Nancy:

I respect the service and unique experiences of all three women: COL Wright, SGT Hogg and SGT Dougherty. However, I must disagree with the one-sidedness of how these issues were presented. There are many different experiences that women in the military have and they are not all the same. Things have changed greatly in the 20 years, by my calculations, since COL Wright retired.

My experience during 10 years as an Army officer and four years as a cadet at West Point has been very different than SGTs Hogg and Dougherty. As a cadet, I did feel that there were only three categories for women, but as an officer, I do not feel constrained that way. Are there double standards? Yes. However, recognizing that is half of the challenge to overcoming them. How you deal with them is your choice as an individual. Does it make you stronger or do you become a victim? It is your choice. The positive and negative attitudes about women that I have encountered in the Army seem to be no different than the diverse beliefs in American society in general.

I have also experienced both sides of the bonding issue amongst women in the military. As a cadet, I was disillusioned by the "weakest link" phenomena - if you couldn't cut it, other women tended to disassociate themselves instead of helping. As an officer, my experience has been completely different. Some of my closest friends have been female officers that I have met in the Army. I have also been fortunate to have had tremendously positive mentors, both male and female, throughout my career.

SGT Dougherty mentioned a threat from her peers and officers. In my opinion, this is purely a deficiency in the unit leadership and command climate. Having deployed to both Kosovo and Iraq, I am familiar with some of these threats. I personally believe that if you act like a victim, chances are, you will be one. If you act sensibly and make your limits clear, you have a better chance of avoiding a situation you cannot handle. However, if you do have a bad experience, then a good chain of command will handle it properly.

Differences in Army combat training that I see are not between men or women, but have historically been between how combat arms units (infantry, armor, etc) and support units train. The current operating environment in Iraq and Afghanistan has drastically changed ideas about training in the Army for the better. No longer can support units assume that they will not encounter combat. Every unit and every Soldier must be trained for combat. That is the reality.

Bottom line: the experiences of women in the military are as diverse as our wonderful American society. The comments above are my personal opinions on the topic and I do not profess to speak for all women in the military.

- MAJ Darcy Saint-Amant, US Army