Kirsten Holmstedt - Band of Sisters: American Women at War in Iraq

Kirsten Holmstedt

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American Women at War in Iraq

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BAND OF

American Womenat War in Iraq

In Iraq, the frontlines are everywhere... and everywhere in Iraq, nomatter what their job descriptions say,women in the U.S. military are fighting.More than 155,000 of them have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since2003four times the number of womensent to Desert Storm in 1991. More than430 have been wounded and over 70killedalmost twice the number of American women lulled in action in Korea,Vietnam, and Desert Storm combined.

But should women be in combat? Dothey have what it takes to be warriors?Compelling questions once, but nowempty because, more than ever, Americanwomen are in combat, and they are warriors. The real question is: What are theirexperiences of war? We havent heardtheir storiesuntil now.

Band of Sisters presents twelve of thesegroundbreaking and often heart-wrenching stories of American women in combatin Iraq, such as:

(eontinued on back flap)

To all American service memberspast, present, and future.

Foreword ..vii

Introduction.xi

Schoolhouse Rocks.1

Shoot Down.27

Not Ready to Be an Angel .53

Call Sign: Krusty.81

The Little Bird that Could.115

Little Dee with a Big Gun...139

Who Wants to Be Average? .155

Taking Command of the Herk.185

Live from Iraq.217

The Healers of the Guardians of Peace .253

Roll with It.283

Epilogue.309

Afterword...315

Acknowledgments .321

Index .323

Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2017 with funding fromKahle/Austin Foundation

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On November 12, 2004, Army Captain Tammy Duckworth lostboth of her legs when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter she wasco-piloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqiinsurgents. The explosion almost completely destroyed her rightarm as well, breaking it in three places and tearing tissue fromthe back side of it. Duckworth received a Purple Heart onDecember 3 and was promoted to major on December 21 at theWalter Reed Army Medical Center, where she was presented withan Air Medal and Army Commendation Medal. On November21, 2006, Duckworth was appointed the director of the IllinoisDepartment of Veterans Affairs by the state governor.

I WILL ALWAYS PLACE THE MISSION FIRST. I WILL NEVER QUIT. I WILLnever accept defeat. I will never leave a fallen comrade. Thesestatements are portions of the Soldiers Creed. They are referredto as the Warrior Ethos. These words were a lifeline that helped mesurvive my injuries and the tedium of day after day of endless painin the hospital. They are gender-neutral statements that get at theheart of what it means to be an American Soldier today. I am not abig fan of being identified as a woman anything. I worked so hard

viii_Band of Sisters

not to be different from the other Soldiers for most of my career.Being effective in combat requires only that you place the missionfirst, that you will never quit, never accept defeat, and that when abuddy falls, you do not leave them behind.

Like some of the women profiled in this, book, I have usuallybeen the only woman in an all-male unit. When I first started mycareer, a generation of women had already pushed through, breaking down the barriers in Army aviation. Like any group of people,some were outstanding Soldiers, while others simply used theirgender to gain an unfair advantage. This latter groups actionsmade life very difficult for the women in my generation. Their overreliance on their gender to pave the way left a negative impressionof female Soldiers in their male counterparts. By the time I camealong, these men were in leadership positions and were even lesswelcoming of female troops than previous generations. We had tobreak through one at a time by proving we were just as good allover againthis time, by being as tough and gender-neutral as possible. Most of the women in this book are younger than I am, sothey may not have gone through some of the stuff that has mademe reluctant to have myself identified as a female Soldier. I amjust a Soldier. Progress is made with each generation.

Regardless of my personal feelings, I know that this book has animportant contribution to make even if I dont always agree with allof the statements made by some of the women profiled. When Iwas recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., I was asked to address a group of female legislators (Congresswomen and Senators) on what I felt about a ban on women incombat. I told them it was stupid and unrealistic under the conditions of modern warfare. To have to answer an irrelevant questionlike that has taught me that perhaps the country needs to knowthat women are fighting and dying and that we need to move on,