Female Troops In Iraq

FEMALE TROOPS IN IRAQ -- (House of Representatives - March 08, 2007)

Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, the war in Iraq has presented numerous hardships for our troops, their families, and by extension, our Nation. Over 3,000 American soldiers have been killed. Every day brings news of more explosions and more soldiers coming home with traumatic brain injuries and other maladies. However, this war has been a particular hardship for our Nation's courageous female troops.

In this, the first full week of National Women's History Month, I feel it is vital that we recognize the historic trials being faced by the women who are defending our country. As of 2005, there was a record 203,000 female troops on active duty in military, along with many thousands more National Guard and Reserve troops activated to work in Iraq.

Like their male counterparts, many of these female troops never expected to fight in a war and certainly not for such an extended period of time. Countless soldiers are mothers who joined the National Guard and Reserves to give back to their country. Now they find themselves half a world away from their homes and families, fighting a war on the sun-hardened battlefields of Iraq with no resolution or end in sight.

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