1990s Deployments
In the largest single deployment of women in U.S. military history, with widespread public support, 41,000 military women made up 7 percent of the U.S. Armed Forces in the Persian Gulf. Women served as aircraft pilots carrying troops and supplies; deployed on reconnaissance missions; served aboard hospital ships, in mobile medical units and in field hospitals; crewed planes and helicopters; directed artillery, drove trucks, ran prisoner-of-war facilities; served in port security units, in military police units, and as perimeter guards; and performed a myriad of communications, intelligence, supply and administrative jobs necessary for military success in the Persian Gulf. Major General Jeanne M. Holm, USAF (Ret.) wrote, "During the operation, American military women did just about everything on land, at sea, and in the air except engage in the actual fighting, and even there the line was often blurred--it was obvious from the beginning that the front lines were not what they used to be and noncombat units regularly took casualties. In the Gulf War there were no fixed positions or clear lines in the sand--Iraqi long-range artillery and especially the surface-to-surface missiles were unisex weapons that did not distinguish between combat and support troops." Five women were killed in action and two were prisoners of war.
The park next to my home is named after Adrian Mitchell who gave her life in the Gulf War.
