Female Marines Put Training to the Test

This month, female Marines celebrate 62 years of continuous service since they were allowed to join the Women's Reserve on Feb. 13, 1943, during World War II. When Congress passed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act in 1948, women were allowed to serve as permanent regular members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Today women are contributing significantly to the success of the Marine Corps through a variety of roles. This article introduces a few good Marines serving their country overseas.

Before Marines enter the labyrinthine alleys of Fallujah, Iraq, to root out insurgents in door-to-door searches, an intricate and carefully choreographed support system of Marines already has maximized their chances for a successful mission. In the global war on terror, unprecedented numbers of female Marines are part of that critical support to the Marines on the front lines.

Imagery analysts, topographical intelligence analysts and tactical analysts acquire and review information to produce data critical to mission success. Military police protect the explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams that mitigate the threats posed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Radio operators provide essential communication capability between the base camps and those who venture "outside the wire." Drivers in convoys deliver critical supplies by traveling long distances on hazardous routes, often in total darkness. Linguists enable Marines to communicate with those they must question to elicit valuable intelligence information. Cobra AH-1W pilots provide close air support, visual reconnaissance and casualty escorts. Women enthusiastically serve in these and other military occupational specialties (MOSs), because they want to serve their country and be among America's finest as United States Marines.

Patriotic and eager, many of these women have multiple family members who have served in the Marine Corps. Already aware of the Corps' high standards and strong sense of commitment, they chose to join the Marine Corps, where women currently represent only about 6 percent of the total Marine force.

Roadmap to Success

One of these Marines is Corporal Margaret L. Everett from Eau Claire, Wis., who is a topographic intelligence analyst serving with the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) in Iraq. This is her second deployment there, having previously served during Operation Iraqi Freedom I, with a detachment from 2d Intelligence Battalion in the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) in Qalat Sukar. During the onset of OIF I, she became the first woman in her MOS to cross into a combat zone.

In OIF II, the maps that Cpl Everett produces enable Marines to navigate the hazards of an Iraqi neighborhood. "I can depict anything from school buildings and roads, to suspected enemy locations and the routes that are easiest to travel when going off road," she said. Her expertise benefits all Marines, from the commanding general to the grunts.

Like all Marines in her specialty, Cpl Everett received her training at the Army's Fort Belvoir, Va., during nine months of basic MOS training. She was subsequently selected to attend the Advanced Topographic Analysis course. As a Marine among Army soldiers, high performance was expected, but the bar was set even higher for Cpl Everett. All of the soldiers in the class were already staff sergeants or selected for that rank, but since Marines are permitted to attend the advanced training before attaining the rank of sergeant, newly promoted Cpl Everett was the most junior in rank and the youngest in age. The instructors put pressure on her to outperform her classmates to earn the privilege of attending the course.

Cpl Everett decided to join the Marine Corps "because I have a great deal of pride in my country, because I needed the challenge, and because someone had to do it. If I was unwilling, then how could I expect others to do it in my place?"

Her patriotic altruism is rooted in her family. Her father, Forrest R. Everett, served as a Marine during the Vietnam era. Her sister, Cpl Katie Everett, is an AV-8B Harrier mechanic with Marine Attack Squadron 211 and also is stationed in Iraq. Her brother Joe's four years in the Marines included a deployment to Afghanistan at the Kandahar airport.

"All of our kids were taught to stand up for what they believe in and that they should follow as long as the person up front was leading. If that person lost their way, it was up to them to pick up the banner and move forward," Forrest Everett said.

Marching Ahead Despite IEDs

One of the weapons the insurgents have used effectively is the homemade, difficult-to-detect IED. Hidden along the roadways, these devices can be detonated remotely using a cell phone, telephone or handheld radio. When a convoy or a patrol spots an IED, the EOD team is called to destroy the device. Explosive ordnance technicians, their accompanying security team and a doctor are prepared day or night to roll out and diffuse IEDs.

SSgt Timberly L. Willoughby of Gresham, Ore., is one of four female EOD technicians, MOS 2336, in the Marine Corps. SSgt Willoughby returned recently from Al Taqaddum, Iraq, where she experienced firsthand the threat of IEDs. Trained to operate the robots that are used to take the IEDs apart, Willoughby emphasizes that her job requires a clear head so that she can totally concentrate on the sensitive work she performs. In responding to a call, the IED techs assess the situation, send in the robot or search for secondary devices if the IED already has exploded, conduct post blast analysis and conclude if the enemy has changed strategies.

"I love it!" was SSgt Willoughby's response to the question, "What do you think about your job?" She added, "It's scary, fast-paced, frustrating at times, and a complete adrenaline rush." Willoughby believes she has earned the respect of her fellow Marines because she performs her job well and actions speak louder than words.

The EOD techs rely heavily on the military police security detail so they can concentrate on the task at hand regardless of the mayhem going on around them, such as the threat of an ambush. Lance Corporal Jennifer R. Warner, from Red Lion, Pa., and LCpl Crystal J. Lawliss, from Florala, Ala., were two of the female military police officers with Marine Wing Support Squadron 373 who served on the EOD security teams.

LCpl Warner described one foray into the Iraqi countryside where an IED had been detected. The security detail was disbursed around the EOD technicians at the IED site, in kneeling or prone position, to provide 360-degree security. In an e-mail from Iraq, Warner wrote about how the security force was hit by a mortar attack: "The first 12 or so were impacting about 200-300 meters from our position and it was exciting, but they were still 200-300 meters from us, so we did not really think anything of it. Moments later the mortars began again, only this time, the 'bad guys' were walking them into our position. (As the mortars fell, they began getting closer and closer after each one.) By number 20, they were impacting within 100 meters of my position, and I could hear the whistle from them as they fell from the sky. The last one landed about 10 meters from me, so close that the Marines around me who received scratches from the shrapnel from the mortar told me they did not see how I did not lose my right leg."

Unfortunately, in a separate incident, LCpl Lawliss was not as lucky. On Sept. 29, 2004, about a month after she had arrived in country, Lawliss was out on a call with the security team. The EOD technicians had just disarmed an IED in the middle of the city of Caldia. While the convoy proceeded through city traffic, Iraqi vehicles were trying to merge into the Marine convoy. LCpl Lawliss, with the radio in her hand to report the intruding vehicles, suddenly saw a huge flash and ducked her head. She recalls lying on the road, checking her extremities and discovering that she could not lift one of her legs.

Lawliss was hit by shrapnel, injured her right hand and broke her leg so badly that she had to have a metal bar implanted. After two months of convalescent leave for physical therapy, she was able to return to Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, Calif., on light duty and has now set her sights on being able to run so she can pass the physical fitness test and return to Iraq.

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