Guerrero credits Broadwell with saving his life. "She was up there doing what we trained her to do as a gunner," he said. "She kept their heads down."

"She was on top of it," adds Pfc. Jonathan Rape, who was driving their vehicle that night. "If she were two inches taller, it would have helped, but you couldnÂ’t expect anything more. All I could hear was that SAW [squad automatic weapon] going off. She seemed so calm. It was three- to five-shot bursts, like she was taught. That told us she wasnÂ’t freaking out and holding the trigger down and spraying. She covered the whole right side of our truck."

"The first IED [improvised explosive device] went off right in front of my vehicle," McCoy said, and a second roadside bomb hit at the rear in what she called a "daisy-chain IED."

The enemy then swarmed from both sides of the road, raking the convoy with rifle fire and rocket-propelled grenades to disable the three other vehicles, McCoy said.

She ran her Humvee up and down the road, gathering up her troops and directing well-aimed fire to repel the attack.

The roof gunner on her Humvee fired 500 rounds and McCoy fired off several clips from her carbine. "I believe I hit two [of the enemy]," McCoy said, "but I donÂ’t know how many we killed."

McCoy somehow jammed all 11 paratroopers into her Humvee and drove to Ramadi, with three of her troops suffering minor injuries.

Ashley- Why canÂ’t a woman be in combat? Cause we are supposed to be the "house wife"? The military is "so" big on Equal Opportunities, but females canÂ’t do a portion of the jobs, because they are female. I can carry my weight and out do some males, so how is someone going to tell me that women donÂ’t belong in combat? There are some males that definitely donÂ’t belong here.

tash- I absolutely HATE when people think that. It is a free country and we can do whatever we want. I have seen females totally out do males. Females can be just as good or better then males. I know some males that would love to be able to do what I can or know what I know. I disagree with the fact about females arenÂ’t allowed in the infantry. Oh well, I guessÂ….we all have our opinions.

Females simply don't have the flair for that kind of fighting.

I would like to just pass on some comments about this American Hero and Soldier. She was a kind person that everyone in this organization loved. She was always there to give me that first smile at shift change, ask how things were going, and ask how I was doing. She always shared pictures of loved ones back home and was so proud of her family. I will never forget her smile, her kindness, and love for her country. She made an everlasting impression on all soldiers she worked with. This everlasting impression is Army wide which is evident by all the individual calls and emails sent to express their sympathy.
She was deeply concerned for soldiersÂ’ safety and news of soldiers that had been injured or worse only increased her energy for her job. She was inexhaustible in her work. She was an expert and I continually called on her to take on some of the hardest work due to her abilities and love for her job. Due to this HeroÂ’s skills and hard work, soldiersÂ’ lives were saved. Soldiers in this Division and the ones that worked with her will benefit from her work for a long time.
I was glad to hear the soldiers from G2 at Fort Campbell were there to give SGT Pinson the respect and honor that everyone here was praying for. The family will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. I will always remember SGT Pinson as a true friend, a superb leader, and most of all a Hero. She will never be forgotten.

CW2 David Moreland
G2/ACE