A neighbor girl (young 20’s) is a medic and was in Iraq at a rear base a couple of years ago. She requested patrol duty to be with “her” guys when they were deployed to Afghanistan. She got her wish. She loves it! Her mom doesn’t though.
“So - do you ever get shot at?”
“Mom - never ask a question you don’t want to know the answer to.”
My brother-in-law’s unit is a POL quartermaster company that was deployed for force protection in Iraq. Nearly one-third of the company is female, but they are some of the toughest and most courageous women I have ever had the honor of meeting.