Female Marines On The Front Lines: Afghanistan Deployment Breaks Gender Barriers

Female Marines have been deployed in Afghanistan as part of Female Engagement Teams (FETs). These teams were first introduced in 2009 and were initially made up of women from the Marines. However, in 2011, the National Guard announced that it would be deploying its own FET, made up of female National Guard soldiers. These teams were deployed to combat units as cultural mediators, with the goal of building relationships with Afghan women and gathering intelligence. This was particularly important as, due to local customs, Afghan men are not allowed to speak to women unless they are married.

Female Marines were deployed in Afghanistan as part of Female Engagement Teams (FETs)

The FETs were presented as feminist emblems, with the intention of inspiring Afghan women and giving them a voice. The women in these teams were also expected to act as cultural mediators, learning about Afghan customs and language to better understand the concerns of Afghan women.

However, the reality of their deployment was often far more complex and difficult. Women in the FETs were still technically banned from many combat roles and were temporarily attached to all-male units. They were also often unprepared for the realities of Afghan villages, and their work was inseparable from the violence of combat situations.

Despite the risks and challenges, many women in the FETs felt proud of their work and believed they were making a positive impact. They played a critical yet largely invisible role in the Afghanistan War, and their presence helped formalise the role of US women in combat.

FETs were deployed to interact with Afghan women and act as cultural mediators

Female Engagement Teams (FETs) were deployed to Afghanistan to interact with Afghan women and act as cultural mediators.

In Afghanistan, males are not allowed to speak to females unless they are married. This posed a challenge for modern counter-insurgency doctrine, which advocates interacting and building trust with local civilians. As a result, military units began sending female troops on combat missions as mediators.

FETs were first introduced by the Marines in 2009. These teams were attached to combat units and travelled with infantry brigades. The goal was to build relations with the various villages in their area and gather "atmospheric" intelligence on how people felt about various issues. FETs also directed Afghan women to information on health concerns.

FETs were made up of volunteers who shared a sense of humanitarian vocation. Members of these teams underwent rigorous physical training to prepare for the rigors of combat missions. They also received cultural training, learning common Dari phrases and how to eat with their hands.

FETs played a critical role in gathering intelligence. Their interactions with Afghan women and children were also intended to inspire and empower local women, giving them a glimpse of life outside of Afghanistan. FETs were also seen as non-threatening by Afghan men, who viewed them as a "third gender".

However, the deployment of FETs was not without challenges. Female soldiers often faced sexist abuse and degrading treatment from their male counterparts. They also faced physical dangers, with some losing their lives during their deployment. Despite these challenges, FETs represented a significant step towards integrating women into combat roles and improving gender equality in Afghanistan.

FETs were also used to gather intelligence

Female Engagement Teams (FETs) were used to gather intelligence in Afghanistan. Due to local customs, males in Afghanistan are not allowed to speak to females unless they are married. This posed a challenge for modern counter-insurgency doctrine, which advocates interacting and building trust with local civilians. As such, FETs were deployed to combat units as cultural mediators.

FETs were used to build relations within the various villages in their area, and to use this trust to gather "atmospheric" intelligence on how people felt about various issues. This information was then used to direct people to health or security concerns.

One member of a FET, Beth, described how she would adjust her voice tone, remove her body armour, and sometimes place her hands on the bodies of Afghan women and children to elicit feelings of security and comfort. She also went on home raids with male marines, kicking down doors and ripping people from their sleep for questioning.

Another FET member, Cindy, described how she used her "different tools as a woman" to interact with a young boy who was being questioned by a male soldier. She knelt next to him, took off her helmet, and put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

FETs played a critical role in gathering intelligence in Afghanistan, using their unique position as women to gain access to information that male soldiers could not.

FETs were attached to combat units, but were not always well-prepared for the physical demands of combat

Female Engagement Teams (FETs) were attached to combat units in Afghanistan, but their training did not always prepare them for the physical demands of combat. FETs were comprised of female military personnel who performed specialised gender-suited tasks. In Afghanistan, FETs interacted with local Afghan women, who comprised about 50% of the population. Afghan cultural norms prohibited males from looking at or speaking to Afghan women, which created a limitation for military operations. FETs overcame this limitation by building trust-based and enduring relationships with Afghan women, thereby gaining access to Afghan households.

FETs were not always well-prepared for the physical demands of combat. FETs were required to carry a minimum 35-pound rucksack on a 6-mile march in under one hour and 39 minutes. However, FET training was inconsistent and inadequate. FET training was intended to serve as a basis for further unit-specific training, but some units did not provide any additional training. FET training focused on cultural understanding, but there was a lack of standardisation in selection and training procedures. FET members reported feeling unprepared for the reality of visiting Afghan villages, and some felt that they lacked the necessary physical fitness for combat missions.

FETs were also not always well-integrated into the planning stages of operations. FET members reported feeling like an afterthought, and some were given little to no information about their missions before deployment. This disconnection from the planning process left FETs without knowledge of the strategic plans for upcoming missions.

The deployment of FETs was justified by the US military as a feminist endeavour, but this has been criticised

The deployment of Female Engagement Teams (FETs) in Afghanistan was justified by the US military as a feminist endeavour, but this has been criticised.

The US military's justification for deploying FETs was that they would act as cultural mediators, building relations with Afghan women and thereby gaining access to information and intelligence that would otherwise be inaccessible to their male counterparts. This was framed as a feminist endeavour, with the US military presenting its female counterinsurgency teams as feminist emblems, and members of the FETs themselves describing their work as empowering for Afghan women.

However, this justification has been criticised by feminists and former FET members alike. One criticism is that the US military's mistreatment of its female workforce undermines its feminist claims. FET members have reported experiencing a culture of sexist abuse and being deployed in capacities from which they were normally excluded, only to then return to gender-restricted roles. They also report that their unofficial combat roles often went undocumented, meaning that if they returned home injured, they were unable to access healthcare.

Another criticism is that the US military's representations of Afghan women as homogeneous and helpless, and of Western women as models of liberation, ignored Afghan and Islamic feminist frameworks that have long advocated for women's rights. The notion of US female soldiers modelling women's rights was often linked with representations of Afghan people as backward and in need of outside intervention.

Furthermore, while FETs were deployed with the official purpose of gathering information, their work often involved searching local women at checkpoints and in home raids. This has been interpreted as a reinforcement of gender stereotypes and racist representations of Afghan people.

Finally, critics argue that the US military did not deploy FETs with the intention of improving Afghan women's lives, but rather to persuade Afghan men to join the internal defence forces.

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