two Iraqi police also died in the blast. The DoD release announcing Parcell’s death noted she was killed “while supporting combat opera- tions.” The release on Ellis stated he was killed “while conducting combat operations.”
Supporting a medical outreach led by the Afghan National Army in Helmand Province, Marines attached to the FET, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Regi- mental Combat Team 1 offer escort to (left) and interact with (below) Afghan women and children.
Congressional concerns Section 652 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code requires the Secretary of Defense to notify Congress in the event of opening or closing the as- signment of women to a category, specialty or unit. Congress can act on the notification or ignore it. If no action is taken, the service may move forward. In what is loosely re- ferred to as DoD’s “ground combat exclusion policy,” female members of the armed services may not be assigned to units below the bri- gade level likely to engage in direct ground combat.
The Marine Corps FET program complies with the law and policies as written. When FET Marines arrive in Afghanistan, they are assigned to the Ground Combat Element or GCE at the Marine Expeditionary Force level. From there, terminology is open to interpretation. One official says the women are attached (but not assigned) to a com- bat unit (usually a company and well below the brigade level). Another spokesperson said the women “are in support of” the combat units with which they work for months under the same conditions as their male in- fantry counterparts. “The Army makes a distinction
between ‘assignment’ and ‘employ- ment’ of women by local command- ers,” says retired Navy Capt. Lory Manning, director of the Women in the Military Project at the Women’s Research and Education Institute, Washington, D.C. Manning main- tains (and some women from the engagement programs confirm) their work has not been document- ed in their record books or noted on evaluations. “There is a cost to these women, not the least of which could be veterans’ benefits down the road,” warns Manning.
Living the dream Lance Cpl. Ryann Campion volun- teered for an FET in July 2009. “I have always wanted to do this sort of thing, even before I joined the Marine Corps,” she says. Her longest operation has been
four days. She has been on a mount- ed patrol. She has been on three FET missions, including one search assignment during the Afghan elec- tions. “This is my image of the Ma- rine Corps,” Campion says. “I am finally living my dream.”
MO
— Contributing Editor Gina DiNicolo is a freelance writer based in Virginia. Her last feature article for Military Officer was “Duty on the Hill,” December 2010.
PHOTOS: ABOVE AND LEFT, LANCE CPL. SHAWN P. COOVER, USMC/DOD MARCH 2011 MILITARY OFFICER 95
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