“They say that in the Army, the women are mighty fine.”

When I was a kid, it was considered a huge insult to say “your mother wears combat boots!”  They even made a TV movie with the same title.  And who can forget the bumbling 1980’s Private Benjamin where Goldie Hawn’s character was initially more interested in shopping and make-up than conducting proper drill and ceremony.  These were my first images of women in the military. (Naively, I entered West Point thinking it was going to be more like summer camp and less like Full Metal Jacket). 

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Fast forward 30 years post-Judy Benjamin.  Enter the age of Lioness.  In this gripping documentary, a female solider on foot patrol with the Marines in Iraq is caught up in a deadly firefight against enemy insurgents.  In another scene, a female soldier in full combat gear is searching house-to-house in enemy territory; patting down the Iraqi women looking for hidden weapons. (more…)