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Telling The Story Of The Women Who Serve

May 18, 2008

Traditionally in the military, women have been banned from serving in direct combat units. Because of this, women are barred from certain jobs in the military … jobs that would take them into direct combat. However, in Iraq and Afghanistan, those lines are blurred, there is no defined front line Women are placed in situations that take them into combat situations. They’ve stood side by side with their male counterparts and more than proved themselves in combat. Author, Kirsten Holmstedt wanted to tell their story and she did so in her book, мебелиBand of Sisters which was released July 4, 2007.

In her book, Kirsten tells the story of 12 different females in every branch of the military. She tells of their experiences in combat, how their roles in the military are continuing to evolve, as they heroically prove themselves as warriors. The story of women in combat, has really never been told before, because until now, women haven’t been the in position to be in combat. With no defined front line, they are in combat and their proving themselves every day. One Marine, who’s story was told, Gunnery Sgt Rosie Noel was injured in Iraq, her face bleeding and her jaw broken as a result of being struck by a 1 1/2 inch piece of shrapnel. Her only thoughts were to get back to her Marines. 48 hours after being injured, she returned to her Marines.

“Whenever you are in Iraq, you are on the battlefield,” she said. “And so far the consensus is, women are doing it and they are doing a good job.”

The author wanted to avoid politics with her book and tell the stories of the 12 women portrayed in the book. Due to the controversy over women being in the situations that place them in the heat of the battle in Iraq, it’s a touchy subject that unfortunately has a tendency to become politicized. At the time of the book’s release, Pentagon statistics showed that more than 167,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they’ve performed their jobs well.

“Females are definitely breaking down barriers,” Noel said. “I still have people come up to me and ask: ‘You’re a Marine? Women can do that?’”

While I’ve not had the opportunity to read the book yet, I look forward to doing so. Having worked in Law Enforcement myself, I’ve been subject to the attitude that I was a women and therefore not able to do the job. I think this book shows the roles that woemn are taking more and more in today’s society as a whole. Taking on jobs that have been traditionally considered “Men’s Jobs” and performing those jobs with the same dedication, purpose and professionalism that their male counterparts do.

Band of Sisters

Written by Terri · Filed Under Book & Film Reviews, Military 

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2 Responses to “Telling The Story Of The Women Who Serve”

  1. Media Districts Entertainment Blog » Telling The Story Of The Women Who Serve on May 18th, 2008 2:17 am

    [...] /Film | Blogging the Reel World added an interesting post today on Telling The Story Of The Women Who ServeHere’s a small reading [...]

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  2. Pepe Johnson on June 12th, 2008 1:09 pm

    I think a lot of female service members have been closer to the front lines than we may have realized. My aunt was at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese bombed. The mother of one of my high school friends was a nurse in Vietnam. I don’t know that women would enjoy the field artillery, but they’ll be standing beside us one way or another. Thanks.

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