March, Air Force Special Operations Command celebrates its women heroes

TAMPA, FL, UNITED STATES

03.03.2015

Courtesy Story

U.S. Special Operations Command

TAMPA, Fla. - From commanding an operational flying gunship squadron to serving in a hostile environment as a member of a highly skilled female engagement team, today's AFSOC females are fully engaged in our nation’s wars and are forging women’s history.

Historically, American women have served in every one of America’s war. From serving as nurses to flying and delivering combat aircraft to Allies, they have contributed to the American war effort. Less known is how they have provided leadership, fought, bled and died serving in combat.

The zeal to serve has pushed women to great lengths; from the American Revolution to the Civil War women actually disguised their sexual identity in order to serve and fight alongside their male counterparts. Women such as Deborah Sampson, an American Revolutionary, fought and almost died from fever and wounds while hiding her identity. She was finally discovered by a doctor while recuperating in a hospital.

The American Civil War has more than 200 documented instances of female soldiers who fought on both sides.

Today, women participating in combat continue to prove their mettle. Army National Guard Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester earned the Silver Star for valor for fighting off a group of insurgents in Iraq in 2005.

Tallied as late as 2013, more than 800 American servicewomen have been wounded and more than 130 have died in the line of duty in the Global War on Terror.

On Jan. 24, 2013, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta ended a policy that had been in effect since 1994 barring women from combatant roles.

“Today we are acting to expand the opportunities for women to serve in the United States armed forces and to better align our policies with the experiences we have had over the past decade of war,” Dempsey said. “Ultimately, we're acting to strengthen the joint force.”

United States Special Operations Forces also began introducing women into roles that were critical to fill. In 1998, women serving in the joint force combat environment witnessed a radical change after the Air Force lifted its ban on women flying combat missions.

Then Capt. Brenda Cartier was allowed to serve as a member of a crew on an Air Force Special Operations Command AC-130 Gunship stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. By 2009, Cartier assumed command of a special operations squadron and became the first woman to command a squadron in AFSOC.

In 2012, Air Force Special Operations Command Staff Sgt. Jamie Fremgen, 11th Intelligence Squadron analyst, was awarded the Bronze Star for her service as the first Airman to deploy as a cultural support team leader. Her award credits her for enabling 32 direct action missions and providing operational support to 98 females and 156 children in a hostile environment.

The debate of whether women can serve and lead in a combat environment has already been determined. Women have time and again proven themselves willing and able to lead, bleed and even die in defense of this great nation.

AFSOC has a reason to be proud as one of the first of the Joint Service Special Operations Commands to recognize and appreciate the value of women serving in combat roles.

From serving as a crew member to commanding a squadron, today’s AFSOC females are fully engaged in the nation’s wars and are forging women’s history. This March, AFSOC celebrates its women heroes.

• Date Taken: 03.03.2015
• Date Posted: 03.03.2015 08:27
• Story ID: 155766
• Location: TAMPA, FL, US