TIKRIT, Iraq - The roadside bomb near the main American military base here killed one woman soldier, made another a hero, and turned attention to the new role American women are playing in the war in Iraq. Posted on 01/28/2004 9:14:34 AM PST by Veritas_est
Female U.S. Soldiers Under Fire Associated Press January 28, 2004
TIKRIT, Iraq - The roadside bomb near the main American military base here killed one woman soldier, made another a hero, and turned attention to the new role American women are playing in the war in Iraq.
The nature of the conflict, with U.S. soldiers facing guerrillas, not conventional troops, has blurred military traditions, and put usually rear echelon troops such as the military police - with their large contingent of women - under direct enemy fire, along with the infantry, special forces and other front line troops.
Although women are barred from front line units, more than 10 American women soldiers have died in Iraq since U.S. led troops invaded in March. Many others have been wounded.
On Oct. 1, the dangers to women soldiers in Iraq struck home for the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division when Pfc. Analaura Esparza Gutierrez, 21, of Houston, was killed as a roadside bomb struck her Humvee near Takrit, ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's hometown and a center of resistance to U.S. forces.
She was the first women from the division to die in Iraq. At the same time, the quick thinking and bravery shown by Gutierrez's friend and fellow support soldier, Spc. Karen Guckert, saved two troops injured in the blast and won her a U.S. Army Commendation Medal for Valor.
"We were deeply moved when we lost Analaura Esparza," Lt. Col. Steve Russell, commander of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division, said. "This is not to say we are not moved when we lose a male soldier, but her loss deeply affected us in additional ways."
But Guckert and some other women serving in Iraq have different feelings about the dangers facing women soldiers.
"Infantrymen say to me they couldn't handle seeing a female getting hurt because it would remind them of their sister, aunt or wife," said Guckert, 24, of Yakima, Wash. "I understand their point, but at the same time we are all soldiers and we can all die for our country. So we can't we fight for our country?"
Many female soldiers like Guckert acknowledge that the physical stresses of combat, which include carrying packs close to their own weight for long distances or lifting men wounded in action, might prove too tough for some women.
But most women, particularly military police soldiers who have been trudging Iraqi streets and conducting house raids for months, say this conflict has provided them with the same tasks as any infantryman.
"Any soldier out here is at risk, whether they are male or female or infantry, military police or anything else," said Lt. Amanda Lee Dorsey, a 25-year-old military police officer from Hickory Hills, Ill.
On Nov. 30 - a day that has gone down in recent army folklore as "Bloody Sunday" - military police, joined by infantry, armored and engineer forces, waged a half-hour gunbattle in Samarra with 60 Iraqis firing rockets and machine guns. The insurgents were trying to ambush Iraqi security trucks transporting money to Iraqi banks.
U.S. officials say 54 Iraqis died, including 36 killed by American military police. One woman soldier was credited with killing three of them. No U.S. soldiers died in the clash, but six were injured, including a woman.
"When it came down to it, my female and male soldiers of the military police were all fierce and killed many," said Lt. Col. David Poirier, commander of the 720th Military Police Battalion.
Sgt. Maj. Angela Wilson, 49, the senior ranking enlisted military police soldier in Iraq, has witnessed great attitude shifts in the military during her 29 years of service.
"I remember when it was optional for women to fire an M-16 rifle during basic training," she said. "We also had to learn how to wear makeup properly in the field.
"Now basic training is the same for all people, male and female. I am waiting for the day when they say women can enter the special forces. It doesn't mean everyone can do it, but it means that people should be given the opportunity to be assessed on their own merits."
Poirier said the female soldiers have been invaluable during house raids - a staple task of the military police - in which they have calmed Iraqi women in targeted homes and searched their belongings without causing offense. Iraqis find it highly objectionable for male soldiers to deal with women.
Lt. Alexis Marks, a platoon leader, said when she was going through West Point, she was constantly being told that the military police was the "chick's infantry."
"But in the MPs, nobody sees a gender difference," said the 24-year-old from Melbourne, Fla.
One of her soldiers, 23-year-old team leader Cpl. Casey Williams, said she is unfazed by risks faced during her patrols.
"I think it's cool to be in a dangerous position. It's kind of fun," Williams, from Algiers, La., told the AP while driving to Samarra. "In the MPs, it is the closest women can get to combat."
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Hey honey, this isn't extreme sports.
She won't be re-upping after the first RPG attack.
She didn't say it from an armchair. Something to keep in mind.
Why would anyone say NO???
"We also had to learn how to wear makeup properly in the field.
Oh brother! Makeup? What for?
maybe she knows. Just maybe.
If she's from Algiers, Iraq must seem tame to her. That's "rock 'em sock 'em" rough country across the river from New Orleans.
BUMP
You just reminded me of one of my favorite movies: "Iron Eagle II."
American General Chappy Sinclair (Lou Gossett, Jr) to his Soviet counterpart, during a firefight: "After this is over, you oughta come visit America with me."
Russian: "I hear in America, they shoot communists in the street!"
Gossett: "Hell, in my hometown of Detroit, they shoot EVERYBODY in the street!"
Pure fantasy. Basic training has been changed to reflect the gender-differences.
"Recruit Honey...you just get down there and give me as many of them lil push-ups as you feel comfortable with in the next 2 minutes. Yes Recruit Honey...put yr knees on the ground...and its ok if yr back is not straight. Ok Recruit honey...we'll skip that nasty 'Ol crab walk up & back...and if you don't mind...can you try a pull-up over there? And Recruit Honey...don't worry about that heavy 'Ol 60 lb ruck on that road march in the field. Troopies don't have do that anymore."
Flame away if you need to. But there is a lot more to being a Soldier than is being presented. And as for the day when Recruit Honey gets her RANGER or SF Flash, well...stay indoors 'cause porcine fecal matter will be fallin' from the skies.
(can I p.o. anyone else today?)
Neither do most guys.
Hey honey, this isn't extreme sports.
You couldn't tell it from the training female officer cadets receive.
There's a possible place in Ranger or SF units for some women, but it'd be for a very few- less than one in a hundred- just as Rangers and SF hardly represent the average grunt, either. And SDOD-Delta has had female *friends* who help make their penetrations more effective; *everybody knows* the USA doesn't have any female SF operators, right?
But I really think the most likely place for female soldiers in combat would be in armor. Aside from the loader's position duties, there's a minimum of strength, particularly upper body strength required for being a tank crewman- and an automatic loader could take care of such requirements in that respect, in future tank designs if not in today's Abrams.
Women are turning out to be pretty decent F16 and A10 pilots- even the Israelis have a female F16 driver now- and a few could surely be found who could handle the driver's and gunner's jobs in a tank. Though the thought of an idiot female 2nd Lieutenant tank platoon scares me to death, the same is just as frightening when considering some such male counterparts. But I'd bet it could be made to happen more effectively in Armor than in Infantry, Artillery, or the Combat Engineers.
Oh brother! Makeup? What for?
Well, it's SO helpful for some evening functions:
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