SHE FIGHTS

This piece continues the Twitter based professional conversation between military leaders in the United States and faculty and students at Kings College in London.

Recently Erin Burnett from CNN posted this question on Twitter “Should women be allowed in combat?”

Women are already in combat and have been for a while. For this week’s discussion, three Army Officers share their combat experiences with soldiers who happen to be female.

The views expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the US Army or the Department of Defense. Read the post and join the discussion on Twitter #CCLKOW

Ray Kimball shares his experience:

May, 2002: From the moment she took charge of my III/V platoon*, Taryn Burgess understood she had one mission: get them ready for war. The platoon was coming out of a truly horrific NTC rotation that had exposed multiple issues in leadership and equipment, and we were already on the hook for 96-hour deployment to Kuwait. She jumped into the challenge with both boots, coaching, counseling, and when necessary, yelling to get the right people doing the right things at the right time. She found a way to get the platoon’s worn-out tankers and refueling equipment refurbished and replaced with more reliable gear. Most importantly, she emphasized the importance of every soldier in the unit having an understanding of the bigger picture and being able to function independently even when cut off from her. When her soldiers realized someone was going to bat for them to get them training and equipment they needed, they came together in ways that surprised even her.

March, 2003: The battle plan as we drove into Iraq underscored the wisdom of Taryn’s training. She split her platoon in two, one element traveling with my main body while an advanced team under her leadership sped with the lead elements of 3–7 CAV to the town of Samawah to seize a vital bridge crossing. For the next 48 hours, as my convoy slogged its way through open desert, her refuel/rearm team was alone and kicking ass. They rapidly established operations at Samawah and kept aircraft in the air while weathering enemy attacks, sandstorms, and crushing fatigue. Every member of her team, including her, performed multiple roles at the III/V point to get the mission done. Even now, 12 years later, thinking back on what Taryn accomplished in such a short amount of time makes me very proud of her.

*The III/V platoon is responsible for the refueling and rearming of Army aircraft and gets its name from the classes of supply: III (bulk fuel) and V (ammunition).

Jon Silk shares his experience:

Anyone who has conducted air-ground integration knows how important the relationship between the aerial scout weapons team and the ground scout platoon. Effective operations are built upon relationships, mutual trust, and a shared understanding. To work effectively as an air-ground team requires detailed coordination and synchronized employment of maneuver to ensure lethal fires are placed on enemy positions.

When I was serving as a scout platoon leader in Killer Troop, 3/2 ACR we were conducting operations in the Kufah/Najaf, Iraq area in May 2004. The scout weapons teams supporting us were from Nomad troop. The first day they came on station and checked in I heard a female voice. I was a little surprised at first. I tasked the team to conduct a reconnaissance of the area and they went to work. They continued to support us over the next few days. I was impressed with their competence. In the coming weeks, as the fighting the troop was involved with got more intense, they were always overhead in support. We trusted them completely.

I am currently a faculty member at West Point. As part of the required senior Officership course, guest speakers from the rotational faculty speak about their leadership experiences. I have facilitated several of these sessions and two of them were with female Military Police Officers. The stories they shared of their combat experiences mirrored mine in both intensity and violence of action. Gender played no role in their competence and ability to fire and maneuver on enemy forces.

Ryan Kranc shares his experience:

Sarah Piro, Monica Strye, and Khirsten Schwenn are just three of the outstanding aviators we fought with in the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment. Sarah and Monica were OH-58 Kiowa Warrior pilots (Sarah as a platoon leader and Monica as a Troop Commander) and Khirsten was the UH-60 Troop Commander when my troop was assigned a number of air mobile, economy of force missions in Ninevah provice in 2005–6. Sarah had also supported my tank and scout platoons during OIF I in 2003–4 in Fallujah, Ramadi, and Habbaniyah.

As Jon stated above, successful air-ground operations are predicated upon shared training, mutual understanding and respect, and relationships. One of the perks of an Armored Cavalry Regiment was the habitual relationship between Air Cavalry Troops and Ground Cavalry Squadrons; we trained together, lived together, and fought together. Without hearing a call sign I could tell who the pilots were when they broke squelch by just hearing their voice. When Sarah or Monica supported my platoons or troop I had full confidence in their ability to enhance our situational awareness from the air domain, knowing full well that their skills as pilots, their thoroughness and accuracy of reporting, and their attention to detail enabled our team to seize, retain, and exploit initiative during volatile combat operations in both Al Anbar and Ninevah province. I witnessed both of them in harrowing conditions and am still impressed by their cool-headedness, competence, and professionalism.

Khirsten and her troop conducted over 30 missions with my troop in western Ninevah Province. Khirsten would typically be the air mission commander and I planned the ground operation. Flying along the Syrian-Iraqi border to interdict smuggling and foreign fighter infiltration meant Khirsten and her troop often flew into situations where the enemy situation was unknown and the climatic conditions were austere. Most landings in the Al Jezera Desert entailed brown out conditions. Khirsten and her leadership ensured our team accomplished all assigned missions to standard and on time.

Sarah, Monica, and Khirsten are top-notch leaders and officers. Their gender is immaterial to me, except for the fact all three are people I’m proud to show my daughter as role models she can identify with and emulate. Women have been in combat roles for a long time and doing it well.

These are just a few stories; there are many others, including Team Lioness in Iraq and Female Engagement Teams in Afghanistan.

Which leads us to this week’s discussion Questions:

1. How do we as leaders assess which skills, capabilities, and evaluations should be gender-normed versus gender-neutral?

2. How do we coach and mentor women entering roles and jobs previously closed to them?

3. Do you have other stories of women’s combat experiences to share?

Join the discussion on Twitter #CCLKOW