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| Afghanistan |
| All-Female Marine Team Conducts First Mission in Afghanistan |
| 2009-03-13 |
| Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment -- the ground combat element of Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan -- now have a special group of people to help them complete their mission in Afghanistan. The task force’s all-female Marine team is interacting with the Afghan female population in southern Afghanistan -- a task considered culturally unacceptable for the male Marines operating there. A similar program has been used in combat operations in Iraq, but this is the first time Marine forces in Afghanistan have employed the concept, officials said. Marine Corps Capt. Mike Hoffman, commanding officer of 3/8’s Company I, said the all-female team is an important asset for his Marines. “[The team] provides us access to half of the population that we normally do not have access to,” Hoffman said. “They did extremely well interacting with the female villagers.” Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Johanna Shaffer, the team leader, said their first mission, a cordon-and-search operation in support of Operation Pathfinder, was very successful. “We were accepted by both the men and women villagers and were able to obtain valuable information about the way they lived and what they thought about the Marine Corps operating in the area,” Shaffer said. |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #4 We remain the most radical, revolutionary country in the world, a threat to every other culture. And it's weapons like this that are the most effective. Indeed, Nimble Spemble. A very good and useful article, across several metrics. And I did read the whole thing before I posted, 'cause it was worth it. :-) we called it the lioness program when I was in iraq Love it, Broadhead6! We do names well, too. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-03-13 23:17 |
| #3 we called it the lioness program when I was in iraq. Anectdotally it seemed to me that the iraqi women thought the female Marines w/their weapons were pretty cool. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2009-03-13 21:08 |
| #2 rtwt, tw. This is the jihadi's worst nightmare for a lot of other reasons. I doubt these Marines are meant to see combat up close and personal in the shot by a girl sense as much as to do the community building, intelligence gathering activity. Much better for the Reaper to reach out an touch someone out of the blue because of intel from a fed up mother. Note how afraid the Taliban are of the Afghan women becoming educated. Educated women change a culture a lot. These Marines are a real threat to radical Islamic culture in a way that male Marines are not. Just seeing a woman leading other women and a woman officer being treated like an officer by subordinate males sends a real impression to every woman who sees it. I had to post this on the run, and I sort of hoped it wouldn't hit till tomorrow, but one part I didn't include that really made me think was Although Afghan women tend to be more reserved than Afghan men, they still have a large influence on their children, Shaffer said, so engaging with them is important. “If the women know we are here to help them, they will likely pass that on to their children,” she said. "If the children have a positive perspective of alliance forces, they will be less likely to join insurgent groups or participate in insurgent activities.” We remain the most radical, revolutionary country in the world, a threat to every other culture. And it's weapons like this that are the most effective. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-03-13 20:40 |
| #1 A jihadi's worst nightmare. What did the missiles shot off by that all-female air crew have written on them? Something like, "Ha ha! Killed by a girl!"? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-03-13 19:48 |