Afghanistan My Last Tour

In 1429, at the age of 17, Joan of Arc led the French troops into battle against the English.  During the Civil and Revolutionary Wars, women disguised themselves as men so they could fight against the enemy.  The history books are filled with many other examples of women fighting in combat.  In present day 2009, women are still fighting in combat or in combat zones.  In 1948, President Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act which granted official military status to women serving in the armed forces.  Today this was evident as I looked at the composition of the gender participating in our convoy crew.

AF MSgt as convoy commander

Our assigned mission was to travel to an Afghan logistics depot and inventory weapons.  Our convoy commander was a recently promoted female Air Force MSgt.  This Hartford, CT resident currently stationed at Langley AFB, VA is not only a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, but also a wife and mom to 3 kids.  She’s been in the Air Force for 12 years and was promoted to the rank of MSgt (e-7) on 1 July.  Today she would lead the convoy to our destination.  Despite being outranked by other members and officers, she was empowered to guide the convoy.  So whatever command decision she made in reference to the convoy, we had to follow it.  This is a lot of responsibility, but this MSgt grabbed the proverbial horse by the reins and did a good job considering this was the first time leading in this position.  In the picture she is giving the convoy mission brief to all of the participants.

Navy Petty Officer as HMMVW driver

The next picture is a female Navy Petty Officer.  Today she was one of the HMMVW drivers.  Don’t let the cute looks of this Dallas, TX native fool you.  She can drive an armored HMMVW through city traffic the same way as the “boys” can.  In fact, I saw her drive on other missions through the winding valleys.  Sometimes female drivers are a little more aggressive on the pedal going through stream beds and mud than some of the fellas.  Her career field is Navy intelligence, but today she was the convoy’s trail “vic” and had to weave in and out of traffic on bumpy and potholed filled roads.  At 23 years of age and only 2 years in the Navy she is still undecided whether to make the Navy a career.  She is still single and has her whole life ahead of her.  I’m certain whatever path she chooses, she will do well.

Loading the M-240 machine gun before mission

The next female is one of my ETT teammates who recently arrived in country.  Her duty today was to sit in the turret and man the M-240 machine gun.  This Indianapolis, IN resident is quite proficient on the big guns.  At the shooting range she got behind the powerful Mark-19 and lobbed explosive rounds at a target positioned 1000 meters away.  In fact her proficiency and accuracy with these lethal weapons has earned her the nickname of “Killer Miller”.  This young single Air Force Senior Airman has her sights set on a new target after her enlistment expires.  She plans to leave the Air Force and go back to school to become a Pharmacist.  She was rather hesitant to tell me this, as if this were a bad thing.  I applaud her personal decision and explained that she can hold her head high because she is part of an elite crowd.  Less than 1% of US citizens are given the honor and privilege of serving in the armed forces and protecting the freedom of our great country.  After I gave her this statistic, she smiled with acceptance.  I think this made her feel better about her decision to pursue a new opportunity.
I’m sure Joan of Arc and all of the other female warriors who previously served in the military are smiling at the accomplishments of these women.  Ladies, I too am proud to serve with you!
Note:  My purpose of this entry is not to engage in political or legal aspects of women serving in combat.  Instead, I want to highlight some of the roles of the females I serve with.  I took pictures of these women before they put on all of their protective gear and then we all look the same.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Afghanistan, Deployment, ETT, HMMVW, M-240, Navy, U.S. Air Force, war