FORWARD OPERATING BASE PATRIOT, FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Early 1948's 'Women in the Air Force' were allowed to serve in many roles, but manly duty like flying airplanes in combat was out of reach for most service women, so many of them ended up in clerical and medical positions not realizing the full potential today's opportunities provide.
Provincial Reconstruction Team Gardez has five Air(wom)en and one female Soldier assigned, and the PRT couldn't accomplish its mission safely and effectively without them. The Pashtun, as the tribal Afghans of this region are known, subscribe to an extremely strict code of 'Pashtunwali' where one of its primary concepts, 'Namus,' or the honor of women, precludes men outside the family from touching, speaking to, or even looking at a Pashtun woman--whether mission-related or not. Out of cultural deference to the traditions and beliefs of the Pashtun, the PRT couldn't fully guarantee its force protection or accomplish its relationship-building mandate without the efforts of these lady Airmen and Soldier. And that's exactly where the PRT's females come in because they can do all three.
The ladies have been trained in combat lifesaving and driving the uparmored humvees the teams will use in their daily convoys through the province's districts and villages. They've also been taught small unit and infantry tactics and movement, and learned to operate the awesome firepower that will hopefully deter, but if necessary defend against the Taliban and al Qaeda insurgents who might threaten the PRT's daily outside-the-wire missions in Afghanistan's Paktya Province along the Pakistan border near the infamous Tora Bora.
Staff Sgt. Kacy Harvey, Services, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
Kacy joined the Air Force to take advantage of the greater opportunities available to her than women in 1948, just like the rest of Gardez' lady warriors. Crossing into the blue, she's capitalized on every chance to shine, and this year is no different. She volunteered outside her normal AEF cycle to serve these 12 months in Afghan reconstruction.
Sergeant Harvey graduated from Owen High School in Swannanoa, N.C., in 2000, and joined the Air Force shortly afterward. "I know it sounds cliché, but I wanted to travel and see the world while at the same time serving my country," she said. "The educational benefits are pretty great, too." Sergeant Harvey only has a year's work left to complete her BS in nursing.
On being surrounded by a Soldier culture here on the PRT, she said, "I'm really enjoying working with the Army--it's been pretty exciting having the opportunity to do things outside the Air Force norm like firing vehicle-mounted crew-served weapons, running convoys, and yes, even wearing full-body armor!" Sergeant Harvey's long-term career plans are to earn an Air Force pension, although she sometimes considers going blue-to-green to guarantee her excitement level.
Staff Sgt. Marla Franklin, Client Support Administration, mother of two, Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Sergeant Franklin graduated from Crook County High School in Prineville, Oreg, in 1992. "I wanted to travel and get an education," the single mother of two girls said. She left Keirra, 13, and Qianna, 8, at home with their dad for the duration of her deployment. "I hope my service on this deployment will make them proud of their mommy."
She'll provide critical service as a Radio and Telephone Operator, or RTO in the PRT's tactical operations center, where her vigilance and quick decision-making ability could mean life or death for the team's convoys out on the road if they get in trouble. "I'm excited about this deployment because it's an opportunity to see a different culture and help people in need."
Staff Sgt. Xerona Moore, Client Support Adminstrator, Eglin AFB, Fla.
Sergeant Moore will also serve as an RTO for the PRT. She graduated from Buena High School in Sierra Vista, Ariz., in 2000. She said, "I joined because I wanted to get out of my small town and see more of the world--and I wasn't ready for college yet," she admits. She's now just a class away from her Community College of the Air Force degree in Information Technology, in keeping with her military management career field.
"I feel good about serving my country on this deployment," she said, "because it's giving me an opportunity to set and be a good example to my future Airmen." The Soldier culture shock hasn't hit her as badly as she had anticipated, though. "I was expecting Soldiers to be brash and yell a lot, but I'm very pleased to say I've found them all to be very professional experts."
Staff Sgt. Leilani Garcia, Logistics/Readiness, mother of 4-year-old son, Charleston AFB, S.C.
Sergeant Garcia joined the Air Force after graduating in 2001 from Harrison Central High School in Gulfport, Miss., because she wanted to serve her country like her retired Air Force father. "I'm enjoying working with the Army because they're very dedicated to serving, and it feels great to be part of the joint team fighting this war on terror," she said. Her only regret thus far in the deployment is being separated from her 4-year-old son, Jamal, who is home with her husband, Staff Sgt. Robert Blue. She's deployed previously to Southwest Asia during 2004.
Tech. Sgt. Hattie Douglas, Personnel, Air Force ROTC Detachment 030, University of Arkansas
The senior Air Force female, Sergeant Douglas is a 16-year veteran who has always shined when the opportunity, or challenge in many cases, presented itself. No stranger to the combat zone, she adds this Afghan tour to two previous rotations based out of Bagram Air Base. In addition to being the S-1, she'll also be called upon to assist in medical outreach operations, drive in convoys, and interact with the Pashtun women and children as part of the team's relationship building with the Afghans.
Sergeant Douglas graduated in 1989 from Paradise Valley High School in Phoenix, Ariz., and worked for two years before becoming an Airman. She, too, is just a class away from her CCAF--no small feat given her previous deployments have been to places where there wasn't exactly an education center on the FOB. "I joined because growing up, my favorite thing to do was listen to my grandpa's World War II stories, and I didn't want to go my whole life wondering what I could have done for my country because he always told me we had a sacred duty to serve," she said. Sergeant Douglas is also enjoying serving with Soldiers. "Don't get me wrong--I love the Air Force--but this is my second joint duty assignment, and these deployments give me opportunities to learn and do things a bit differently than we're used to in the Air Force."
Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Jalayna Lagomarsino, Civil Affairs, 492nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Phoenix, Ariz.
The lone Army female on the team, Sergeant Lagomarsino volunteered for this second tour to Afghanistan. She's excited about the caliber of women she's joining for this reconstruction mission. "Several of them have more operational experience than I have," she said, "but we're sharing our collective experiences and skill sets to work toward a more composite 'PRT' approach, instead of a specifically "Air Force" or "Army" approach to things so we can capitalize on each of areas of expertise."
Once these high-speed ladies complete their combat skills training at Ft. Bragg next month, they'll forward deploy to Afghanistan with PRT Gardez during late February.
For more information on PRTs, visit the NATO/ISAF website at: http://www.nato.int/isaf/topics/recon_dev/prts.html.
Want to be part of an Afghanistan PRT? To volunteer, visit the AFPC website at: http://ask.afpc.randolph.af.mil/main_content.asp?prods1=1&prods2=14&prods3=2498&p_faqid=6843 .