In 2010, the Army created Cultural Support Teams, a secret pilot program to insert women alongside Special Operations soldiers battling in Afghanistan. The Army reasoned that women could play a unique role on Special Ops teams: accompanying their male colleagues on raids and, while those soldiers were searching for insurgents, questioning the mothers, sisters, daughters and wives living at the compound. Their presence had a calming effect on enemy households, but more importantly, the CSTs were able to search adult women ...
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In 2010, the Army created Cultural Support Teams, a secret pilot program to insert women alongside Special Operations soldiers battling in Afghanistan. The Army reasoned that women could play a unique role on Special Ops teams: accompanying their male colleagues on raids and, while those soldiers were searching for insurgents, questioning the mothers, sisters, daughters and wives living at the compound. Their presence had a calming effect on enemy households, but more importantly, the CSTs were able to search adult women for weapons and gather crucial intelligence. They could build relationships-woman to woman-in ways that male soldiers in an Islamic country never could. In Ashley's War, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon uses on-the-ground reporting and a finely tuned understanding of the complexities of war to tell the story of CST-2, a unit of women hand-picked from the Army to serve in this highly specialized and challenging role. The pioneers of CST-2 proved for the first time, at least to some grizzled Special Operations soldiers, that women might be physically and mentally tough enough to become one of them. The price of this professional acceptance came in personal loss and social isolation: the only people who really understand the women of CST-2 are each other. At the center of this story is a friendship cemented by "Glee," video games, and the shared perils and seductive powers of up-close combat. At the heart of the team is the tale of a beloved and effective soldier, Ashley White. Much as she did in her bestselling The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, Lemmon transports readers to a world they previously had no idea existed: a community of women called to fulfill the military's mission to "win hearts and minds" and bound together by danger, valor, and determination. Ashley's War is a gripping combat narrative and a moving story of friendship-a book that will change the way readers think about war and the meaning of service.
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Seller's Description:
New. "In 2010, the Army created Cultural Support Teams, a secret pilot program to insert women alongside Special Operations soldiers battling in Afghanistan. The Army reasoned that women could play a unique role on Special Ops teams: accompanying their male colleagues on raids and, while those soldiers were searching for insurgents, questioning the mothers, sisters, daughters and wives living at the compound. Their presence had a calming effect on enemy households, but more importantly, the CSTs were able to search adult women for weapons and gather crucial intelligence. They could build relationships-woman to woman-in ways that male soldiers in an Islamic country never could. In Ashley's War, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon uses on-the-ground reporting and a finely tuned understanding of the complexities of war to tell the story of CST-2, a unit of women hand-picked from the Army to serve in this highly specialized and challenging role. The pioneers of CST-2 proved for the first time, at least to some grizzled Special Operations soldiers, that women might be physically and mentally tough enough to become one of them.
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The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.
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Good. Ships in a BOX from Central Missouri! May not include working access code. Will not include dust jacket. Has used sticker(s) and some writing and/or highlighting. UPS shipping for most packages, (Priority Mail for AK/HI/APO/PO Boxes).
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Very Good. Very Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
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Very good in very good dust jacket. Ex-library. 320 p. Audience: General/trade. LCCN 2015460337 Type of material Book Personal name Lemmon, Gayle Tzemach, author. Main title Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield / Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. Edition First edition. Published/Produced New York, N.Y. : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2015] Description xix, 292 pages: illustrations; 24 cm ISBN 9780062333810 (hardcover) 006233381X (hardcover) LC classification UB418. W65 T94 2015 Summary In 2010, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command created Cultural Support Teams, a pilot program to put women on the battlefield alongside Green Berets, Army Rangers, Navy SEALs and other special operations teams on sensitive missions in Afghanistan. The idea was that women could access places and people that had remained out of reach, and could build relationships--woman to woman--in ways that male soldiers in a conservative, traditional country could not. Though officially banned from combat, female soldiers could be "attached" to different teams, and for the first time women throughout the Army, the National Guard, and the Reserves heard the call to join male soldiers on special ops missions. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon uses exhaustive firsthand reporting and experience with the complexities of war to tell the story of CST-2, a unit of women hand-picked from across the Army, and the remarkable hero at its heart: 1st Lt. Ashley White, who would become the first Cultural Support Team member killed in action and the first CST remembered on the Army Special Operations Memorial Wall of Honor alongside the Army Rangers with whom she served. Contents Kandahar--The call to serve. Uncle Sam needs you; Hearing the call to serve; The Landmark Inn; 100 hours of Hell; Making the cut; Training days; Diamonds among diamonds--Deployment. Arrival, Afghanistan; Operation "Fit In"; The "Terp"; Climbing mountains in the night; Making a difference; The lies of war--Last roll call. The first death; A grief observed; The man in the arena; Kandahar. LC Subjects White, Ashley, 1987-2011. United States Army Special Operations Command. United States. Army--Women--Biography. Afghan War, 2001---Women--United States. Women soldiers--United States--Biography. Special operations (Military science)--Afghanistan. Civil-military relations. Other Subjects United States Army Special Operations Command. United States. Army. Form/Genre Biographies. Notes Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-289). Dewey class no. 958.104/742092 B Geographic area code n-us---a-af---Other system no. (OCoLC)ocn907256621 1. Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield 6/26/22, 7: 49 AM Printable Record Page https: //catalog. loc. gov/vwebv/printResults. do 2/2 Content type text Media type unmediated Carrier type volume
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Good. Ships in a BOX from Central Missouri! May not include working access code. Will not include dust jacket. Has used sticker(s) and some writing or highlighting. UPS shipping for most packages, (Priority Mail for AK/HI/APO/PO Boxes).
The subject matter alone made it worth the purchase cost. The book's format uses Ashley White as a central character, but the main idea is that of women in combat, and the belated integration of same. I wished very much for more combat anecdotes, but don't let that dissuade you . It opened my eyes to several realities faced by women in the armed forces, and those who aspire to serve in a combat capacity. It also made me want to get my sneaks on and go for a run!
As an aside, Reese Witherspoon bought the movie production rights, so we'll probably see this one on the big screen soon.