Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press
Date:Sunday, May 08, 2005
Section:Front Page; Page:1

DISPATCH Iraq

By Edward Lee Pitts Military Affairs

CAMP CALDWELL, Iraq — From the reported heroism of Jessica Lynch during the initial Iraq invasion to the reported abuses of Lynndie England now on trial for the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, women in the U.S. Army have taken center stage during much of the military’s two year mission here.

But women serving with the 278th Regimental Combat Team said it is the behind-the-scenes work of female soldiers, not the spectacular headlines, that could ignite a turning point for women in the Army.

There are about 150 women serving in the region covered by the 278 th Regimental Combat Team, and 126 of them serve directly in the Tennesseebased 3,000-soldier regiment. Most belong to the support squadron or the headquarters troop. Most perform jobs in administration, medical, legal, logistics, supply, maintenance and food services, said Sgt. Eileen McAfee, 40, of Clinton, Tenn., who works in the regiment’s personnel department.

Others work as military police, a few drive convoy trucks, one commands a company and another is second in command of Support Squadron.

Lt. Col. Karla Decker, the executive officer of Support Squadron, said units in a combat zone give the Army a chance to send a message that females are not subservient to their male counterparts.

"I consider female soldiers just like male soldiers," said Lt. Col. Decker, of Kingston, Tenn., the highest-ranking female in the history of the regiment. "I don’t distinguish between the two when it comes to work."

Spc. Lenata Meadows, 21, of Nashville, said the biggest difference between male and female soldiers in a combat zone is the men conduct more missions outside the gates of a camp. In the Army, women are prohibited from holding combat arms specialties, Lt. Col. Decker said.

"So you won’t find a female in a tank or a Bradley Fighting Vehicle," she said. "But you have some female truck drivers, and anything in this country is considered a combat zone because you never know when you are going to run across an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) or an ambush."

LITTLE SISTER SYNDROME

This war has broadened the opportunities for women in the military to succeed, but inequality still exists as long as women are excluded from certain branches of the Army, women here said. "I feel if a female can do the job, she should be allowed to," said 1 st Lt. Monica Ridenour, 34. "And we still have a way to go for that across the board."

Wo m en are enlisted to help on humanitarian missions off base because Iraqi women often won’t approach or talk to a male who is not a relative, according to Spc. Meadows. There is no shortage of female soldiers who volunteer to strap on their body armor and venture into the real Iraq, she said. But several female soldiers in the regiment have gotten together and talked about "the big brother" syndrome signified by the overprotective men in the unit whenever women do go out on missions, Spc. Meadows said.

"The whole ‘protect your sister’ thing is controversial," said Spc. Meadows, who works in military intelligence. "There are girls here who run marathons, and they can be my battle buddy any time. We want to do our job, too."

CULTURE CLASH

Seeing women in uniform is a novelty for the Iraqis.

"A woman carrying a weapon doesn’t seem natural to them," said Sgt. Carrie Southern, 33, of Sneedville, Tenn.

Sgt. Alana Russell, 20, of Knoxville, said she sometimes takes a few moments after foot patrols in Khanaqin to play with some of the youngsters.

"The kids are so excited about seeing women soldiers," she said. "Being surrounded by the love of the children makes the trip here worth it."

Sgt. Anna Ashton, 22, of Nashville, said all the Iraqi men wanted to have their pictures taken with the women in a group of 278th soldiers attending a recent Kurdish festival in Tuz. But Sgt. Ashton said she is less concerned about gawking men and more interested in whether the presence of the 278th women inspires the females in this region along the Iranian border.

"I hope the women here see us and want to push for what we have," she said. "We need strong Iraqi women, but they fear for their lives."

Several women said they were encouraged by a recent article in Stars & Stripes, the daily military newspaper, about some Baghdad women who want to enter the police academy.

Others in the regiment said they hope the jobs of some females in the regiment also will motivate other 278th women.

Some of the regiment’s biggest supply tasks are carried out in a unit led by two female officers. Support Squadron’s A Troop, commanded by Capt. Rhonda Jones and executive officer Lt. Ridenour, functions as the regiment’s Wal-Mart-like warehouse, according to Capt. Jones. The unit handles receiving and shipping of such essentials as fuel, water and ammunition.

In amassing more than 11,000 miles of travel on the roads of Iraq from Baghdad to Tikrit, the unit also has distributed more than 1.5 million gallons of fuel and completed more than 277,000 supply requests for everything from ink pens to tank engines.

Capt. Jones, 38, a high school science teacher from Sparta, Tenn., commands more than 60 soldiers with a three-to-one maleto-female ratio.

"Overall its still a man’s Army, so to speak," Capt. Jones said. "This is a combat regiment, so we are really outnumbered. Most positions we have in the regiment are closed to females."

But that doesn’t mean women are not in the fight, she said.

Her unit has a "double whammy" of having to unravel the logistics of supplying a combat regiment spread over three main bases while guarding against possible attacks in a combat zone with roadside bombs.

The remotely detonated bombs are the No. 1 killer of soldiers here, and they do not differentiate between male infantrymen and female supply drivers.

Capt. Jones’ unit has experienced fewer than five roadside bombs with no major injuries.

But she said the enemy’s unpredictable hit-and-run tactics have forced A Troop’s men and women to practice the combat tactics they learned in training last summer at Camp Shelby, Miss.

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

As the regiment’s only female company commander, Capt. Jones said she sometimes feels added stress not to make mistakes. Last December she led a 20-vehicle convoy from Kuwait into Iraq over three days. The convoy of heavy trucks arrived unscathed, but not before Capt. Jones had to make some split-second choices in an unfamiliar and hostile country. One involved an armed Iraqi on the roadside.

Capt. Jones ordered her soldiers to hold their fire, and it turned out the man had a legal right to be armed.

"Women are able to make the same decisions under pressure as men," she said.

Female officers in the 278 th said they haven’t experienced higher rates of insubordination than their male equivalents. Lt. Ridenour, of Dandridge, Tenn., said she has occasional but not systematic problems.

She attributes this to the regiment’s National Guard background. Having older soldiers also means having more mature soldiers than the regular Army, said Lt. Ridenour, who spent three years on active duty.

Capt. Jones, who has spent 19 years in the regiment, said respect is not a problem because the soldiers know each other and their families. They’ve spent years serving in the same unit and training one weekend a month with each other.

But Sgt. Southern said she has debated male soldiers here over why she is serving in Iraq. One soldier, according to Sgt. Southern, claimed a certain number of women had to be in the military to keep people back home from complaining about equal rights discrimination.

"A lot of people don’t think women really have a purpose," she said. "They think when you are in Iraq you need to be just kicking down doors."

But Sgt. Southern, who works with Troop A’s supply unit, said men frequently are amazed whenever they see her operating a forklift in the parts warehouse. "I’ve always been the kind of person that if a guy can do it, then I’ve got to at least try," said Sgt. Southern, who grew up on a farm.

MAKING PEACE

Sgt. Southern said women are tailor made for the peacekeeping duties now prevalent in Iraq. Men seem to get mad more easily, she said.

"Most of the guys want to kill the bad guys," Sgt. Southern said, "and most of the women want to help the good ones."

The maternal instinct also kicks in when female soldiers get to interact with the impoverished children of Iraq.

"Going out and seeing the children, being a mother, it just breaks my heart," said Lt. Ridenour, who has three boys at home. "(The Iraqis) are filthy dirty, have bare feet and are always begging."

As Army troops, these women are immersed in one of the professional world’s most masculine environments, but they said they don’t mind the lack of pampering in a combat zone.

"You kind of put your femininity away," said Lt. Ridenour.

Capt. Jones said it is nice not having to worry about what to wear or what shoes match her outfit.

"Every once in awhile you get some Bath and Body Works lotion in the (military store), and that is about as good as it gets," Capt. Jones said. "But just because you are a woman in the military doesn’t make you any less feminine."

In fact the women of the 278th do find time for reconnecting with their gender roots. Sgt. Southern said she enjoys putting on jeans, fixing her hair and sometimes applying a little makeup just to feel like a woman again while she lounges around her room on her day off.

"I can get dirty and rough with the best of them, but sometimes it is good to take that day and remember I’m a woman," she said.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika Sgt. Alana Russell greets Iraqi children during a recent foot patrol through Khanaqin, Iraq.

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