By Staff Sgt. Jennifer K. Yancey
27th Public Affairs Detachment
USAR: In 2003 my previous unit made the trek from Darmstadt, Germany to Camp Virginia, Kuwait. Clad in cold-weather boots, gortex and gloves, we obviously weren't dressed for the occasion.
That's what we got for deploying in the middle of a Deutschland winter.
Dorothy wasn't in Kansas anymore.
There was really no time to get comfortable: two months later we bid farewell to one desert to make the laborious journey to another: this one was called Baghdad.
Now, with the sand from OIF I finally brushed off, duty called yet again.
But I know I'm in good company. Again.
Those who claimed to have never seen women in combat must not get out much.
Do you read the papers? Do you watch CNN?
If not, my fellow journalists and I can fill you in.
They are everywhere. Let's hear from some of them, shall we?
"They need to wake up and change with the times," Sgt. 1st Class Margaret E. Wilson said of the detractors.
The truck driving instructor with the 729th Transportation Company out of Fresno, Calif., said she is "licensed for pretty much everything on wheels."
Joining the Army in the 1980's, Wilson originally served as a Pershing missile driver -- "which fell under (field artillery), so I caught a lot of flak (from the male Soldiers)," she said.
Requiring a secondary military occupational specialty, Wilson turned to truck driving.
At five feet, 110 lbs. -- and female -- Wilson wasn't your typical truck driver.
She was the first female to gain entry into this world. I hope the shards from that glass ceiling didn't hurt anyone.
While attending subsequent schools, Wilson would often catch herself looking around the classroom only to find no female battle buddies.
Her grandmother offered some advice -- it was simple, yet direct and quite relevant: "If you want to do it, go for it," she said.
"Don't let stereotypes get in the way."
With this advice, Wilson gained the resolve to do exactly that.
Wilson is also part of the Military Integrated Training Team, whose goal is to create a standardized training program for the Iraqi military.
Convoying hundreds of miles north in unforgiving heat was no picnic. The attire -- full "battle rattle," was cumbersome but necessary. You got so used to wearing it that it almost became a part of you.
But I can't complain, especially when women like Capt. Alea Morningstar endured hostile fire round the clock while treating sick and wounded detainees at Abu Ghraib Prison. The Waimanalo, HI, native volunteered for four rotations in Iraq -- each rotation lasting three months.
She didn't have to stay.
Providing field medicine with that "battle rattle" in 130- to 140-degree temperatures was quite an undertaking. There was no gold-plated furniture, no palm tress nor paved sidewalks.
Her only company being the Army and Navy medics who served with her, and the scores of detainees who outnumbered them.
The landscape featured barbed wire, crumbling walls â?¦ all rocks and mud, all the time.
But Morningstar felt it her duty to stay.
"You have to maintain ties with the troops in the trenches," she said.
True. You're not going to know how the Soldiers are doing or what they need hiding in an office.
SSG Lee's stuff here���..
As Wilson's grandmother offered her pearls of wisdom, Morningstar bequeathed all women in uniform this bit of instruction:
"Do the very best you can do," said Morningstar, "and you'll have no regrets."
If you still don't believe female service members have any influence, look around you.
Because when you turn around, you might see one of my Joes with a camera, documenting it all.
Staff Sgt. Jennifer K. Yancey -- Bronx, NY
Capt. Alea Morningstar -- Waimanalo, HI
Sgt. 1st Class Margaret E. Wilson -- W. Va.
| Date Taken: | 04.18.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 04.18.2005 10:50 |
| Story ID: | 1626 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 87 |
| Downloads: | 12 |
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