Female Georgia Guardsmen integrate ranks of combat units

Photo By Spc. Hannah Fulcher | As the medical readiness noncommissioned officer in charge, Staff Sgt. Rebecca Pollock talks her heat casualty patient through an intravenous therapy to correct electrolyte imbalances. Nine female Georgia Guardsmen have been selected to integrate into combat related positions that were formerly all male. Pollock, a combat medic, will be one of those chosen to join the ranks of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team line companies. The 48th IBCT is one of nine Army National Guard infantry brigades to receive the authorization for assigning women to their maneuver battalions. “I know a lot of the medics over there,” continues Pollock. “A lot of them I have deployed or cross trained with. With the support I have back home and within the command team, I feel completely safe and confident going into an all male unit.”  

FORT STEWART, GA, UNITED STATES

09.21.2013

Story by Spc. Hannah Fulcher 

48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

FORT STEWART, Ga. - Nine female Georgia Guardsmen have been selected to integrate into combat related positions that were formerly all male. Staff Sgt. Rebecca Pollock, a combat medic, will be one of those chosen to join the ranks of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team headquarter companies. The 48th IBCT is one of nine Army National Guard infantry brigades to receive the authorization for assigning women to their maneuver battalions.

With 15 percent (approximately 202,400) of the military’s force being women, much of whom have deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan, Pollock says there is no reason women shouldn’t be allowed to infiltrate the homeland’s fighting force as well.

“I have deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan,” exclaims Pollock. “Both times as a medic and have been in many situations where I was the only female and only medic. There, gender didn’t matter.”

Pollock will be transferring from Charlie Medical Company, 148th Brigade Support Battalion, as the troop medical center’s non-commissioned officer in charge to 1-121st Infantry Battalion, currently an all male unit, as their medical readiness non-commissioned officer-in-charge.

“I got a call from the brigade command sergeant major,” explains Pollock. “He told me the brigade has been selected to lead the way in female integration for the Georgia Army National Guard, and wanted me to consider taking this position at First Foot [1-121st Infantry Battalion].”

Day-to-day, Pollock will maintain the entire battalion’s dental and medical readiness. While out in the field, or during a deployment, this transition will take Pollock from being the one who receives Soldiers at the troop medical center to being the medic that prepares the soldiers to be transported.

“I think in the field I will be able to provide a better connection from First Foot, to Charlie Med.,” said Pollock. “I know what the medics at the TMC are looking for when they receive a patient, you know: what happened to the patient, what the line medic has already done and what medicine the patient has already been given. Having that knowledge will definitely give me an advantage that they currently don’t have.”

This advantage is exactly what the Department of Defense intends for female integration, to ensure that the mission is met with the best-qualified and most capable people, regardless of gender.

“I know she is a great medic,” said Sgt. 1st Class John Malone, a medical platoon sergeant in 1-121st Infantry Battalion. “I have worked with her before doing cross training and in the field. I have no doubt of her abilities coming to our battalion, and am looking forward to having another very well qualified medic on my team.”

Pollock’s previous duty positions and deployments have allowed her an abundance of knowledge. Being a woman she has not been able to apply for certain positions because they were with an all male unit and she has watched other medics below her on the enlisted promotion system list get promoted before her simply because they were male.

“It was a hard decision to come to,” says Pollock. “But … I also had to think about my career progression, and that this position is finally being offered to women.”

The military, as a whole, and the Georgia Army National Guard are beginning to bring more women into the currently closed positions across the board. The 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is leading the way for Georgia, planning to become completely integrated by 2016. Having already opened up several slots, including Pollock’s, the brigade has also opened a hazardous material position in 1-118th Field Artillery Regiment, and a current operations intelligence officer position in the 1-108th Cavalry Squadron.

“I am one of the first females to be integrated into the battery,” said Sgt. Tina Bradley, a hazardous material specialist with the 1-118th Field Artillery Regiment. “It is pretty interesting, I am getting treated just like one of the guys. It is a great honor, actually, to be one of the first and put something down in history.”

Just like with any change, there are bound to be some bumps in the road, and the military has been preparing for them. The military has been implementing sexual harassment/assault response and prevention program for years now, and Pollock says that although it is not a concern for her, it is a good preparation for integration.

“I know a lot of the medics over there,” continues Pollock. “A lot of them I have deployed or cross trained with. With the support I have back home and within the command team, I feel completely safe and confident going into an all male unit.”

Transitioning to an all male unit will not alter, lower or change Army standards.

Standards are in place for a reason, to ensure safety, and ability to complete a mission. Pollock says that she is excited to meet that challenge.

“I strongly feel that if females want to go into a profession that they should definitely do their research, and prepare themselves mentally and physically,” said Pollock. “If women can handle it mentally, physically and emotionally then they should be able allowed to do it, but if not … I think there should be a screening process, or something that will help us adapt to the demands that the different MOS [military occupational specialty] require, so we can meet them, but I don’t think they should not be altered or lowered.”

Pollock said the biggest weight on her shoulders is that she knows she will be the standard for the 48th Brigade, and for other women wanting to integrate.

“A lot of my friends or co-medics have said how jealous they are and how happy they are for me, because we have been waiting for this to happen for years,” explains Pollock. “I am nervous, excited and a little bit of everything… but I will finally get to be the line unit medic I have always wanted to be.”

With the support from her father, boyfriend, children, friends and co-workers, Pollock will be stepping forward in the Army’s effort to integrate women into all male units and will finally fulfill her dream of being a line medic.

• Date Taken: 09.21.2013
• Date Posted: 09.23.2013 14:50
• Story ID: 114115
• Location: FORT STEWART, GA, US
• Hometown: FLOVILLA, GA, US
• Hometown: MACON, GA, US