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FORT MEADE, Md. – Today, female Soldiers work and live
side-by-side their male counterparts in combat zones. One of those
Soldiers, Army Maj. Marci Hodge, proves how women join the fight and
help commanders successfully meet their combat missions. Hodge, a
Civil Affairs Soldier with the 450th Civil Affairs Battalion, joined
the active duty Army in 2000 as a Quartermaster officer.
In the first of three deployments, she participated in Operation
Iraqi Freedom in 2003. On her return home, she went to Airborne
School and joined the Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne) as
their only female Company Commander.
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Army Maj. Marci Hodge, second from the left, with fellow female
service members at Afghanistan's First National Women's Shura hosted
by International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in March
2012.
(U.S. Army photo by Lt. Col. Patty Brewer)
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“We know how to be Soldiers,” said Hodge. “My career has
been a series of challenges, testing and breaking through
the boundaries, showing my peers and commanders that gender
is not relevant.”
Hodge left active duty to join the
U.S. Army Reserve in 2005. As an Army Reservist, Hodge's
second deployment took her back to Iraq in 2007 for the
“Surge” as a Sustainment Group Team Supervisor for Division
Humanitarian Assistance. Hodge was awarded a Bronze Star for
her exemplary service. Her final deployment was to
Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012 where she served as Regional
Command East Female Engagement Team Program Manager.
Hodge's future plans include completing her military
education, getting a Battalion Command and going to the War
College. She is determined to be an influencing voice of
reason for leaders, colleagues and Soldiers.
‘Female Engagement Team Leader'
Brigade Combat Teams, maneuver battalions, and
Provincial Reconstruction Teams utilize Female Engagement
Teams to achieve counterinsurgency objectives through their
influence and interaction with local communities, primarily
women. When FETs were first established, the question was
how to integrate them within security missions. Because no
standard operating procedures existed the plan evolved as
the mission developed. FET teams were soon seamlessly
incorporated into combat teams. It was a practical solution
given the timing, people, and skills and it met the needs of
the Army.
As the FET Leader,
Hodge was responsible for teams consisting of U.S.
servicewomen and foreign female Soldiers from Turkey,
Britain, and Australia. Each team member received two weeks
additional training in Government Development and Security
Operations.
”Despite the limited security training,
FET members rose to the occasion,” said Hodge.
Volunteers understood the risks and challenges and could
walk away if they were uncomfortable with the mission. Some
did leave, but others stayed, and Hodge ensured those that
remained were set up for success.
Above all, Afghan
women welcomed FETs. Disenfranchised Afghan women witnessed
empowered women who were mission-critical and worked on an
equal footing with male Soldiers. By networking with Afghan
women, FETs supported the commander's mission and achieved
an overall improvement in security.
“The best part of
FET was helping Afghan women,” said Hodge.
‘Lessons Learned'
Military leadership learned several lessons from FET
operations. First, the security mission matured more quickly
if Afghan women were involved engaged sooner. Second, major
personnel issues that detractors were so worried about
really were non-issues. Restrooms, sleeping accommodations,
and showers did not impact operations.
“Look when you've got to go, you go,” explained Hodge.
“No one cared if I squat outside my Humvee while we are on
convoy in Iraq; we had bigger issues.”
In a deployed
environment, everyone is struggling with something, Hodge
added. While on mission, you are so tired, all you want is
sleep, and you sleep where and when you can, regardless of
the Soldier's gender sleeping next to you.
Commanders
also wanted to establish female buddy teams, which is often
done in training. But in a deployment, a female buddy team
is not always feasible. Hodge explained that when she was a
company commander within Special Warfare Training Group,
there were no other females. Were they going to reassign a
female from another battalion just to be her buddy?
The
big issue is training. Women are an Army asset and should be
trained to support the whole mission. “Give us the training
and we'll take the opportunity.”
“I am a Soldier First”
A year after the Pentagon lifted the ban on women in
combat, female Soldiers from armies around the world shared
their stories in Washington D.C. at a recent conference
entitled “Women in Combat Units: Experiences of Partner
Nations” sponsored by Women in International Security.
Attendees included partner nation representatives, scholars
and servicewomen and men. Representatives from nations who
already have fully integrated militaries shared effective
strategies for achieving gender parity in combat forces.
Hodge was a panel member in the first
session, ‘Women in Combat Testimonials,' which included
female veteran voices from Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden,
the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army. The countries
represented on the panel, aside from the U.S., integrated
women into combat roles between 1985 and 1989. The most
senior female voice on the panel was Canadian Col. Jennie
Carignan who commanded the Task Force Kandahar Engineer
Regiment from 2009 to 2010. She was the first woman in
Canadian Armed Forces history to command a combat arms unit.
Hodge was impressed by what she heard and honored to be
among history-making Soldiers discussing the importance of
and challenges to integrating women into combat roles.
“The over-riding message is clear, how to make Soldiers
the best that they can be?” said Hodge. “How do you make
women more effective?”
There is no question that
women's bodies are different but it is possible to develop
physical training that gets women as mission-ready as men.
It is not a matter of lowering standards but determining
what the job requires. It's important to know that all
Soldiers can do the physical part but it is time to end the
debate of Soldier versus gender. The U.S. is seen as lagging
far behind when it comes to women serving in combat compared
to other nations' militaries.
‘Women in Combat'
Hodge was very happy when the Pentagon announced the policy
change regarding women in the combat ranks. It meant female
Soldiers now had the opportunity to advance to positions
that were previously out of reach.
While
the U.S. Army studies fitness standards for combat jobs,
women are serving as military police, pilots, or in Female
Engagement Teams and face the prospect of combat daily in
Afghanistan. By 2016, the studies will be completed,
standards established, and blueprints designed for
dual-gender U.S. combat units and over 200,000
combat-related positions will be available to women.
Hodge has a bit of advice for female Soldiers with
opportunities within the combat ranks. If you think you can
do it, do it and embrace the challenge. Women, such as
Hodge, are already blazing the trail.
The
infrastructure is there and leadership wants to do the right
thing Hodge added. It's not about gender, it's about
service.
Since 1775 women have served in the U.S.
military. Women's military roles have been changing for
decades, but with the Pentagon's policy change comes formal
recognition that female Soldiers are competent, prepared and
a key to success.
Trailblazers such as Hodge prove
that a Soldier's actions are not tied to gender. While the
debate continues on how to integrate women into the
battlefield, today's female Soldiers are living the reality,
proving that they are proficient Soldiers and capable of
achieving their mission in combat.
By U.S. Army Lt. Col. Patty Brewer
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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