Iraqi girls perform a skit for Iraqi officials and Soldiers during a re-opening ceremony at Yassamin School, Nov. 5. The project was a joint effort between Government of Iraq officials and U.S. forces. Photo by Sgt. Joshua Risner

Education is essential for a child growing up in the world today. That is no less true in Iraq, where schools are a building block for a child’s future.

Three schools were officially re-opened here, Nov. 5, thanks to Multi-National Division Baghdad Soldiers.

The Shab Female School, Yassamin School and Monte Tenaybo Schools were in shambles before they came to the attention of Army civil affairs Soldiers, according to Staff Sgt. Frank Halstead, from Brooklyn, N.Y.

“All three schools had to be completely redone because they were a mess,” he said. “They had to be painted and cleaned, the wiring had to be redone and the walls on the outside needed repair. Basically they were just the shells of buildings.”

So Halstead and his fellow civil affairs Soldiers took up the contracts and set to work. They arranged for the repairs to be made and periodically checked the work to make sure things were being done to their specifications.

“We had to make sure they were done up to standard,” said Halstead. “Finally it all came together and the people have schools now.”

On opening day, the students gathered to sing songs and perform skits for the Soldiers and officials who came to see the work come to fruition.

“It feels pretty good because today you actually get to see the kids’ reactions – it’s not just a bunch of older people standing around talking to each other,” said Halstead. “The kids were happy, they looked like they wanted to be in school, to me that’s a good thing.”

1st Lt. Lacey Rector (right), from Willoughby Hills, Ohio, talks with students and teachers at the reopening ceremony for the Shab Female School, Nov. 5. Photo by Sgt. Joshua Risner

For 1st Lt. Lacey Rector, from Willoughby Hills, Ohio, assigned 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, the girls at Shab Female School were a welcome sight.

“It’s nice to see females because you don’t see them very often over here,” she said. “It’s nice to see that they are being educated as well.”

The project is another example of the continued commitment of U.S. forces to helping the Iraqi people, according to Halstead.

“We’re there to help them not to hurt them,” he said. “They know if their children are being educated then that’s going to help them in the long run. They appreciate it.”

With three more schools operational in the Baghdad area, more children are getting the chance to better themselves and their communities by getting an education. It is one more thing that U.S. forces are doing to make Iraq a better place.

Col. Maria Zumwalt (left), a native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, chats with students of the Shab Female School, Nov. 5. Zumwalt is the commander of Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. Photo by Sgt. Joshua Risner

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. Joshua Risner

Capt. Ann Demapan, Women's Initiatives coordinator, Multi-National Division – South, speaks to Iraqi women at a conference held at the Basra Airport recently to discuss business opportunities available to educated women. Photo by Spc. Stephanie Cassinos

In January, we spoke to a number of Iraqi women about the business opportunities that they were opening up for themselves. Here’s a similar story from Southern Iraq.

More than fifty Iraqi women met with Soldiers and contractors recently at the Basra Airport to discuss opportunities in business development and business contracting.

A large portion of the conference was dedicated to explaining opportunities with Joint Contracting Command – Iraq’s Women-Owned Business Initiative, a program that reserves Department of Defense contracts for businesses primarily owned by women.

“The target audience for the conference was educated women because contracting normally deals with a huge scope of work that requires specialties in engineering and business management,” explained Capt. Ann Demapan, Women’s Initiatives coordinator, Multi-National Division – South. “Programs like these can prove to both men and women that women are competitive and competent in almost any field of work.”

Jasim Al-Sarraf, a business development consultant with Regional Contracting Center – Basra, concurred.

“Most contractors are men,” said Al-Sarraf, a native of Baghdad. “We know for sure that there are many educated women in this society. The university is pumping students out every year.”

“They need jobs. They need income,” added Al-Sarraf. “And if they don’t have it they’ll end up sitting at home.”

Civil Affairs and contractors such as JCC-I assist Iraqi women by introducing business opportunities as well as providing training along every step of becoming a contracted company. From filling out paperwork to learning the rules and ethics of contracting, these women are guided through the process of establishing and learning how to manage a DoD contract.

“It’s our job to find them, get them out, encourage them to have a company, show them the way to do it and train them,” said Al Sarraf.

In 2008, JCC-I awarded four percent of all contracting to women-owned businesses, totaling $187 million. Following successes in the past, this year the aspirations are even higher.

“Joint Contracting Command – Iraq has made it a goal to award 10 percent of its contracts to women contractors,” said Demapan. “Women contractors will only compete amongst other women contractors. Past contracts done by women contractors resulted in quality, professional work.”

Both Al Sarraf and Demapan believed the conference was beneficial for the women who attended.

“My objective is first encouraging them, stimulating them,” said Al Sarraf. “Then to give them a general idea about the contracts and tell them that we are here to help you.”

“From the questions asked by them, they were very eager of wanting more details in completing applications to become contractors,” Demapan said. “And even before the conference took place, 40 women contractors applied to JCC-I to be added into their database system of contractors.”

In addition to aspirations of becoming contracted, Iraqi women at the conference expressed a desire to give back to their communities.

“Some of the women were very passionate in wanting to help other women in rural areas,” Demapan said. “Some spoke of outreach programs concerning health care and humanitarian assistance for women in rural areas.”

Demapan, a mother, hopes to help women understand how their roles as business-owners can offer Iraq even more than economic development.

“The ladies and I share a commonality in that we are mothers. Mothers only want the best provided for their children. That entails building a strong Iraq for their children,” said Demapan. “I wanted to convey to them that all Iraqis, men and women, have a stake in the future of Iraq. That the women of Iraq need to become and need to be recognized as major players in policy-making and decision-making for their motherland.”

DVIDS
Story by Spc. Stephanie Cassinos

The Iraqi security services continue to add women, no matter what you may read in the old media. Here are a few recent pics:

KARBALA, Iraq (March 22, 2009) Iraqi female recruits disassemble AK-47 assault rifles during weapons training for recruits in basic training at the Iraqi Police Academy in Karbala, Iraq. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Wendy Wyman/Released)

KARBALA, Iraq (March 22, 2009) An Iraqi female recruit looks down the sights of her AK-47 assault rifle during weapons training for recruits in basic training at the Iraqi Police Academy in Karbala, Iraq. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Wendy Wyman/Released)

KARBALA, Iraq (March 22, 2009) An Iraqi police instructor demonstrates how to load an AK-47 assault rifle during weapons training for recruits in basic training at the Iraqi Police Academy in Karbala, Iraq. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Wendy Wyman/Released)

Lioness tells the story of a group of female Army support soldiers who were part of the first program in American history to send women into direct ground combat. Without the same training as their male counterparts but with a commitment to serve as needed, these young women fought in some of the bloodiest counterinsurgency battles of the Iraq war and returned home as part of this country’s first generation of female combat veterans. Lioness makes public, for the first time, their hidden history.

In April 2004, at the height of the insurgency in Iraq, five female soldiers unwittingly found themselves fighting alongside Marines in the battle for Ramadi and Fallujah.

Their story is told in a documentary film bearing their unit name, “Team Lioness,” which has been shown in private and public screenings throughout the United States and Europe in the past year. The Center for Women Veterans hosted the film at the Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters here yesterday.

“These stories are important to us at VA, because women veterans are coming to VA in great numbers, and we need to make sure we understand their experiences,” Betty Moseley Brown, associate director of the VA’s Center for Women Veterans, said as she introduced the film to an audience of about 50 viewers. “They became the first female soldiers in U.S. history to be sent into direct ground combat.”

Since the American Civil War, women have played important roles in the U.S. armed forces during war time — as nurses, journalists, pilots, engineers, logisticians and much more. But what they’re not, still, is infantry, armor or artillery — combat-arms specialties.

Still, many female servicemembers have been wounded and killed as a result of enemy fire. But it wasn’t until the start of the Iraq war in 2003 that women began finding themselves engaged in direct fighting.

Team Lioness pioneered women in direct fighting, although somewhat unintentionally. The women were intended to augment combat-arms platoons to search Iraqi women for money, weapons and drugs smuggling at checkpoints and on patrols. But eventually, their new roles in the ranks of combatant units led to ground combat alongside infantrymen, cavalrymen and artillerymen on the frontlines.

The film opens in a wilderness setting with b-roll of trees and damp leaves lining a still-flowing creek. The only sounds for several seconds are crickets chirping in the background. The tranquil silence of Mena, Ark., is suddenly broken by the boom of several shotgun rounds fired at a turtle in the creek.

The documentary’s introduction of Shannon Morgan, a former Army mechanic and Lioness, shows her innocence as a country girl, but with an obviously troubled past. Much of the film follows her around her family’s farm as she hunts squirrels with her shotgun and shares emotional testimonies of her time in Iraq.

“I don’t watch the news. I don’t read newspapers,” Morgan says in the film. “But the memories of war never go away.”

Morgan and the other Lionesses said they never expected to have to fire their weapon. But they quickly found themselves performing combat patrols, raids and house-to-house searches with the Marines in what was considered the most dangerous region of Iraq during what was arguably the most dangerous period of the entire campaign.

The Lionesses talk about their first enemy encounters and the stress of seeing dead bodies for the first time, while fighting to stay alive. Morgan recalled battling with the darkest side of war just before shooting an insurgent in a firefight.

“It’s something you learn to deal with,” Morgan said. “I don’t regret what I did, but I wish it had never happened.”

The soldiers also talk about the difficulties of learning the tactics and vocabulary of the Marines they worked with. The transition from their Army ways, plus the frequency of enemy engagements, didn’t allow for much of a learning curve to make up for their lack of knowledge of various weapons systems, Army Capt. Anastasia Breslow, a signal corps officer and former Lioness, said in the film.

“If everyone [in the platoon] had been hurt, I would have had no idea how to get back to the forward operating base,” Breslow said. “I didn’t know how to use the biggest casualty-producing weapon we had. I felt we needed to know more.”

Although the film takes place primarily on the home front with Lioness and family interviews, it brings to light the realities today’s generation of military women, and all combat support troops, face in Iraq and Afghanistan. The line that separates the front from the rear is blurred by the urban and guerilla warfare troops encounter fighting terrorism within the Middle East.

The nature of modern warfare — fighting counterinsurgencies in random locations, as opposed to nation states on prescribed battlefields — has made it difficult to define what constitutes a combat-arms military specialty and what doesn’t.

Military women today still cannot legally serve in combat-arms positions, but they serve competently and are trained in a variety of roles and capacities in Iraq and Afghanistan because of the lessons learned from the original Team Lioness. Their experiences prompted training for women that was never done before. They learn infantry tactics, qualify on more weapons, and are better prepared for the chance they may have to engage the enemy.

“As a result of their experiences, now each military service trains female servicemembers to be Lionesses, training that was not offered whenever this documentary was actually filmed,” Brown said, referring to the weapons and tactical training female military members now receive.

DoD
By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

A local Iraqi woman from the Mahmudiyah Qada stands by her table of merchandise with her son during the Women’s Bazaar hosted by Task Force 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment at Forward Operating Base Mahmudiyah, Feb 17

Women of the Mahmudiyah Qada filled tables with homemade products and Iraqi souvenirs during a special bazaar on Forward Operation Base Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad, Feb 17.

Sponsored by Soldiers of Task Force 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, the innovative event gave troops stationed on the southern base the opportunity to purchase items and assist neighboring Iraqi families at the same time.

“This is a great way for local women to improve their small businesses and take care of their families,” said Capt. Sara Woods, with the 445th Civil Affairs Battalion. “It also allows our Soldiers to purchase authentic Iraqi souvenirs and gifts.”

Many of the women in the Mahmudiyah area lost their husbands to insurgent violence and struggle to provide for their families; making them easy targets for insurgents. The bazaar served as a way to show them they can create a better future for their families.

“This is a good project that is helping widows and people who need the money. I am so happy to be a part of it,” said Madiha Gumar, one of the small business owners, and a member of the Mahmudiyah Women’s Group.

This is the second bazaar Soldiers of TF 1-63 CAB have had the opportunity to be involved with and was much larger and had more participants than the first. Those who took part in the bazaar felt, not only they were walking away with something to take home, but also giving back to the local Iraqi community.

“It was very beneficial in what we’re trying to do for Iraq. From a personal stand point it was really gratifying to know we were helping the widows and their children,” said Dale Hamilton, a civilian law enforcement professional attached to TF 1-63 CAB.

Although the bazaar was considered a success at the end of the day, it also presented a foundation for each woman present to continue and expand her business.

“They came in and they sold these products to the Soldiers, and I think each one of them walked out with a couple hundred dollars,” said Lt. Col. Anne Resty, a Women’s Initiative coordinator. “So now afterwards they can buy more fabric and other materials to make more products that they can sell in the local markets as well.”

The event also helped to increase the good relationship between the people of Mahmudiyah and the MND-B Soldiers stationed on FOB Mahmudiyah.

“The more they see us as helpful Americans and they get to know us, they get to know that we have children, they get to know that we have spouses, and they get to know that we’re just normal people…and the benefits are multi-faceted,” said Resty. “They’re going to think of us as normal people and that we can help them.”

MNF-I

One hundred women graduated from an adult literacy course at Al-Sharquia Secondary School for Girls in the Karadah security district of eastern Baghdad Dec. 4.

The graduates, their family members and other ceremony attendees gathered to celebrate what was the first of potentially many successful adult literacy classes.

“This is the first step of many that the Iraqi government has taken to ensure economic growth in the Karadah district,” said Capt. Sean O’Brien, non-lethal effects coordinator with 5th Battalion 25th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. “The next step is to employ them.”

Many of the graduates are widows, explained Hadeel Adel, an Iraqi non-government organization representative and advocate for women’s rights. She said the literacy course graduates will be able to use their new skills to study for a civil service examination to seek government employment.

“This is a monumental day for these women. You can see the future of Iraq in their faces,” exclaimed Adel. “These women will get jobs and relieve the stress on the local economy by providing for their families”

Adel expressed hopes for a continued partnership between the United States and Iraq and said she wishes that women’s rights in Iraq will someday mirror the rights women have in America.

Their graduation marked a successful day for these literate women of Baghdad, and now they possess the power to learn through reading.

MNF-I

Not everyone who dies in our fight against terror is a man. Here is the story of a woman, a Marine, who died in the service of her country. God bless Cpl. Jennifer M. Parcell.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Cpl. Jennifer M. Parcell, 20, of Bel Air, Md., died Feb. 7 [2007] while supporting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Parcell was assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 3, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

DoD

Cpl. Jennifer M. Parcell, a landing support specialist with Okinawa, Japan-based Combat Logistics Regiment 3, assumed her billet with the Lioness program Feb. 1 [2007], according to a spokesman for III Marine Expeditionary Force on Okinawa. The program uses female Marines from different military occupational specialties to search Iraqi woman at checkpoints.

Parcell, who was a few weeks shy of returning to Okinawa, was killed when an Iraqi woman she was searching detonated an explosive vest, the release said.

Marine Corps Times
By Beth Zimmerman

MySpace page

Cpl. Rebekah D. Hall, combat engineer and female search team member with Combat Logistics Battalion 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, and a member of the ‘Sisters of Fallujah,’ search hand-bags for contraband at an entry control point. The group of Iraqi women came together in December 2007 to help U.S. forces stop the smuggling of contraband into the city of Fallujah. In the past, women and children have been used to smuggle forbidden items that can be used to make improvised explosive devices, as well as other items that are not allowed into the city for the safety of the citizens who live there. “Before, we did all the searching ourselves,” said Hall, from San Diego. “Now, we work together and supervise the search techniques that have been taught to the Sisters of Fallujah.”

Marines on a female search team and Iraqi women with the “Sisters of Fallujah” program have been working together at an entry control point here to help make the city of Fallujah a safer place.

The program was formed because females were needed to search other females. In Islamic tradition, a man touching a woman who is not his wife is considered offensive.

Just like Iraqi security forces that have been assuming more responsibilities, Iraqi women are striving to do the same with the help of Marine FSTs.

“(The Sisters of Fallujah) are our eyes and ears inside the booth, where we cannot go,” said Sgt. William A. Lamascus, sergeant of the guard of ECP-1. “It helps to have them here because when they find things, they bring it to our attention.”

Sisters of Fallujah came together in December 2007, to help stop the smuggling of contraband into the city. In the past, women and children have been used to transport forbidden items that can be used to make improvised explosive devices, as well as other items that are not allowed into the city for the safety of the citizens who live there.

“I wanted to help the people be safe in their own city,” said a Sister of Fallujah.

“It is our job to put forth the effort to stop bad people from bringing in contraband,” she said after being with the group for four months.

Some days are busier than others.

“Today is Otlah, a holiday for Iraqi people or the weekend,” said another Sister. “Today, we searched a little more than 2,000 people at this checkpoint.”

Marines help the Iraqi women on these busy days with the daunting task of searching all the women and children that go into the city.

“We are out here to make sure that the searches are done correctly,” said Lance Cpl. Corina J. Hernandez, basic water support technician and FST member with Combat Logistics Battalion 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group. “They do a really good job and they care about what they do.”

The Sisters of Fallujah risk their own lives each day, as well as their families’, to help fight terrorism.

“They are more concerned about other people’s safety than their own,” said Hernandez, from Dededo, Guam.

“Before, we did all the searching ourselves,” said Cpl. Rebekah D. Hall, combat engineer and FST member with CLB-1, 1st MLG. “Now, we work together and supervise the search techniques that have been taught to the Sisters of Fallujah.”

Hall, from San Diego, said being a part of the FST gives her a sense of accomplishment here in Fallujah. She added that the female Marines also provided security for the Sisters of Fallujah.

“This is how we can help out the infantry guys,” said Hall.

For Lance Cpl. Amanda M. Molina, basic water support technician and FST member with CLB-1, 1st MLG, this was her first time working with the Sisters of Fallujah.

“It was interesting to see a different culture,” said Molina, from Fullerton, Calif. “I feel like I am needed. It was a good experience to be able to work with the Sisters of Fallujah.”

DVIDS
Story by Lance Cpl. Robert Medina

Cpl. Nicole K. Estrada, a 21-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., received a kiss or “bosa” from a local boy in Rutbah, Iraq. During her time as a Lioness, Estrada befriended local women and practiced Arabic with some when they passed the traffic control point.

“Iraq is full of pop tarts.” In every mess hall, packed in every care package, sitting in a box at the back of our classroom and now written on the wall of a bathroom stall in Al Asad.

I went to Al Asad for Lioness training with Regimental Combat Team 5. I’m a combat correspondent without any combat experience. Although I’m now a journalist for the Marine Corps, I have always been a journal-keeper of some sort.

A combat photographer, a field wireman and a cook with 1st Marine Logistics Group also volunteered for the program. This was our opportunity to serve a more direct role in this war. As females, being a Lioness gave us a rare opportunity to work “outside the wire,” away from our desk jobs and away from working with tape recorders, cameras, wires and spatulas.

Our job was to search Iraqi females for suicide vests, fake identification and contraband at vehicle and entry control points in an effort to diminish the threat of female suicide bombers, while keeping in mind the gender sensitivities of the nationals.

The training course to prepare us for our duties included things we were already familiar with, such as rules of engagement, escalation of force, a combat lifesaver course and techniques from the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program we may need for self-defense. We fired our rifles and the AK-47s at the range, learned about sniper threats and the history of suicide bombers. We even had the opportunity to touch suicide vests retrieved after a failed terrorist attack.

Touching the vest brought the reality of the news straight to my hands. One was gray and made with fabric from a soldier’s gear. It made me think of the belts worn by some newborn babies to protect the skin still attached to their belly buttons. That started a train of thought leading me to think of all the mothers who may have lost someone in this war. They could use their anger as an excuse to make something similar to what I was holding.

At the time, news of female suicide bombers was everywhere. In February two women executed a deadly attack in a Baghdad pet market, killing 99 people. The attack was one of several in the past year, making it seem to me like humans, not vehicles, were becoming the preferred method of transporting explosives. It made me wonder if terrorists had exhausted one tactic and moved on to another.

The news was probably what kept me awake through all the hours of wearying power point presentations.

The Arabic-language class was probably the most helpful training we received. Everyday for at least an hour, Arabic greetings and commands were pounded into our brains. I would practice at night before going to sleep. Our lead training instructor emphasized the importance by making us state phrases repeatedly throughout the day.

“Oni imra’ah, elbis shari fowq,” we said. It means “I am a woman wearing my hair pulled back.”

It got to the point where I would forget the meaning of the sentence I was spitting out.

We learned of our destinations a day before our departure. We would be heading out to Rutbah. On the map, it seemed so far away from everything. It is a city in the far-western al-Anbar province and is a crossroads linking Baghdad to the Syrian border.

I packed light, bracing myself for the travel. Traveling with all my protective gear on and combat load is serious business in the heat but I couldn’t complain yet because I still had a busy month or two ahead of me. I would wear my 30-pound flak jacket several weeks and for several hours throughout the day.

We arrived in Rutbah after a short helicopter ride and a few hours later convoyed to the traffic control point where we’d be working.

My stomach turned when I saw a multitude of children run to the convoy to wave hello. It was just strange to me to see the large group of kids running around, like the entire city was their playground.

Apart from the children walking around, there were also sheep in the street, dozens of dirty dogs and trash everywhere. The trail of trash continued on to the traffic control point. The way it was caught on the barbed wires and lying against the protective barriers, it was like gaudy wallpaper for the perimeter.

The Lionesses we were relieving seemed excited to meet us, as they were ready to hand over responsibility of their post. They also gave us a tour of the area, showing us the mess hall, showers, an area recently damaged by mortars and finally, the female search area.

The post was nothing like what I thought it may look like, although I barely had an idea of what to expect. Anyways, I don’t think anything would have made feel completely safe given our situation and unfamiliar surroundings.

“All it would take is one,” a staff sergeant later put it. The sergeant on post spun us up on the way they did business there, the mood of the people they deal with and in return let us bombard her with questions.

Sometime between then and the morning, before falling asleep on our cots in a room made of sand-barrier walls, we decided our special word in case of an emergency at the post. If we ever felt threatened, our secret word to alert our partner would be ‘pop tart.’

It’s what we had become tired of eating and what we didn’t want the women to do – pop.

DVIDS

A Soldier and Airman take pictures at the first Northern Iraq Women’s Conference held in Kirkuk, Iraq, on April 20. First of its kind in the region, the conference brought close to 100 female Iraqis throughout the Kirkuk Province and U.S. professionals to include female Peshmerga soldiers from Sulayminiyah, and U.S. Army and Air Force personnel stationed at Forward Operating Base Warrior together.

“We are not that different,” Maj. Naheda Ahmed, 42, commander of a women’s Peshmerga Infantry Regiment in Sulayminiyah said, at the inaugural Northern Iraq Women’s Conference, April 20 at Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk, Iraq. “It is important to start a dialogue about women’s issues effecting women in Iraq with our American counterparts…we are their voices.”

The dialogue remained light with more interest in getting to know one another as Soldiers and Airmen brought photo albums, sharing pictures of family and friends with attendees, who in turn, shared theirs at the inaugural Northern Iraq Women’s Conference held April 20, at Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk, Iraq.

Photographer: Staff Sgt. Margaret Nelson, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Here’s the story: U.S. and Iraqi Women Find Common Ground in Kirkuk, Iraq

Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division are working with Iraqi Army troops to help create a Daughters of Iraq program to complement the work done by the Sons of Iraq.
The Iraqi women in the program would be able to search other females at security checkpoints, expanding the capabilities of the Sons of Iraq currently manning the checkpoints.

The Sons of Iraq are an organization of volunteers who have united to stand against terrorists in their homeland. They have been credited with helping bring peace to much of Iraq.

Steve Martinez, a law enforcement professional attached to the division’s Company C, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, said it became necessary to integrate women into security roles because terrorists began using females to carry out suicide attacks against Iraqis and Coalition forces.

Employing women at checkpoints, Martinez said, would “provide a complete and thorough search of suspect females with the utmost respect for the individual and local customs without compromising the safety of others.”

The Daughters of Iraq will search other women in and around Yusifiyah to help prevent trafficking of weapons, explosives and dangerous materials. In addition to the significant security gains that these women will bring to the checkpoints, there are other advantages.

“The Daughters of Iraq will facilitate female empowerment and the creation of the group represents a significant step towards a properly functioning democratic society,” said Sgt. Jason G. George, Company C intelligence noncommissioned officer. “While the group may face criticism from traditionalists, ultimately, their success will demonstrate their value to the populace.”

Another benefit of the creation of the program is the opportunity for some of the more disadvantaged women to receive benefits, most of whom have been specifically targeted to join the program.

“We have been working to assist the impoverished women and, particularly, the widows in the area. There are limited employment opportunities for women widowed by insurgent violence and burdened with supporting their children,” said 1st Lt. Chris Hafner, Company C intelligence officer. “This program is ideal for these women.”

The details for Daughters of Iraq contracts are being finalized and will start with 30 women.

“Integrating patriotic Iraqi women into the Daughters of Iraq is a huge step in the right direction of freedom for the Iraqi people,” said Staff Sgt. Thai A. Starkovich, military transition team noncommissioned officer in charge. “With the cooperation of the Iraqi Army and the Sons and Daughters of Iraq, the safety of Iraqis is a goal that is now visible on the horizon.”

(Army Capt. Mike Starz is assigned to the 101st Airborne Divison’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team.)

DoD
By Army Capt. Mike Starz
Special to American Forces Press Service

Cpl. Jennifer San Martin, 24, a lioness attached to 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, who is from Katy, Texas, searches an Iraqi woman as she travels through the checkpoint in Haditha City, Iraq, Saturday. Her guardian angel, Cpl. Tracy R. Hauk, 21, a lioness attached to 3rd Bn., 23rd Marines, who is from Fenton, Mich., provides security as she conducts the search. Female Marines are pulled from units and participate in a 10-day Lioness training evolution to teach them how to correctly search Iraqi women. Photos by: Cpl. Shawn Coolman

Cpl. Jennifer San Martin, 24, a lioness attached to 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, who is from Katy, Texas, searches an Iraqi woman as she travels through the checkpoint in Haditha City, Iraq, Saturday. Her guardian angel, Cpl. Tracy R. Hauk, 21, a lioness attached to 3rd Bn., 23rd Marines, who is from Fenton, Mich., provides security as she conducts the search. After completing a 10-day training exercise, the Marines are qualified to become Lionesses and search Iraqi women, which the male Marines are unable to do.

These Lionesses don’t have to stalk their prey; their prey comes to them willingly.

The four Lionesses here in Haditha City, Iraq, are female Marines who currently serve with 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5. Their job is to search Iraqis women as they travel through the cities checkpoints.

The Lionesses here were pulled from various units and attended a 10-day course on the techniques, tactics and procedures of searching females and children.

In a culture where many women still cover their faces due to religious beliefs, it is disrespectful for a male to search females. The Lioness program was started so that Iraqi women could be searched in a way that wasn’t against their culture.

“In the Iraqi culture, it’s disrespectful for a male to just look at the females.” said Cpl. Jennifer San Martin, 24, a lioness attached to 3rd Bn., 23rd Marines, who is from Katy, Texas. “And that’s where we come in. We’re here to reach out to the Iraqi females, because male Marines can’t search them and can’t really even speak to them.”

Although it is normal to see women in leadership positions in the U.S., it is quite uncommon here.

“Not only does it give the Iraqi females a sense of equality, it gives a sense of equality too a lot of females in the military,” added San Martin while searching a female. “A lot of females (in the military) don’t get to do what we are doing.”

San Martin’s partner, who provides security while the searches are being conducted, Cpl. Tracy R. Hauk, 21, has similar thoughts.

“We’re out here with the grunts (infantryman) everyday and in the line of danger proving to the males that we can hack it, too,” said Hauk, who is from Fenton, Mich.

The trend to transition the country from Coalition force control to Iraqi control is prevalent here as well.

In other areas of Iraq, female Iraqis are beginning to train with the Lionesses, said Hauk, who grew up in Genesee County.

“They do the one thing we can not do: search the females coming through the check point. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do our job right,” said Sgt. Arnulfo, 29, a Company L, 3rd Bn., 23rd Marines, team leader, who is from Houston.

Marine Corps News

DVIDS
By 1st Lt. Lori E. Miller
1st Marine Logistics Group

A team consisting of five female Marines from the 1st Marine Logistics Group and two female interpreters conducted a census patrol in a nearby town, Feb. 23.

The Iraqi Women’s Engagement Team was able to meet and talk with the local Iraqi females without the men around.

A variety of topics were discussed, from any assistance they may need, to how the American military has helped them make a better way of life.

“It was an eye opener,” said Sgt. Veronica Deleon, 26, a member of the IWE team, from Bassett, Calif. “We realized Iraqi people are ordinary individuals that want an opportunity at life and a future for their children, just like we do.”

The IWE team was able to meet with more than half of the female adult population of the town.

Before enjoying a traditional Iraqi meal and Chai, the IWE questioned the Iraqi women about what issues they may need assistance with.

The items brought up repeatedly were the need for better electricity, financial assistance, medical facilities and chlorine tablets for their drinking water.

Regarding the electricity, they said they only have power a few hours each evening. U.S. military recently provided them a generator, but they can’t afford the fuel to run it. An elderly lady from the town said, “The Americans helped us. They got us the generator, the least we could do is provide the fuel.”

Many of the women have husbands who have either been killed or are detained. Because of this, the women are in need of financial assistance.

One lady said her husband has been missing for over a year. He left behind seven kids whom the wife is trying to provide for. She said the Iraqi government gives her a bit of money each month, but the amount falls far short of what she needs.

There is also a great need for permanent medical facilities in the town. The Iraqi government provides a “traveling doctor” who visits every now and then, but the women expressed their need of a permanent facility, to include a doctor specialized in female needs.

“The closest medical facility is in Tourist Town,” one said, “but that’s too far to walk for those of us who don’t have cars.”

She mentioned a young boy in the neighborhood who fell off a roof a few months ago. He is in need of surgery for damage done to his eye and a hole remaining in his ear. “We can’t get him to Syria because we don’t have a car and if we were able to get him there, we can’t afford the actual surgery.”

The American military has been assisting with incidents requiring minor medical attention.

Another young boy in the town had recently submerged his hands in hot cooking oil. “The Americans, you helped him. He is doing much better. Thank you very much for helping him.”

They also expressed their need for jobs. Since a few of their husbands are missing or detained somewhere, the women want to work to raise money for their children to eat. Several were excited, upon hearing of a possible job opening in a hotel in nearby Tourist Town.

Another woman, whose two sons had recently received jobs in Tourist Town cleaning, said things are looking much better in Iraq. “With the American’s help, Baghdad is even getting better.”

“I am really thankful for the projects in Habbaniyah. Both my sons have jobs because of you. The Americans always help me. The Americans care for us more than our own people. They give us mercy.”

“(The visit) made us aware of why we are here and how important it is to conduct these missions so we can continue to earn and keep their trust,” said Deleon.

2nd Lt. Cynthia Peters, center, from Huntington, Ind., 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment’s women’s affairs representative, speaks with a curious participant during the first-ever Hawr Rajab Women’s Committee meeting Feb. 7.

DVIDS
By Sgt. Luis Delgadillo
2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO

Leaders of the newly-formed group sat before colleagues, government officials, community and coalition leaders, but the audience they addressed was much larger; what some would even consider the backbone of their community.

The first meeting of Hawr Rajab’s Women’s Committee began Feb. 7 with a press conference at the Hawr Rajab boy’s school and a discussion of topics vital to the community’s welfare.

If the orators were nervous they did not show it as one-by-one they began to stump for their cause.

As a collective hush enveloped the audience, more than 200 women and young girls eagerly listened to what the guest speakers had to say.

Manar Fahdil Salman, a lawyer who grew up in Hawr Rajab, one of eight speakers, sat poised ready to take up the cause.

“This message is for the entire world. We need to show them that we have rules. We need to help side-by-side with the men to help our city be safe. This can’t be done with one hand, all of us need to help,” Salman said.

Salman and her fellow women’s group leaders expressed gratitude for the increased security in their respective regions and recognized the need to focus on the future.

“Women in this area are looking for training. They are looking for special skills and training to help them provide for their communities,” she said.

Salman said when al-Qaida extremists moved into the region more than two years ago, many of the men in the community were killed. This resulted in a number of families being left without their traditional ‘head of household.’ It also forced widows to rely on extended family for basic needs.

With cooperation between coalition forces, Sons of Iraq, Iraqi security forces and Iraqi government officials, security in Hawr Rajab has become a much-welcomed reality.

In a show of support for the Women’s Committee, Rashid District Chairman Yaqoub Yousif Bekhaty said the committee was a good idea, one which would encourage women to participate in the political process.

Having seen examples of this forward thinking in other parts of Iraq, members of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division’s embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team women’s affairs group brainstormed ways to get the ball rolling in Hawr Rajab. However, it was the initiative of local women that allowed the organization to take root.

As the newly-appointed women’s affairs representative, 2nd Lt. Cynthia Peters, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th BCT, 3rd Inf. Div., currently attached to the 2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div., said she enjoyed seeing the high turnout and has great hopes for the group’s future.

Peters, a native of Huntington, Ind., said she gained a better understanding of issues facing women in Hawr Rajab by attending the meeting.

While the Hawr Rajab Women’s Committee currently has no facility from which to work, its members are not discouraged. Instead they have found new support from their communities and are gaining their political voice.