Feral Jundi

   Cool program and glad to see it having an impact.  I have never heard of such a thing, and this is certainly some out of the box thinking on the part of the Marines. Maybe the companies out there should work to hire a few female security contractors in order to have this kind of capability out there?  Especially if you could get a few of these Lioness veterans. Semper Fi. -Matt

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Lionesses work to improve community in local Iraq city

6/12/2009

By Byline Lance Cpl. Melissa A. Latty  ,

Unit 2nd Marine Logistics Group

CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq  —

Female Marines from Combat Logistics Battalion 7, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), have been participating in civil affairs missions with the Civil Affairs Group 10, 2nd Marine Division for approximately three months in various cities surrounding Camp Korean Village, Iraq.

The women are part of an all-female team called Lioness that was first formed several years ago to implement culturally-sensitive methods of searching Iraqi women to deter the enemy’s use of females to conduct terrorist attacks.

However, Lionesses aren’t just female searchers. In fact, they now do little to no searching at all.

Sgt. Leticia L. Eslinger, Cpl. Rachelle J. Fernandez, and Lance Cpl. Holly M. Burd were tasked to help the CAG gather information about the local economy using surveys and other methods of communication.

“We were sent here to support missions with the Civil Affairs Group and collect information and perspectives that our male counterparts are unable to obtain,” said Burd, who is originally from 1st Radio Battalion.  “When the locals see us they are interested because they don’t see many females out on these missions.  We use that interest to gain their trust or get perspectives that were unobtainable before.”

The need for Lionesses in Camp Korean Village, Iraq, came about three months ago when Fernandez, who at the time worked with the camp’s security forces, was asked to accompany an Army Operations Team on a mission to interact with local females.

Her presence in the mission was so successful that one mission turned into months of information gathering, rapport-building, and engaging with the local Iraqi populace.

Capt. Natalie M. Trogus, the camp commandant, submitted a request to 2nd Marine Headquarters Group for more Lioness-trained females to join Fernandez in helping the Army Operations Team and the CAG.

“Historically, feminine interaction with adult Iraqi males has been a rarity outside of exchanges within one’s immediate family,” said Lee Bagan, an intelligence specialist and cultural expert embedded with the CAG.  “Lioness presence is thereby a magnet effectively utilized to obtain ground truth, understanding and dialogue, otherwise difficult to achieve with all-male military interviews.”

The CAG focuses mainly on the city of Rutbah, a highly populated city where Coalition forces have recently focused on providing aid to residents.

This aid comes in a variety of forms, including food and water, as well as agricultural and educational needs.  These efforts are designed to help citizens of the town complete the transition from reliance on Coalition forces to dependence on the Government of Iraq as the responsible drawdown of U.S. Forces continues

“I have established key communications in Rutbah,” Fernandez said.  “I have spent three months building a strong foundation with the locals there.  When working with Army Operations, we helped the locals set up a radio station, a website and a newsletter.  We also helped them develop their veterinary clinics and performed medical capability missions, where we gave on-the-spot medical care to the locals.”

“Our mission in Iraq isn’t the same as it was during the invasion,” she continued. “It’s more of a rebuilding process and that’s not something we can walk away from. When we talk to the people we ask how progress is being made, how their government is operating and if their community is being rebuilt.”

Although the Lionesses are trained to interact with the Iraqi women, they don’t restrict themselves to only females.  They have learned that even the male Iraqis are more willing to open up to them when asked about their community.

“The Lionesses are essential to our missions in gaining atmospherics in the city of Rutbah,” said Sgt. Daniel Furner, the security chief with CAG.  “To the Iraqi men and women, females are more approachable.  They are able to communicate with the locals better.”

The presence of Lioness-trained females at Camp Korean Village continues to assist Coalition and Iraqi forces in gaining knowledge of the local community’s struggles and improvements.

Story here.

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All-Female Marine Team Conducts First Mission in Southern Afghanistan

By Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Monty Burton

Special to American Forces Press Service

FARAH PROVINCE, Afghanistan, March 10, 2009 – Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment — the ground combat element of Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan — now have a special group of people to help them complete their mission in Afghanistan.

Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Johanna Shaffer shares a cookie and a smile with an Afghan child while under the watchful security of Marines assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, during her all-female team’s first mission in Farah province, Feb. 9, 2009. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Monty Burton

The task force’s all-female Marine team is interacting with the Afghan female population in southern Afghanistan — a task considered culturally unacceptable for the male Marines operating there.

A similar program has been used in combat operations in Iraq, but this is the first time Marine forces in Afghanistan have employed the concept, officials said.

Marine Corps Capt. Mike Hoffman, commanding officer of 3/8’s Company I, said the all-female team is an important asset for his Marines.

“[The team] provides us access to half of the population that we normally do not have access to,” Hoffman said. “They did extremely well interacting with the female villagers.”

Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Johanna Shaffer, the team leader, said their first mission, a cordon-and-search operation in support of Operation Pathfinder, was very successful.

“We were accepted by both the men and women villagers and were able to obtain valuable information about the way they lived and what they thought about the Marine Corps operating in the area,” Shaffer said.

During the mission, the female Marines donned brightly colored head and neck scarves as a sign of cultural respect to the Afghan women.

“The scarves showed the Afghan women that we were women too, and we respect their culture,” Shaffer said. “They automatically felt more comfortable with us. They showed us their homes, and even though they didn’t have much, they were still very generous to us. They accepted us as sisters, and we’re glad that we were here to help them.”

Although Afghan women tend to be more reserved than Afghan men, they still have a large influence on their children, Shaffer said, so engaging with them is important.

“If the women know we are here to help them, they will likely pass that on to their children,” she said. “If the children have a positive perspective of alliance forces, they will be less likely to join insurgent groups or participate in insurgent activities.”

Hoffman said the female Marines also were accepted by the village men.

“They were not opposed by the villagers,” Hoffman said. “They had no problem allowing [the team] the chance to interact with their women.”

The concept employed by her team varies greatly from the program in Iraq because of differences in Afghan culture, Shaffer said.

“The cultural background here is completely different than that of Iraq,” Shaffer said. “Women here are more timid than in Iraq. There is less of a chance that an Afghan women would try to harm us, because they understand that we are here to help them.

“We also do not know much about the daily life of Afghan women,” she continued. “This provides us not only the opportunity to learn about the women, but also to build and maintain faith and trust of the Afghan women.”

(Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Monty Burton serves with Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan.)

Story here.