Unsung Heros

In the Line of Fire

The In the Line of Fire Educational lesson/theme also focuses on women as combatants in the military. This theme reinforces the “Heroes” theme and places a greater emphasis on the “Band of Sisters” and the myriad of other women who have picked up arms since Operation Urgent Fury (Panama) in 1989. The college curriculum associated with this theme will introduce academic tools and readings that will offer more detail with reference to the 1994 DoD “Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule” and the January 2013 DoD lifting of the ban on women in combat. Milestones/events that took place between 1991 and 2013 leading up to the January 2013 decision to lift the ban on women in combat will be explored. Lastly, the roles, missions, goals and importance of Female Engagement Teams (FET) will be examined in this theme.

PDF Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule.

PDF Elimination of the 1994 Direct Ground Combat Definition        and Assignment Rule

Ann Dunwoody, General, U.S. Army, (Ret)
General Ann E. Dunwoody is the first woman promoted to the rank of four-star general in the military. She joined the Army in 1973 as a second lieutenant and retired in 2012 after commanding the United States Army Material Command.
Steve Ellis, Father
Mr. Steve Ellis is the father of Army Corporal Jessica Ellis, a combat medic serving in Iraq, who was killed in action when an explosively formed projectile hit the armored vehicle she was riding in.
Leigh Ann Hester, Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army
Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester served in the Army National Guard and became the first woman to receive the Silver Star for valor since World War II. In Iraq she ran toward the enemy trench line and engaged in a 45-minute firefight.
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