ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the unprecedented roles US female soldiers have played in both wars. However, during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, women were formally barred from joining combat branches including: the infantry, armored units, Special Forces, and most field artillery units. The conceptual issues raised by military and task cohesion concerns can be analyzed through some of the narratives of particular female soldiers reviewed in this chapter. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been unique due to the sophisticated use of social media. Even though the 2007 RAND study Assessing the Assignment Policy for Army Women was performed four years before the official end of combat operations in Iraq, it offers interesting conclusions on the practical applicability of the ground combat exclusion policy in Iraq and Afghanistan. The V. A. system categorizes service members as very seriously injured (VSI) or seriously injured (SI).
