Tomassini-- Interview Assignment

“Militarized Femininity: Major L. Tammy Duckworth”

On November 12, 2004, Army Captain Tammy Ducksworth lost both of her legs when the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter she was co-piloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) by Iraqi insurgents. The explosion nearly completely destroyed her right arm as well, breaking it in three places. She received a Purple Heart and was promoted to Major on Dec 21 at Walter Reed Medical Center, where she was presented with an Air Medal and Army Commendation Medal. On November 21, 2006 Major Duckworth was appointed the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs by the state Governor.
“I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade.” These statements as she spoke, I remembered as the Warrior Ethos, a powerful part of the Soldiers Creed. They are gender-neutral statements that get at the heart of what it means to be an American Soldier to the both of us, and all who came before us. “I am not a big fan of being identified as a woman anything. I work so hard not to be different from the other Soldiers for most of my career. I have usually been the only female in an all male unit. When I first began my career, a generation of females had already pushed through the obstacles for women in Army Aviation.”
Like any group of people, some were outstanding Soldiers, while others simply used their sex to gain an unfair advantage. This is something I also personally saw throughout IET and still today in Cadet land. Their over-reliance on their sex paved the way to a negative impression of female soldiers in their male counterparts.
“By the time I came along, these men were in leadership positions and were even less open to female troops than pervious generations. We had to make our way, one at a time, by proving we were just as good as our comrades all over again—this time by being gender neutral and tough.”
When asked about her feelings on what she felt about the band on women in combat, she replied, “It is stupid and unrealistic under the conditions of modern warfare. The country needs to know that women are fighting, dying and that we need to move on, just like we don’t discuss African Americans’ or Japanese Americans’ service based on their race as we did In World War II.”
When I asked about Major Ducksworth’s personal thoughts on militarized Femininity, I got more than I bargained for:
“As the Military brings women into combat positions, both the militarization of femininity both in the military and in the media evolves. Remember the story of Jessica Lynch’s capture and rescue? The military described the Ideal type of the woman soldier: tough, but not violent; brave, yet still in need of defense; a soldier, but still innocent. In reaction to the abuse at Abu Ghraib, we learn what the woman soldier should not be: sexual or violent. The current Ideal type of female soldier allows them to participate in war-making and war-fighting, but denies them agency in unwomanly decisions, like those to sexually torture prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Even in a world of where constructed womanliness has a strong influence on decision-making, woman have agency in their choices.”
I also asked for her personal advice about overcoming being a female in today’s army she left me with this last bit: “It is all about being tough and professional. This nation is a remarkable place where little girls can indeed grow up to be whatever they want! We have all done our part to protect the freedoms of all the little girls who want to grow up to be nurses, policemen, firefighters, or, yes, even pilots.”