Nearly 300k women served during the Iraq War. 2 decades later, they remain 'the invisible veterans'

[Nevilledog]

https://19thnews.org/2023/03/iraq-war-women-veterans-invisible-20-years-later/

Christina Schauer deployed to Baghdad in March 2003 during her sophomore year in college. At age 20, Schauer was part of an 800-member reserve battalion that consisted mainly of engineers, truck drivers, mechanics and a handful of medics like herself, tasked with building up the military bases that are there now. About 10 percent were women, she said.

“I joined the military knowing that this was a possibility, but it was surreal,” said Schauer, who had enlisted during peacetime in 1999 to help pay for college and nursing school.
The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

For the first couple of weeks, Schauer said, they didn’t have tents. They slept outside their trucks and held up curtains when people needed to shower. It took months to set up tents, flooring, electricity and eventually air-conditioning. During her year in Iraq, Schauer said she faced gunfire, exploding mortars and the constant threat of violence. Whether they were gunners or truck drivers, men and women alike engaged in combat roles — something that became far more commonplace in the conflict.

“I don’t think people think of women serving those types of roles in the military,” said Schauer, who now leads a military and veteran health care program at a community hospital in Dubuque, Iowa.

*snip*

[chowmama]

1. And for most of it, they weren't eligible for combat pay

Or the ranks that come with acknowledged combat service. Even though the entire country was a combat area.

They were just 'support staff'. (Snark is too mild a word.)

[Lucinda]

2. Thank you for the info!❤️ ✿❧🌿❧✿ ❤️

[Victor_c3]

3. Totally true

I personally was an infantryman and my unit had no women, but there were plenty of women in the unit I was attached to who went on daily patrols like I did.

In fact, since women weren’t a part of traditional combat arms, they were usually a part of daily logistics convoys - which were targeted at least as much as the more heavily armed patrols like my own.

Both my brother and his wife were Army officers. My brother was an Artillery officer while his wife was a Quartermaster (supply) officer. She spent more time in a combat zone than my brother.