Posted on 09/16/2002 5:17:31 PM PDT by swarthyguy
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Sgt. Nicola Hall knew something was amiss when the Muslim woman in her 60s, clad in a burkha, pushed her hands away as the military policewoman gently patted her down for weapons.
When Hall, 22, passed a metal-detecting wand over the woman’s body, it had gone crazy. During the pat down, she pulled out an AK-47 rifle automatic rifle strapped to the woman’s leg and 30 rounds of ammunition tucked under her breast.
“She started screaming; she lashed out at me,” Hall recalled. “I said, ‘Why did you hide these from me?’ ”
The incident happened last week during Operation Champion Strike, an 82nd Airborne Division mission through the Bermel Valley of southeastern Afghanistan.
Although female soldiers don’t typically join infantry units during combat missions, Hall and another MP, Spc. Kristine Franc, both from the 21st Military Police Company of Fort Bragg, N.C., were there specifically to search Muslim women.
In the sensitive job of winning Afghan “hearts and minds,” the job Hall and Franc perform is among the most delicate. Protecting the modesty of women is of utmost importance in Islam, and body searches are by nature invasive. One wrongly conducted search can turn a whole village against the Americans.
“By the rules of engagement, we’re allowed to search women,” said Maj. Scott Harris, plans officer for the 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. “But we try to honor the customs.”
It’s a critical job, too. The elusive Taliban and al-Qaida have proved they will hide weapons anywhere. Two weeks ago, during a previous operation, soldiers found eight mortar tubes under the burkhas of Muslim women.
While soldiers searched the men and male children outdoors, the two MPs searched the women in a separate room indoors. Hall, whose unit was inspecting a shopping bazaar, conducted her searches in a doctor’s office.
Franc, 20, whose unit was inspecting a village, conducted her searches in a room in a house.
Hall and Franc cover their hair and faces during the searches. A doctor or village elder, a translator and an American guard are present, but all turn their backs.
Both MPs said the women they were searching didn’t know what to think of the situation.
“They were either scared, or they were absolutely amazed that I was out there,” Hall said.
“I don’t think they believed I was a female until I took my Kevlar (helmet) off,” Franc said.
The job is not new to either woman. Searches are a routine part of an MP’s job, and both deployed previously to Kosovo with their company. But Kosovo is a secular society, and few Muslim women there wear burkhas or other religious coverings.
“We’re trained to be sensitive to anybody’s needs,” Hall said. “We’re always coming up against different cultures, races, religions.”
They have also learned how to work and live with their fellow soldiers.
Although their 10-member MP detachment includes five women, they live in environments that are mostly male. Female soldiers still do not serve in front-line infantry units; during Champion Strike each was the only woman camping in the desert with hundreds of men.
They thought the situation probably was more awkward for the male soldiers than for them.
“I’ve always been around guys, stayed in the field with guys,” Hall said. “They were very professional out there.”
If you do your job right, they agree, you will get respect. Being a soldier is about watching your buddy’s back.
“I’m not going to let any of my guys get hurt,” Franc said.
female al Qaeda responds, "HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN"
Reminds me of the truck driver who stopped at the greasy spoon for a bite to eat.
The waitress was nothing short of a hag, but he was hungry, so he ordered a couple of burgers and a hot dog.
He watched as she opened the freezer, pulled out a frozen hamburger patty and slapped it under her left arm.
He continued to watch as she slapped a second patty under her right arm.
When she removed a frozen hot dog from a freezer bag and began to pull up the front of her dress, he found his voice and said, "What in Hell are you doing?"
"Defrostin' the meat," she replied.
Wracked with hunger, he shot back, "Well, I'll have the burgers... But forget about the hot dog."
Did the old burqua-broad also have a spare barrel for that Kalashnikov by any chance?
What is wrong with this picture? I say let them see pround, strong, and independent American women as they are. After all, what about our sensitivities, specifically those of the women MPs? Why should they have to cover their face? The Burka and facial coverings are no longer required by Afghan law, and wouldn't apply to the US military in a war zone, even if they did. I think this is taking this "sensitivity" thing a bit too far...with one caveat, if it works better, loosens more tongues or gets the Burqua Babes to turn over more weapons, they by all means ladies, cover your faces for your country, not for theirs.
Consider the phsyops factor alone....
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