Female Soldiers Fighting and Dying
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James Joyner | Thursday, March 18, 2004 |
Army News Service: Female Soldiers: fighting, dying for their country This story profiles several female soldiers killed in Iraq.
In October 1994 âThe Risk Rule,â which was used to determine which assignments should be closed to women was rescinded, and that made 91 percent of the career fields gender neutral, according to officials from the Office of the Chief of Personnel, G1. That amendment to assignments policy and others like it allowed women like Bosveld and Capt. Kimberly Hampton to get closer to the action, G1 officials said.Hampton was killed when her OH-58 Kiowa Warrior observation helicopter was attacked near the Iraqi town of Fallujah, west of Baghdad. She was a company commander with 1st Battalion, 82nd Aviation Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Hampton supported infantry Soldiers by providing fire support and observing ground action. She was the divisionâs first company commander to die in the war on terror.
The story ends with a list of sixteen “Fallen Female heroes.” Almost all of them were combat service support personnel–in supply, transportation, or postal duties–but several were MPs and one was a recon helicopter pilot. There have been over 500 male soldiers killed in Iraq versus only sixteen females–indeed, the idea of a story about male soldiers per se would seem rather odd–but this does illustrate the changing nature of war. The old idea that there was a “rear area” that was safe is gone.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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