The Women of War - CLB-3’s Female Engagement Team trains with ‘The Professionals’ 

Most Marines know the phrase: “Opha Mae Johnson … 1918!” This recitation of history still reverberates through classrooms and squad bays at recruit training depots, and for some reason, many Marines will never forget it.

Since 1918, female Marines have served their nation proudly through various supporting roles. Their mission is to provide the operating forces with the support necessary for combat units to operate and perform both effectively and efficiently.

However, approximately 30 Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 3’s Female Engagement Team are branching out from their normal supportive roles and are training to become apart of an integrated team.

On Sunday, in conjunction with their Enhanced Mojave Viper pre-deployment training, 15 members of CLB-3’s FET began three days of demanding field training with “The Professionals” of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in order to prepare them for their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.

In accordance with maintaining cultural sensitivity, a Female Engagement Team’s primary mission in Afghanistan is to act as an auxiliary force directly interacting with the local female populace by collecting mission-specific information and providing personal or medical care to those who may need it. When a FET attaches themselves to an infantry unit, their mission remains the same, but the situation may call for immediate, combative responses.

In Afghanistan, women are generally perceived as off-limits to males, said Sgt. Amanda Kimbro, motor transport operator, Motor Transport Company A, CLB-3, and native of Nashville, Tenn. Males are unable to search, question or provide care for Afghan women, but a FET has that capability.

“There’s a lot of good information that [the Afghan women] have which can then be turned into [military] intelligence,” said Kimbro, who is also a fire team leader with FET’s fire team A. “It’s also good to provide care to [the Afghan women]. It’s not enough to say that you’ll do it — you actually have to show that you care. Actions speak louder than words.”

Upon arrival at 2/1’s simulated forward operating bases, the FET members embedded themselves into three of the battalion’s companies. Having previously received cultural awareness and sensitivity classes during CLB-3’s one-month training ones at Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii’s Big Island in June, the FET members immediately began training alongside experienced riflemen.

Their integrated training included military operations in urban terrain house clearing, on-site casualty treatment, basic patrolling, improvised explosive device detection and fire and maneuver drills.

“This training is important because of the simple fact that if we’re on a foot patrol and we happen to take contact, we all have to know how to react,” Kimbro said. “It’s also good for [members of infantry units] to train with us because they need to be confident enough to know we can pull our own weight in the fight. This training was leaps and bounds above anything else we’ve done.”

The three-day training exercise was the first of its kind for members of both units. For Cpl. Christopher Gross, team leader, 2nd squad, 3rd platoon, Company E, 2/1, the integrated training was a positive experience.

“Given that it was their first time training with [an infantry unit], it went pretty smooth and it was a great learning experience [for both units],” the Blunt, S.D. native said. “Females play a big role in the military and in Afghanistan. Basically, [FET Marines] are intermediates between us and Afghan women. They’re a great source of intelligence, but we can’t get it — FETs can.”

For CLB-3 and 2/1, the Enhanced Mojave Viper pre-deployment training exercise is scheduled to conclude in early August. Both CLB-3 and “The Professionals” are slated to deploy to Afghanistan this fall in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.