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Tag: Iraq

Honored Role Series (Part 7): 1st. Lt. Aubrey McCary – Shades of Gray

Published on December 18, 2009

This is the seventh installment in the weekly Honored Role Series.

Her packing list includes body armor, a Kevlar helmet, a M-16 rifle, 3 pairs of desert tan boots, and 4 sets of camouflage uniforms; wrapping up the list are a set of pink, plaid flannel pajamas, a “Pride & Prejudice” DVD, Hello Kitty office supplies, and a stock of Aveda Salon hair and beauty products. 1st Liet. Aubrey McCary is not packing for a holiday vacation; this list is what she needs and wants as she deploys to Iraq Sunday, December 20, 2009.

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“Full Participation for our sisters-in-arms”

Published on December 14, 2009

The Washington Post
Saturday, December 12, 2009
By Donna McAleer and Erin Solaro

By this time next year, U.S. troops will have been in Afghanistan longer than the Soviets were. The United States has been engaged in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq longer than in any previous war. Not factoring in the increase in soldiers going to Afghanistan that President Obama announced last week, some 220,000 American women have engaged in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Honored Role Series (Part 6): Maj. Mindy Kimball – Shooting for Stars

Published on December 11, 2009

This is the sixth installment in the weekly Honored Role Series.

Pondering science, space, and astronomy inspires US Army Major Mindy Kimball, because she has long dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Many astronauts begin their space quests in the military, which is where Mindy hopes her quest is beginning as well.

Mindy grew up in a military family, attending Vanden High School at Travis Air Force Base in California. As the daughter of a retired Air Force officer and granddaughter of a retired Army Air Corps officer, Mindy understood and embraced the military and its associated discipline. Serving in the Armed Forces were initial steps in her trajectory into space travel and exploration.

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Honored Role Series (Part 3): Maj. Stephanie Ahern – Soldier, Scholar, and Mother

Published on November 13, 2009

This is the third installment in the weekly Honored Role Series.

Before kindergarten Stephanie Ahern drafted her life plan; graduate high school, attend a good college, earn a masters degree and then a doctorate, like her father a metallurgical engineer, work for a year or two and than get married. That is as far as she got. Today Ahern, 36, a major is the US Army, accomplished precisely what she set out to do.

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