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# All female team assembled for security mission

By Courtesy Story

FORT PIERCE - In numbers alone, women are essential to the American military effort in Iraq -- where tens of thousands have served -- and many are playing a bigger role than in any previous U.S. conflict.

The mobilization Tuesday of 11 female members of the Florida National Guard who are scheduled to accompany Orlando’s 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry to Iraq in November, is just the latest example of women pulling duties on the front line of the Global War on Terror.

Assembling at the National Guard Armory in Fort Pierce for pre-deployment processing, the small group is being sent along with the infantry security force to Baghdad as part of the increasing US military presence intended to combat the recent insurgent activities there.

Historically, women's involvement in the military operations has surged in wartime. Today, that pattern is amplified by the all-volunteer U.S. military's growing share of women, which has steadily expanded in recent years to 15 percent of the active duty force.

In contrast to their roles in past wars however, women are serving in a widening variety of Army ground units -- from logistics to military police, military intelligence and civil affairs -- where they routinely face the same risks as soldiers in all-male combat units such as infantry and armor.

Female soldiers in Iraq are performing in risky jobs that require infantry skills -- from military police and civil affairs troops to female search teams that go on raids with Army and Marine infantry units.

Considering the Army’s frequent use of the slogan “every soldier an infantryman,” a woman is as much infantry soldier on the ground doing the duties as anyone else.

"She may not have been the person who knocked the door in, but she's with the next squad getting ready to come in," said 1st Lt. Christina Manley, 32, from St. Petersburg, the team leader for the all female detachment.

The mission of this small group of soldiers will be to assist with combating insurgent operations by bridging the cultural differences in Iraq, a problem recognized by the Army leaders when increased insurgent activity began.

Military planners understand that cultural differences between western countries and Muslim people required different approaches. These soldiers will be accompanying and assisting security teams gather information in communities by working through interpreters interviewing female witnesses and victims, and searching female suspects, Guard leaders say.

It will be dangerous work, but the women volunteering were unanimous of wanting to do their part.

“I want to make a contribution,” said Staff Sgt. Julie Negron, 39, of Haines City and a 13-year veteran of the Florida National Guard. “I have served as a traditional Guardsman, as an active duty Guardsman, participated in state active duty operations, and many other activities the Guard has been involved in, but I hadn’t been called up for Iraq or Afghanistan. I just want to do my part.”

Manley added that most of her team feels the same. “I wanted to be a part of this operation and as a Guardsman with some experience and in a leadership position, I wanted to make sure our soldiers are taken care of,” said the seven-year member of the Florida National Guard’s 53rd Support Battalion.

“We can all do this job, and we want to share the responsibilities of it,” she said.

For Private 1st Class Crystal Schenkel, a 23-year-old soldier from Lehigh Acres, the deployment is a natural event in her career with the National Guard. The Edison Community College cross-country athlete joined the Guard to help pay for her education, but always knew she’d be deployed, she says.

“I knew that I would be going, even before I enlisted, I knew,” said the recent member of the 3rd Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment in Fort Myers. “Going overseas while we are at war was always in the back of my mind, and I felt it was important to volunteer.”

While her education and sports program will be put on hold for a year, Schenkel knows that she is making history. She and her team members were given journals to record their personal stories while they are away. “I want to be able to tell my story to my family when I return. Writing it down while it is happening will help me not to forget all the little things that happen,” she said.

The small team will meet up with the 2nd Battalion security force at Camp Shelby, Miss., on Friday for five weeks of theater unique training before deploying to Iraq in October. The unit is scheduled to serve a 12-month tour overseas.

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