Women Who Serve Their Country

Although written in March 2007, a post by military blogger Sgt Stryker is appropriate for today, Veteran's Day. In a thoughtful look at "Women Serving in Iraq" Sgt Stryker notes:

There are more than 350,000 women serving in the United States military. Women make up fifteen percent of active duty personnel. One in seven service members in Iraq are women. While women service members are still excluded from certain military occupations, they are essential for others. For example, female troops are needed to perform searches on Iraqi women. The very presence of female service members has helped defuse a potentially catastrophic cultural clash between United States troops and the Iraqi Muslim population

….Our daughters, wives, mothers and sisters ….serve and die for this country. Gender has no influence on patriotism or heroism. When the call to defend this nation comes, the women of America are just as capable and just as determined to win the fight.

Whether or not you support the current war in Iraq, these women have more than earned our respect and our gratitude. Equally deserving are the countless women who've served their countries in decades past and now hold the designation of 'veteran.' From one woman to another, thank you.