A small cadre of women prove their mettle in combat
By Patrick Winn
Their numbers are few. Their profile is small. But few groups of women have proven more deadly or destructive than Air Force women flying and fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Defense Department restrictions prohibit all services from placing women in direct ground combat. But Air Force women have been cleared to fight from the air in fighter jets, bombers and gunships since the mid-1990s. The current wars have been a proving ground of sorts for Air Force women in extended combat roles, dispelling any old-fashioned notion that women lack the skills to kill.
Female fighters, like their male counterparts, have also paid with their lives. Five Air Force women have died in the two wars. All told, the two wars have claimed the lives of 104 female service members, according to the Defense Department.
Air Force women with combat-centric careers describe a straight-up meritocracy — not a boys’ club — where gender fades away and respect is pegged to performance. Women remain a marginal presence in these jobs, although their numbers have increased since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
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