The question of whether women should serve in the front lines of combat is one that's also been in the front lines of the news of late. As we await a final decision on the role of women in war by Secretary Ash Carter, Security Mom host Juliette Kayyem sits down with author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.
She's the author of the book "Ashley's War: " and it tells the story of Ashley White, one of the first women to be killed in combat in Afghanistan. It's a story of women who could be just as strong as the men they worked with - and in some ways, could accomplish things the men couldn't.
It goes to our version of the hero story. Ashley White was a young women who didn’t measure five foot three, the gal who had the smile of a Disneyland greeter. She was this incredible, almost Martha Stewart-like character in that she loved to cook, loved to bake, loved to make dinner for her husband who was really a supporter. And at the same time, she was also somebody who would put 40 pounds of weight on her back and march for miles near her hometown in Ohio. She was the one who would do 25 pulls ups from a dead hang.
Security Mom is a podcast hosted by Juliette Kayyem that aims to unpack how the strange and secretive world of national security works. Subscribe to the Security Mom podcast in iTunes.
