http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/womenincombat/ en-us Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:15:22 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407252/posts Nobody wants to buy them a beer. Even near military bases, female veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan aren't often offered a drink on the house as a welcome home. More than 230,000 American women have fought in those recent wars and at least 120 have died doing so, yet the public still doesn't completely understand their contributions on the modern battlefield. For some, it's a lonely transition as they struggle to find their place. AP via Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407252/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:15:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370480/posts The image of young women in a hot , dusty combat zone toting automatic weapons is still startling to some. But right now there are 10,000 women serving in Iraq, more than 4,000 in Aghanistan. They have been fighting and dying next to their male comrades since the wars began. "I can't help but think most Americans think women aren't in combat," says Specialist Ashley Pullen who was awarded a Bronze Star for valor in 2005 for her heroic action in Iraq where she served with a military police unit. "We're here and we're right up with the guys." Technically... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370480/posts#comment Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:24:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2370286/posts <p>This photograph from Afghanistan recently made rounds on the Facebook and e-mail accounts of folks whose work centers on military women's issues.</p> <p>The image itself didn't surprise them. It showed four Marines resting at a makeshift patrol base, their guns and helmets propped up against the familiar dusty backdrop of an Asian battlefield. Two of the Marines seemed to be snacking. One picked at her foot.</p> SP Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2370286/posts#comment Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:04:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2359697/posts There is no mistaking that the dusty, gravel-strewn camp Warhorse near Baghdad is anything other than a combat outpost in a still-hostile land. And there is no mistaking that women in uniform have had a transformative effect on it. They have their own quarters, boxy trailers called CHUs (containerized housing units, pronounced "chews"). There are women's bathrooms and showers, alongside the men's. Married couples live together. The base's clinic treats gynecological problems and has, alongside the equipment needed to treat the trauma of modern warfare, an ultrasound machine. Opponents of integrating women in combat zones long feared that sex would... times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2359697/posts#comment Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:21:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2336069/posts AUSTRALIAN female soldiers are already serving on the front line and here is the photograph to prove it. As the debate rages about lifting the ban on women serving in combat roles, small numbers of female soldiers, such as army medic Jacqui de Gelder from Canberra, are already doing the business. She was on her first combat foot patrol in the village of Chora in Afghanistan just two weeks ago. The younger sister of navy clearance diver Paul de Gelder, who lost his foot to a shark attack in Sydney Harbour, spent the previous day treating victims of a suicide... Herald Sun (Melbourne) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2336069/posts#comment Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:38:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2335298/posts WOMEN should be able to serve in all frontline combat units of the Australian Defence Force, including the SAS and commando units, under a controversial plan that could avert a looming recruitment crisis. The push by Defence Personnel and Science Minister Greg Combet would remove gender as a criterion for selection for specialised categories of military service. The Rudd government wants to lift the proportion of women serving in the defence force from the current level of 13 per cent, as demographic pressures bear down on defence force recruitment over the next decade. Removing any gender discrimination for serving in... The Australian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2335298/posts#comment Wed, 9 Sep 2009 11:26:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2317205/posts Before 2001, America’s military women had rarely seen ground combat. Their jobs kept them mostly away from enemy lines, as military policy dictates. But the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, often fought in marketplaces and alleyways, have changed that. In both countries, women have repeatedly proved their mettle in combat. The number of high-ranking women and women who command all-male units has climbed considerably along with their status in the military. “Iraq has advanced the cause of full integration for women in the Army by leaps and bounds,” said Peter R. Mansoor, a retired Army colonel who served as executive officer... nytimes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2317205/posts#comment Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:22:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286128/posts Capt. Dorothy Watkins and Spc. Joshua Watkins, both of Hazleton, Pa., are deployed to Camp Taji, a base camp north of Baghdad, with the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania National Guard. Photo by Jon Soles, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. TAJI — One Pennsylvania National Guard Soldier has two ways he can address Capt. Dorothy Watkins. He can call her ma'am or he can call her mom. Spc. Joshua Watkins and his mother, Capt. Watkins, are both serving here with the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division. The mother and son from Hazleton, Pa., are... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286128/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 21:56:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258090/posts European Union directive forced the Ministry of Defence to review their "close-combat" role. Under the Equal Treatment Directive, the MoD said it had to carry out the study despite a similar review in 2002 concluding that the policy to employ only male personnel in close combat roles should remain. Lance Corporal Amy Thomas, is thought to be the first British woman to fire on the frontline in Afghanistan Servicewomen are currently excluded from roles where they are likely to "deliberately close with and kill the enemy face-to-face". Brigadier Richard Nugee, the Army's Director of Manning, is leading the review that... The Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258090/posts#comment Tue, 26 May 2009 01:05:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2232006/posts More American women have fought and died in Iraq than in any war since World War II. Over 206,000 have served in the Middle East since March 2003, most of them in Iraq. Some 600 have been wounded, and 104 have died. Yet, even as their numbers increase, women soldiers are painfully alone. In Iraq, women still only make up one in 10 troops, and because they are not evenly distributed, they often serve in a platoon with few other women or none at all. This isolation, along with the military's traditional and deep-seated hostility towards women, can cause problems... bbc http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2232006/posts#comment Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:27:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228651/posts One Canadian soldier killed and four others injured in AfghanistanCEFCOM NR–09.010 - April 14, 2009OTTAWA – One Canadian soldier was killed and four others were injured when their armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device north of Kandahar City in the Shah Wali Kowt District. The incident occurred at approximately 5:00 p.m., Kandahar time, on April 13, 2009. The fallen soldier is Trooper Karine Blais, from 12e Régiment Blindé du Canada based at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier. Trooper Blais was serving with the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment Battle Group. The injured soldiers were evacuated by helicopter to the Multinational... DND/Canadian Forces http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228651/posts#comment Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:00:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2140787/posts SAN ANTONIO — Mary Dague hears the catty whispers sometimes. "So ugly," the strangers say when they think she can’t hear. The 24-year-old has bright green eyes, a quick smile, and on the days she gets her husband’s help, perfectly applied mascara and blush. But all the gawkers really see are her arms, each amputated above the elbow. What they don’t suppose — with no fatigues or standard-issue Army T-shirt to clue them in — is that this chatty young woman, who likes to wear a little black dress to fancy parties as much as the next girl, is an... AP-FWST http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2140787/posts#comment Mon, 1 Dec 2008 14:58:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128666/posts Obama will consider combat positions and selective service registration for women The female college students who enthusiastically supported Barack Obama for president might not know that he wants women to register with the Selective Service at age 18, just as men do. Or that he wants the military to officially open combat positions to women. Although the topic was drowned out by campaign rhetoric and statements on policies that college students find more congenial, his position on registration of women is clear. And Obama’s national security spokeswoman stated before the election that Obama intended to change current policies on women... Pope Center http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2128666/posts#comment Sun, 9 Nov 2008 11:58:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2118872/posts Barack Obama has consistently and very publicly staked out policy positions far to the left of the American public on such issues as taxes, abortion, and same-sex marriage. But one issue has slipped quietly under the radar: If elected president, the Illinois senator would require women to register for the military draft. As commander in chief, he would also consider assigning women to roles in close combat, also known as "the point of the spear." "Women are already serving in combat [in Iraq and Afghanistan], and the current policy should be updated to reflect realities on the ground," Obama spokeswoman... World Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2118872/posts#comment Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:12:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1938064/posts LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The U.S. shouldn't try to kill Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Mike Huckabee declared when he first ran for office. No women in combat anywhere. No gays in the military. No contributions in politics to candidates more than a year before an election. His statements are among 229 answers Huckabee offered as a 36-year-old Texarkana pastor during his first run for political office in 1992. In that unsuccessful race against Sen. Dale Bumpers, Huckabee offered himself as a social conservative and listed "moral decay" as one of the top problems facing the country. Now that he's... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1938064/posts#comment Tue, 11 Dec 2007 21:59:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1919251/posts WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2007 – What’s another marathon, really, for Jill Stevens? Sgt. Jill Stevens, Utah National Guard member and the 2007 Miss Utah, smiles after crossing the finish line at the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., Oct. 28, 2007. Photo by Staff Sgt. Mary K. Flynn, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The 2007 Miss Utah is no stranger to the physical and mental discipline required to knock out 26.2 miles. She ran the Marine Corps Marathon here on Oct. 28, finishing in about 3.5 hours. It’s the third marathon she’s run since winning the pageant... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1919251/posts#comment Thu, 1 Nov 2007 00:04:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1871567/posts It should raise eyebrows when Democratic presidential candidates, and particularly Sen. Hillary Clinton, say that 18-year-old girls should have to register with Selective Service. When the question came up during Monday’s “YouTube” debate on CNN, all of the candidates who answered—Sen. Christopher Dodd, Sen. Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Mike Gravel—said that they opposed the draft, but if there were one, women should be part of it. Hillary Clinton’s answer was particularly ironic, since her husband Bill Clinton famously avoided military service in the Vietnam era. I am not aware that young Chelsea Clinton, or the daughters of Pres. George... NRO http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1871567/posts#comment Wed, 25 Jul 2007 22:09:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1823194/posts TODAY, THE HOUSE Committee on Oversight and Government Reform chaired by Henry Waxman (D-CA) conducted a hearing into "misleading military statements" that followed the death of Pat Tillman and the ordeal of Jessica Lynch. I cannot speak of the Pat Tillman incident, but I can speak to the story of Jessica Lynch.I spent more than two years of my life studying the battle of An Nasiriyah. I read thousands of pages of government reports and personally interviewed nearly one-hundred of the participants of the battle, including four survivors of the 507th Maintenance Company's ambush, several Marines who came upon the... the Weekly Standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1823194/posts#comment Wed, 25 Apr 2007 12:48:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1813279/posts On any given day, one isn't likely to find common cause with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He's a dangerous, lying, Holocaust-denying, Jew-hating cutthroat thug -- not to put too fine a point on it. But he was dead-on when he wondered why a once-great power such as Britain sends mothers of toddlers to fight its battles. Ahmadinejad characterized the release of 15 British sailors and marines, including one woman, seized at sea last month as a gift to Britain. In reality, the hostages were the West's gift to Ahmadinejad. When a pretender to sanity like Ahmadinejad gets to lecture the... townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1813279/posts#comment Fri, 6 Apr 2007 20:38:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1823043/posts WASHINGTON, DC -- Army Private Jessica Lynch told a congressional hearing Tuesday morning that "Americans are capable of creating their own heroes" without the military making them up. Lynch, a West Virginia native who got tremendous coverage after a military team rescued her from a makeshift Iraqi hospital, joined relatives of NFL-star-turned war hero Pat Tillman in discussing her time in the limelight. "This is not a time for finger-pointing, but a time for proof," she told the panel. Lynch's platoon was hit by a rocket and grenade attack on the initial drive to Baghdad in 2003. Three in her... wowktv.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1823043/posts#comment Wed, 25 Apr 2007 03:16:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1758579/posts The number of military service women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan has reached 70, more than the total from the Korean, Vietnam and Desert Storm wars."Some have argued that the women who have died are no different than the men," according to a report noting the 70 casualties from the Center for Military Readiness, which opposes women in combat. "But deliberate exposure of women to combat violence in war is tantamount to acceptance of violence against women in general." The reasons for the historical high casualty rate are multiple. Women now make up more than 14 percent of the volunteer... THE WASHINGTON TIMES http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1758579/posts#comment Tue, 26 Dec 2006 17:09:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1678851/posts Modified uniforms for modesty is a trademark of the new religious female soldiers. The vast majority of Modern Orthodox rabbis are staunchly opposed to army service. 'On reserve duty I slept in the division commander's car," says Sharon Perel, 27. "We were out in the field on an overnight military exercise. We pitched tents for the night. Everybody else, men and women, slept together. But I didn't feel comfortable doing that. The commander understood my predicament and lent me his car." Perel is one of dozens of religious women who are called up regularly to do reserve service. These women... Jerualem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1678851/posts#comment Sun, 6 Aug 2006 21:51:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1639519/posts Yawning over a woman's death WorldNetDaily May 27, 2006 By Ted Byfield © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com Canada lost its first woman soldier to enemy fire near Kandahar, Afghanistan, last week, and the unquestioning public acceptance of a female combat death was hailed by the Defense Department as indisputable evidence that the Canadian public has now acquiesced in the feminist vision of the fighting woman soldier. However, conservative columnist Barbara Kay in the National Post has not in the least acquiesced in it. While commending as heroic, "manly" and admirable the quick death from a mortar shell of Capt. Nichola Goddard... WorldNetDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1639519/posts#comment Sun, 28 May 2006 00:53:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1637709/posts An exceptional woman Barbara Kay, National Post Published: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 When news broke of Canada's first female combat death last week -- that of Captain Nichola Goddard in an Afghanistan firefight -- Canadians greeted the news in a gender-neutral way. It was not a female soldier we mourned per se, but simply a soldier. The Department of National Defence's chief historian applauded this as "a reflection, really, on society saying we have accepted the implications of gender integration." I don't think that's true. Canadians accepted Captain Goddard's death without ambivalence because she was a career soldier, on... National Post - Canada http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1637709/posts#comment Wed, 24 May 2006 21:12:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1635407/posts KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - The man who led Canadian troops into one of the biggest battles they've faced yet described Friday how hundreds of coalition and Afghan troops foiled insurgent fighters massing for an assault on the governor of Kandahar province, and how Capt. Nichola Goddard met her death in a Taliban ambush. "We were in the process of doing final searches in the village when one of our call signs came in 'ambush,' " said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, commander of Task Force Orion's battle group. "A well co-ordinated Taliban ambush which unfortunately resulted in the death of one of... Canadian Press via Sun Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1635407/posts#comment Sat, 20 May 2006 12:49:34 GMT