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n March 20, 2005, a 23- year- old U.S. Army National Guard sergeant named
Leigh Ann Hester responded to her convoy’s ambush by anti- Iraqi insurgents
by leading her team in a counterattack. Her actions saved the convoy and
killed 27 insurgents, wounded six, and captured one. Hester’s leadership was not only
brave, it was also smart. By moving her team across the ambush’s kill zone, Hester’s
team was able to attack the insurgent positions from the side with devastating effect.
Because of her leadership, Sergeant Hester was awarded the third- highest medal
for valor in combat, the Silver Star, in June 2005, making her only the second woman
since World War II to receive the honor.
More women fought and died in the U.S.- led military intervention in Iraq (2003–
2011) than in all the wars since World War II put together. This is true even though
American women were not allowed to serve in combat units until December 2015,
when U.S. secretary of defense Ashton Car ter formally overturned this long- standing
ruling. Because armies no longer fight only on front lines with relatively safe rear
areas, these women lost their lives in Iraq and Af ghan i stan. Today, and for the fore-
seeable future, soldiers and marines on the ground face threats of imminent action
from any direction and at any time.InternatIonal
relatIons theorIes