Their job as FET members is part soldier and part diplomat. When asked if they felt they were making a difference, Bushman explained how influential they can be because they are able to engage the families in a way their male counterparts cannot. "One day we sat down and did coloring books with them. It gives them and their mothers a break, however brief, explained Buschman. Battle Company's FET will often reach out to the children in a village as well. Their concern is not solely limited to the female populace. that we do care and that we're here to help them," said Buschman.
"By just sitting down and talking with them showing them. It's Ray and Buschman's hope that by sitting down and talking with these women that they will be able to encourage the wives to influence their husbands to stay clear of insurgent affairs and focus instead on bettering their families and their villages. Ray goes on to explain how the women in a village, though not often seen by outsiders, have considerable influence on their husbands, children and their community as a whole. Heather Ray, another FET team member, added. "I volunteered because I heard about the culture and I wanted to make a difference in the women's lives," Spc. "I wanted to get out and see what the Afghan people were living like help out in any way I could." "I wanted to make a difference," said Pfc. Two such soldiers from Battle Company, 5th Battalion 20th Infantry Regiment, Task Force 1-14 Cavalry Regiment located at Forward Operating Base Sweeney in southeast Afghanistan, explained what FET means to them and why they volunteer to work outside their normal military occupational specialties. Having such a team at its disposal has given American forces an added tool in reaching out to the Afghan population in advance of the scheduled troop reduction in 2014. It is comprised of volunteer female members of appropriate rank, experience and maturity to develop trust-based and enduring relationships with the Afghan women they encounter on patrols. Marines Corps and has been around for nearly a decade. So in order to engage the female populace the American Army has established female engagement teams.įET is a program that was started by the U.S. The male soldiers are prohibited from looking at or talking to these women due to Afghan cultural norms which disallow as much. Over the course of the patrols there always exists the possibility of encountering women, given they make up nearly half the population of Afghanistan.
Army) VIEW ORIGINALįORWARD OPERATING BASE LAGMAN, Afghanistan - Throughout Afghanistan, platoons of male soldiers from the Afghan and American forces conduct daily patrols. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL 2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S.
Jacqueline Buschman, Battle Company, 5th Battalion 20th Infantry Regiment, Task Force 1-14 Cavalry Regiment, and their female interpreter, return from a meeting with some Afghan women in the village of Akhvond Qalay, Afghani. Military Academy that includes a basketball throw, shuttle run and pullups (flexed-arm hang option for women), as well as more familiar fitness-test events: Pushups, situps and a run (one mile, instead of the two required in the existing Army test).Spc. There are similarities to the Candidate Fitness Assessment, a test required by the U.S.
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