Iraq, Afghanistan conflicts produce larger numbers of female veterans
KRISTY GRAY Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Sunday, July 20, 2008 12:00 am
When she was a single mother to three kids, Nona Nissen thought she had experienced the height of responsibility.
That was before Iraq, where Nissen, commander of the Wyoming Army National Guard's 1041st Engineer Company, led soldiers into war.
"There is nothing like taking 150 people - mothers, fathers, sons - into a combat zone. That is a heavy, heavy responsibility," she said.
Women have traditionally been the nurturers: the mothers, the wives, the nurses and the teachers.
But ever since the Revolutionary War when Deborah Samson pretended to be a man to fight for her country, women have been warriors, too.
War is, in many ways, the same for both men and women. Most soldiers usually have families waiting at home, no matter their gender. They have all been asked and are willing to sacrifice everything for their country. They see and do things most civilians could not fathom.
But every war experience is also unique, depending on a soldier's background, culture, and yes, his or her gender.
It's not that women generally suffer more than men in war, said Dr. John Motl, mental health chief at the Cheyenne Veterans' Affairs hospital. It's that women suffer differently.
Staff Sgt. Lindsey Brown went to Kuwait and Iraq when her son was 16 months old. She missed 14 months of his life and many of the firsts mothers generally celebrate in scrapbooks.
Her son was just learning to talk when she left in October 2004, learning to say "Hi, Mom" and "I love you" on telephone calls home.
"It's hard to leave your small child. There is no way to prepare for it," said Brown, 29, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve since 1999.
While Brown missed her son, men in her unit missed their own families. A lot of her fellow soldiers missed the births of their children.
"It's just as tough (on men) as it is on us. They miss out on as much as we do. I believe it affects them the same," Brown said.
Capt. Nissen, however, does see a few differences between men and women in war.
"On the soldier side, I don't think there are many differences. The mission comes first," said Nissen, whose unit was the most highly decorated Wyoming unit since the Korean War.
"But on the command side, I think male and female brains go about taking care of people differently. I think the female brain is more perceptive to noticing when something is wrong."
Nissen's unit had more than 175 enemy contacts, and 120 of those were improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Soldiers earned more than 30 Purple Hearts and 37 Bronze Stars, five of which were awarded to soldiers who put their lives on the line.
The unit suffered two serious injuries, but those soldiers are healing, Nissen said.
How did she - wife, mother and soldier - deal with that kind of responsibility?
"One day at a time," Nissen said.
It takes a constant assessment of the truck armor, the convoy arrangements and all other equipment and operational tactics. It takes knowing the enemy tactics and equipment and how to counter those.
"You ensure that when you go out that gate that the soldiers are focused on their mission. You make sure they have all their issues worked out before they walk out that door. You do your best to listen to their problems on the road. And you implement as many techniques to protect them as you can."
Since combat in Afghanistan started in 2001, more than 160,500 American women have served in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East. That means one in seven service members is a woman - four times as many women as served in the Gulf War in 1991.
Most women join for the same reasons as men: "I love the discipline it brings, I love the challenge it brings, and I love the friends I have made over the years," said Major Teresa Oedekoven of the Wyoming National Guard's 960th Brigade Support Battalion headquartered in Casper. She deployed to Iraq with the Guard's 4th Infantry Division Rear Operations Center for 16 months.
"I stay because I think I can help younger soldiers come back home, I can help them train for their deployments."
Brown joined the Army Reserves in 1999 at age 19. She always wanted to be in the military, and most of her grandfathers served their country in war.
"It fits me well. It's something I've loved doing, and I love the patriotism too," she said.
In October 1994, officials rescinded "The Risk Rule" used to determined which combat assignments women could not do. Now, a woman can enter more than 90 percent of the career fields in the armed forces.
That means more women on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more women getting hurt, both physically and mentally.
When training time comes, Brown notices that rising number of women joining the reserve by the rising number of cots needed in the female barracks.
"We have more females coming in, which is nice. There's only a handful of us that have been in 9 1/2 years, but were getting a newer generation of people who come in with the most recent training," Brown said.
While the new women soldiers teach the older ones the latest techniques, the older ones teach what they've learned: leadership, soldiering skills, doing what's right.
In the reserves, Brown is a soldier two weekends a month and two weeks a year during training.
After she came home from Iraq in December 2005, her son would panic whenever she put the uniform back on. He worried that he would lose her again. He's getting better now, but he still makes sure Mom's coming home, Brown said.
Though she loves her service, Brown doesn't yet know what she'll do when her contract ends in three years. Her boyfriend has a 10-year-old son, and together they have their son, now 5.
In the meantime, while she's not had any word that she will be sent back to war, it's always a possibility.
"Do I want to go back? No. I have my boyfriend and my boys, and I want to stay with my family," Brown said.
Capt. Nissen was a single mom with three kids when she enlisted with the Guard 20 years ago. She needed to support her family and wanted the education benefits the military could give her. Then, she started working full time for the Guard. She was an enlisted soldier for 10 years before getting her officer commission in 1997. Now, she is the Guard's training administrator.
"Especially in the Wyoming National Guard, we have true warriors. I don't know if we just have a certain breed of people out here, but they are very strong, very focused," she said.
"I like being able to effect change and being able to ensure that soldiers are taken care of."
That side, the nurturing side, is a strength of the female soldier. But there are parts of war that equalize the sexes, parts that challenge both men and women, young and old: going to war, and then coming home.
Nissen came home in 2004 but is just starting to break out of her shell. She'd become a hermit, was taking her husband and kids for granted, avoided getting together with friends.
"To mentally and physically survive, you really have to distance yourself. You have to focus on the day, and you can't let what is happening 7,000 miles away interfere," Nissen said.
"You come home, and you've had one focus for a year and a half, and now you're doing laundry, shopping, everyone wants a slice of you. It takes a long time to readjust yourself to the USA."
Now that she is starting to come out of it, her husband is getting ready for his deployment. The family will have about six "normal" months together before he leaves. Then he the soldier, Nissen the wife of the soldier, and all the family will adjust to the going to war.
And that, right now in the United States, is the life of a soldier. Male or female.