Women at War: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Conflicts (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Scott Baron (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Today, women in all U.S. military services are involved in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They serve as pilots and crewmen of assault helicopters, bombers, fighters, and transport planes, and are frequently engaged in firefights with enemy insurgents while guarding convoys, traveling in hostile territory. They perform pat down searches of Arab women at checkpoints, carry out military police duties, and serve aboard Navy and U.S. Coast Guard ships at sea. Like their male counterparts, they carry out their missions with determination and great courage. The advent of the insurgency war, which has no rear or front lines, has made the debate regarding women in combat irrelevant. In such a war zone anyone can be killed or injured at any moment.

The stories of these courageous women are told here by James E. Wise and Scott Baron, who use a format similar to the one employed with such success in the book Stars in Blue. The profiles of some thirty women and their photographs are included.

To record their stories, the authors conducted numerous personal interviews, and utilized numerous oral history interviews conducted by staff at The Women’s Memorial, located in Arlington, Virginia. In every case Wise and Baron were struck by the women’s extraordinary display of dedication to their mission and to the soldiers and sailors with whom they served. Because the service of women in the military has been under reported to date, most of the women profiled here will be unknown to readers and reveal another dimension to the service of women in the desert and the vital role they play in the armed forces. While the book’s focus is on today’s women in combat, it also reaches back to Vietnam, Korea, and World War II to offer selected stories of inspiring women who served at the "cusp of the spear" as they fought and died for their country.

About the Author

James E. Wise Jr., a retired U.S. Navy captain and aviator, is the author or coauthor of many books, including U-505: The Final Journey. Scott Baron, a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, is coauthor with Wise of International Stars at War.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 234 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (September 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591149398
• ISBN-13: 978-1591149392
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #349,279 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Authors did a wonderful job!, April 7, 2008

By	Noonie Fortin (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews

Scott Baron and James E Wise, Jr. have put together a wonderful book profiling some of the women who have served our country. This 2006 Naval Institute Press book is well worth the read. They interviewed and covered women who served during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq from all branches of the military.

Statistics were provided such as during the Gulf War more than forty thousand women were deployed, fifteen killed and two became POWs. Some of these women received medals, some were wounded, some were POWs, some were deceased and yet the authors collected information from family, friends and military records about them.

One woman told the authors how the military treated her after she emerged from a coma. The military wanted her to sign discharge papers even while knowing she had a long road ahead of her filled with surgeries and rehabilitation.

Another woman spoke out about the subject of women in combat. She made sure to point out that women are indeed in combat and on the same roads as the men are. And yet another woman told about what it was like as a female to be boarding ships and looking for people, equipment, etc in a field where it is usually only men on the open seas.

A portion of this book covered the women who served during WW II especially those who were POWs during that war. Since so few people know that so many women were prisoners of the Japanese and one was captured by the Germans I was glad to see these women covered as well.

As a person who appreciates reading and learning more about our brave women who have served our country I truly liked this book. The authors did a wonderful job getting these women to open up and talk about their experiences. Everyone should read this book!

5.0 out of 5 stars Women At War, September 24, 2007

By	George W. Newport (Lugoff, South Carolina) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A very interesting book on womens role in our latest war with individual chapters devoted to individual women. I would put this book at recommended reading for most adults. It relates my experiences with the military to the women. It goes into how these women handle the experience of war and to cope with it. It also shows their relationships with fellow male soldiers and how they cope with a war time situation. The book covers how these women dealt the casualties in war.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The tale of true heroes, April 21, 2008

By	J. Rudy "Major, USAF" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In "Women at War: Iraq, Afghanistan, and other Conflicts", James Wise and Scott Baron record the individual stories of 30 women who are representative of the more than 2.5 million American women who have chosen the Profession of Arms.

"Women at War" focuses on the contributions of women from World War II through the ongoing operations in Southwest Asia (up to 2006). For the modern operations, the vignettes are the transcripts of personal interviews. However, for the fallen warriors due to both age and combat, we learn their tales as told through personal letters, award citations, or previous publications. Whatever the source, you can't help but be moved by their stories.

You will read the letter of the proud mother who sends her child to boot camp, only to hear her child's life came to a violent end due to an improvised explosive device attack. Conversely, you also read the personal recollections of the platoon leader who must be stoic to the Marines left behind after one of their comrades is killed in a separate bombing incident. There are also the tales of a Coast Guard skipper who prevented the mining of rivers in Iraq, and of the soldier who ran into a burning building to save Vietnamese children. The gender of these heroes is irrelevant - they are incredible stories that will be treasured by America's Next Greatest Generation.

After 17 years of continuous low- and high-intensity combat operations in Southwest Asia, it's surprising that not a single Airman or Sailor who served in the desert is featured in the book. The epilogue apologizes for intending to interview Lt Col Martha McSally who was the first female fighter squadron commander in combat. Unfortunately, the book went to print before the interviews were complete.

Compared to "Hell hath no Fury" by Rosalind Miles, this book is filled with more richly-detailed, personal accounts of the heroines. Also, this book focuses strictly on American women since World War II, and does not highlight any of the women's organizations featured in "Hell hath no Fury". Miles' book also spans a few centuries, vice the last 50 years in "Women at War". While this books is relatively narrow in focus, it certainly gives you a more intimate look at the contributions these women made to history.

As a complement to this book, I would also recommend two books from Air University Press documenting the personal histories of Airmen who executed Operations DESERT STORM and NOBLE ANVIL: "From the line in the Sand" and "A-10's over Kosovo".

This book is a page-turner. It is well-researched and features many photographs. Hopefully, Wise and Baron will publish a second edition to keep the tales of the female Airmen and Sailors alive too.