Posts Tagged ‘women in combat’

If you think the news coverage about the war, and what happens to men seems scarce, coverage on what happens to women at war is even more scarce. News coverage and military data keeping about military suicides is similarly sketchy. Even in an ever more unpopular war, suicide is seen as a weakness of the individual rather than an indictment of the way the war is going. And it gets even more obscure when one re-examines the confluence of women at war AND suicide. Suicide for males may be weakness revealed, but to look at the military list of female suicides, it covers alleged sexual promiscuity and other types of personal culpability as well. And it is a convenient folder for hiding male behaviors the military would prefer to dismiss as boys being boys. Trouble is, the “toys” these boys have are military women treated as disposable objects.

Let’s review a couple of the worst stories, shall we? Like the continued obfuscation about Lavena Johnson, for instance. Lavena Johnson’s death was listed as a suicide, and had her father never opened her casket to look one final time on his beloved daughter, it might have stayed that way. But her mourning father saw bruising on her face, and when he looked at her body, he wondered how the gunshot wounds matched the military story of her shooting herself. And why was her body burnt? Why were her genitals covered with chemical burns? Lavena Johnson appeared to have been raped and murdered, and although her body was suspiciously found in a contractor owned (KBR) tent, the signs of rape never adequately investigated. She died in 2005, and still, her death is listed as suicide. Apparently the US Army still prefers a convenient fictional suicide to investigating murder and rape of an American black woman. The military still contends that after starting the fire to burn her journal, she killed herself in embarrassment over having contracted genital warts.

Really? Seriously? So much has been written about this case, and yet her father cannot get Congress to seriously seek answers for what happened to her: “Private LaVena Johnson’s nose was broken, teeth were loose, one eye was concave and there were abrasions over her body. The supposed M-16 hole to the head was far too small for the revolver-sized exit wound, and was on the wrong side of her skull for a right-handed woman to have pulled the trigger. Her genital area showed evidence of acid, perhaps used to destroy DNA evidence. She had white military gloves glued to her burned hands.” All this time, and no answers, the Army insists all the injuries to her face were from the ‘backblast’ effect of the M-16. And why would she suicide in a KBR tent? Veterans have told me tales of contractors behaving as if American military women were their private stock of Playboy bunnies; why is this not addressed? Seems some serious ass-covering was operative. “The death was initially taped off as a crime scene but the investigation was shut down by a general’s order.”
Dr. Johnson, seeking his daughter’s killer, found ten other families whose daughters were alleged suicides: all had rape as common history! He believes he knows who killed Lavena, an officer quickly gotten out of country two days after her death—a man still free.

The Army has not done a good job on being honest about female soldiers and the causes of death, and some of the contracting firms are even worse. It throws credibility to the winds, as even a men’s magazine pointed out in a story examining Kamisha Block’s murder. Both Block and Johnson were failed by the military chain of command, both sets of parents were lied to about cause of death. Block’s parents were told a friendly fire incident killed their daughter, when she was in fact shot to death by an abusive supervisor who was obsessed with her.

I urge you to read the long Alternet article because although it is from 2008 and is several pages long, every bit of information is necessary to understand the additional risks women in the military face daily on and off the battlefield. The military treats suicides as if they are shameful, a sign of lack of proper attitude—when the despairing person was male. But if the dead body is female? Well, then suicide is a comfortable, conveniently emotional excuse to ignore abuse, rape, and murder. More than a flag covers these women’s caskets—an invisible pall of shame and disgrace is pulled over the incidences of their deaths.

I don’t care if you let your little boys grow up to be cowboys, folks; but until the military establishment can ‘fess up the truths about the numerous non-hostile deaths of female troops, do NOT let your little girls grow up to be soldiers, sailors, or BAMs, ok?

I don’t know quite how to feel about the downfall of Captain Holly Graf. On one hand, as a woman who served in the military, I find it humiliating that she failed in such massive fashion. On the other hand, reading about her command, I am glad it was finally ended.

She captained a Navy vessel and got compared to Capt. Bligh. Her crew did not mutiny, leaving her adrift; instead the Inspector General’s office was tipped off and she was investigated. And fired.

I briefly found myself wondering if a male officer would have been judged as harshly as she apparently was—she humiliated her junior officers in public and had a mouth apparently dirtier than mine. She threw things at subordinates and made people reconsider Navy careers. Generally, I don’t think I would have liked serving on her ship. She seemed competent in terms of her duties as an officer, but for the part about inspiring her subordinates by her leadership.

She chose to “win” through intimidation, domination, and humiliation. I am sure there will be feminists out there shouting that it is all because a woman should not swear “like a sailor”. But I don’t really think that was the point, a Captain is master (mistress?) of the ship; but it is not supposed to be in the dominatrix sense at all. A captain should inspire confidence in the crew; she demeaned and insulted her crew.

She came from an old Navy family, but apparently did not learn leadership technique there. Graf says she had high standards and that ‘readiness’ (for combat?) was her goal. I think that family history was a monkey on her back; she wanted to prove she could out-swear and out-tough any male officer. I am an old-time feminist; before the ones who decided being more ruthless skirted “men” was the way to do it. My era of feminists did not believe we had to become brutes to compete and succeed.

All I know for sure is that in my very ordinary term of service as a lowly NCO, I NEVER swore at a subordinate. I swore at a shovel, at my computer, at myself; but never at a person working with or for me. All her crew was “ready” for was to jump ship through transfers at the first opportunity. She gave women in service a bad name, a black eye, and in her wake— sighs of relief.

First things first, a hat-tip to Alternate Brain for posting this information!  It is only right that I post about this, after posting about women who fought to give women the right to vote.  These women are fighting even more literally—illegally by military rules, to save their comrades, their military missions, and their own lives. Please follow the link, read about these women and the vital tasks they perform, before the military sweeps them back under a rung and punishes them for letting the cat out of the bag about why women NEED combat training because ONLY they can do certain jobs.

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LIONESS profiles five women who saw action in Iraq’s Sunni Triangle during 2003 and 2004. As members of the U.S. Army’s 1st Engineer Battalion, Shannon Morgan, Rebecca Nava, Kate Pendry Guttormsen, Anastasia Breslow and Ranie Ruthig were sent to Iraq to provide supplies and logistical support to their male colleagues. Not trained for combat duty, the women unexpectedly became involved with fighting in the streets of Ramadi.

Told through interviews, journal excerpts and archival footage, LIONESS offers a portrait of five soldiers who are also wives, mothers and daughters, and who have long coped with the demands of military life, especially the sacrifices involved in leaving behind spouses and young children. These combat-tested women exemplify what it means to be a good soldier, and illustrate the complicated role that women play in direct war combat. Reflecting on their recent deployment, the Lionesses display strength and candor, bridging the gap between the perception and the reality of the essential role women are playing in Iraq.+++

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/lioness/film.html

And:

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/lioness/teamlioness.html

Athena guard and bless them with her wisdom and strength!

A pretty little 18 year old from Texas got a Silver Star recently; Monica Brown the medic ran from her Humvee to treat wounded comrades and shield them with her own body. The Vice President himself pinned the combat decoration to her chest; and then they pulled her from her unit where she was obviously much needed, because “Army restrictions on women in combat barred her from such missions.” (BTW, Monica Brown was serving in Afghanistan…the list of the dead women at the bottom of this rant only includes those who died in Iraq. Not to disrespect the dead in Afghanistan; but Iraq’s list was more than sufficient, I think, to make my point.)
She was the second woman to earn that shining combat star in the recent wars: Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, a military police officer in the Kentucky National Guard, became the first female soldier awarded the Silver Star since World War II, for her role in thwarting an Iraqi insurgent ambush in March of 2005. But gee, how could that be since America does not send her women into combat. I mean, we aren’t like nasty Soviets who DO things like that, are we?

Yes, we are. We just lie about it.

War is not a tidy board game. It is not “Stratego” or “Risk” any more, if it ever was. We don’t have broad plains of grass with opposing colorful bands of foot soldiers lined up to charge each other at dawn while on the overlooking hills, ladies have tea as they watch from bright pavilions. War now is ANY place and ANY time in the country involved. America hides the homecoming caskets from the news media and half the news commentators barely mention the deaths by name; usually only the local boys. Oh, and yes, in even softer tones, the local girls.

How many local girls? As of today, one hundred and three…about 2 1/2 percent of the total; mainly from the U.S. but some from Britain and other Coalition nations. Some of them, of course, died of what the military terms “non-hostile” causes, meaning the enemy did not kill them. These deaths encompass illness and vehicular accidents, suicides and yes, interminably investigated cases of possible rape and murder by their own comrades.

I am a veteran, of a time when women had to make loud noises to get even minimal training in use of the M-16 or other arms. I am not here to argue upper body strength or agility. I am here to say American women ARE in combat every goddamned day of this made up war and to say otherwise is pure bullshit. They go forth to do necessary jobs and without them there, the military could NOT get the job done.

The military has no qualms at all about ordering military married couples to hand their children over the grandparents so they can send BOTH parents into war zones, and yet they sanctimoniously pull this dedicated young woman from her unit? I personally know a military couple at the same base in Afghanistan, where mortar fire is taken daily, where IEDs blew one of their comrades up just within the last two weeks. Is that airman, wife, and mother NOT at war? Their children could be orphaned tomorrow because both parents were required? America piously sends home the final son to his mourning mother, but sends BOTH parents to war? Kids are not old enough to vote or do the television talk show circuit, I guess.

I am calling bullshit. American women ARE at war and are in combat jobs, regardless what little military crest is on their shoulder. Regardless what MOS their records sport; war isn’t a game and they need the training to survive and not convenient political fiction.

Below is the list of women killed in Iraq alone – of HOSTILE causes, alone (the others are at the link at the bottom of the article): although I contend that, as with the many men who died of non-enemy caused deaths, they would not be dead if NOT sent to the war zones. Try telling their parents, husbands, children, lovers, siblings and friends that they were not in combat and not at war. The entire list of dead female military members may be found at: http://icasualties.org/oif/female.aspx (My list below contains only the indisputeably “hostile” caused deaths…names and the combat cause of death)

SSG Carletta S. Davis – IED

Lt Tracy Lynn Alger – IED

SSG Lillian Clamens – rocket attack

Spc Rachael L. Hugo -IED, small arms fire
Spc. Zandra T. Walker -indirect fire

Sgt Princess C. Samuels – indirect fire

Cpt Maria T. Ortiz – mortar attack

Spc Michelle R. Ring – mortar attack

Sgt Trista L. Moretti – rocket attack

Spc Karen N. Clifton – RPG attack

PFC Katie M. Soenksen -IED

Pvt Eleanor Dlugosz (UK) – IED

Lt. Joanna Yorke Dyer (UK) – IED

Sgt Ashly L. Moyer -IED

Cpt Jennifer J. Harris – missile attack

Cpl Jennifer M. Parcell – hostile fire

SGM Marilyn L. Gabbard – helicopter crash

Sr Airman Elizabeth A. Loncki – IED

Maj Megan M. McClung – IED

SSG Sharron Elliott (UK) – IED

Lt Ashley L. Huff – car bomb

Sgt Jennifer M. Hartman -car bomb

Lt Emily J. T. Perez -IED

PO2 Jamie Jaenke – IED

Lt Sarah-Jayne Mulvihill (UK) -helicopter crash

LCpl Juana Navarro-Arellano -small arms fire

Sgt Amanda N. Pinson – mortar attack

Sgt Myla L. Maravilloso – RPG

Sgt Regina C. Reali – IED

Sgt Julia V. Atkins – IED

Spc Toccara R. Green – IED

Airman Elizabeth N. Jacobson – IED

SSG Tricia L. Jameson – IED

Cpl Ramona M. Valdez – car bomb

PO1 Regina R. Clark – car bomb

LCpl Holly A. Charette – car bomb

Cpl Carrie L. French – IED

DOD employee Linda J. Villar – mortar attack

PFC Sam W. Huff – IED

Spc Aleina Ramirezgonzalez – mortar attack

DOD employee Barbara Heald -rocket attack

Sgt Jessica M. Housby – IED

SrSgt Vira Pietrik (Ukraine) -IED

Sgt Cari Anne Gasiewicz – IED

Sgt Pamela G. Osbourne – rocket attack

Sgt Jessica L. Cawvey – IED

Sgt Shawna M. Morrison – mortar attack

Sgt Tatjana Reed -IED

SFC Linda Ann Tarango-Griess -IED

PFC Leslie D. Jackson – IED

Sgt Isela Rubalcava – mortar attack

Spc Michelle M. Witmer – IED

Spc Tyanna S. Felder – IED

DOD employee Fern L. Holland – hostile fire

PFC Nichole M. Frye – IED

PFC Holly J. McGeogh – IED

Cpt Kimberly N. Hampton – helicopter crash (she was the pilot, btw)

SSG Kimberly A. Voelz – IED

CW5 Sharon T. Swartworth – missile attack

Spc Frances M. Vega – missile attack

PFC Karina S. Lau – missile attack

PFC Rachel K. Bosveld – mortar attack

PFC Analaura Esparza Gutierrez -grenade attack

PFC Lori Ann Piestewa – ambushed – hostile fire

This is not about argument over whether women should be in combat; it is about calling “Liar” to a government that plays games of semantics about assignments to units, rather than admit that in modern war, both genders are at risk…as you can see from the list, even government employees of both genders are at risk. Women are fully integrated into the military for all purposes—the pretention that they are not in harm’s way because the units they serve are not considered “combat arms” is pure bullshit. But then, so very much of what is said about this war could be bagged for garden fertilizer.

And just cause I have a case of the ass about this, a few links:

An all woman crew flew a mission in Afghanistan: http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/sep2005/a092705wm3.html

A female medic in Iraq was pissed at not being able to fully do her job:http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/229884_womansoldier24.asp?source=rss

In 2004, the Pentagon acknowledged its need of women in combat:’http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1226266.htm

There are a LOT of females who are Naval aviators…and more: http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/combat.html

And many women WANT to go with their male comrades at arms: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=33003&archive=true

Ok, I WILL stop now and go stomp around ranting elsewhere.