A small win for Afghan women who helped special operations forces |
There are many Afghan allies whose heroism saved American lives and enabled U.S. successes over nearly two decades of war. Among them is a small group of women from the Female Tactical Platoon.
Recruited to take part in missions alongside Afghan and U.S. special operations forces conducting night raids on high-value enemy targets, the FTP gave their male counterparts invaluable access to parts of the population that cultural practices previously restricted them from engaging.
Army veteran Rebekah Edmondson was tasked with recruiting and training FTP members during a series of deployments. Trained to take part in direct-action missions, Edmondson had a unique understanding of the dangers and difficulties FTP members could face in this role. Edmondson told me that FTP members often had to lie about their occupations, even to relatives, to protect their reputations amid long absences that Edmondson explained are “totally unheard of” for Afghan women.
Edmondson has become an advocate for the members of the FTP since about 50 were evacuated to the United States following the........