First published 2015
In 2010, the U.S. Army created Cultural Support Teams to place women alongside Green Berets and Army Rangers in Afghanistan. The military needed female soldiers who could reach Afghan women and children in ways male troops could not in this conservative society. Women across the Army competed for spots in this pilot program that officially attached them to special operations units while maintaining the combat ban. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon follows CST-2, a hand-selected unit of female warriors, and focuses on 1st Lt. Ashley White, who became the first Cultural Support Team member killed in action. White earned a place on the Army Special Operations Memorial Wall of Honor beside the Rangers she served with. Lemmon conducted extensive firsthand reporting to document how these women navigated dangerous missions, built crucial relationships with Afghan families, and formed unbreakable bonds with each other. The book reveals the hidden world of female soldiers who served in combat roles while officially banned from combat, showing their courage, sacrifice, and dedication to serving their country in Afghanistan's most sensitive operations.
Genres: biography, war, non-fiction, 21st-century, military-history, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: based-on-true-events, hidden-world, sacrifice
Setting: Afghanistan
Period: 2010
292 pages · Hardcover · Harper
Content warnings: death, war