I had the privilege of talking with Teresa Broadwell Grace, a former member of the Army’s 194th Military Police Company who, in 2003 was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star with “V” for Valor in Iraq.
A female American soldier mans a machine gun on a vehicle during clashes in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in June 2003. The war in Iraq, which has killed or wounded more U.S. women in combat than any other conflict, has redefined their role in the military and triggered a rethink of their place on the front line. Women who serve in the Army are barred from engaging in combat under rules drawn up by the Pentagon. But the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, where fighting an insurgency and no front line exists as such, have been proving grounds for the women soldiers. Photo credit: U.S. Department of Defense”
Combat, an outstanding story of survival, management of post traumatic stress and an unexpected transition back into the civilian world are part of Teresa Grace’s story. All this as she began her third decade of life. [Read more…]
