk to young sailors now, they don't actually even know that there was a time when women were not on ships or flying combatant aircraft. It's all about who's on the bench and who are we in the pipeline, reaching way down, not just at our colonel level, but to the majors and captains and grooming them to fill our seats. Well, it was an extraordinary conversation with them at the Military Women's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. And we're going to have much more of our exclusive interview with these four stars, including how they hope to bring more women into the military. That's next week on Person to Person on the CBS News app.