I’ve got a new post up at Women’s Rights | Change.org : Veterans Day: No Longer Just A “Man’s Holiday”. Here’s an excerpt:

Today is Veterans’ Day in the United States, a day when we pause to recognize those who have served in our nation’s armed services. Veterans’ Day is traditionally a man’s holiday, where we honor the men who have fought and died in our nation’s wars. However, the number of female veterans has doubled over the last twenty years, from 4% in 1988 to 8% this year. This number will only continue to grow as our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan continues.

It is important to pay tribute to all veterans, including female veterans. According to the IAVA, more than 212, 000 female service members have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, making up 11% of the force over there. More than 600 have been wounded in the combined wars and more than 120 women have died, including Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador of Albany, New York, who died November 4 in Kirkush, Iraq.

Keep reading at Womens Rights | Change.org

Photo credit: kevindooley on Flickr

My new post Lioness Documentary Honors Women in Combat is up at the Women’s Rights blog (Change.org). Here’s a a little teaser for ya:

Lioness is a fascinating new documentary by Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers and it gives us an inside look at the first women to engage in ground combat in U.S. history.

Now go on over to Women’s Rights (Change.org) and keep reading…

For once, the gender-inequity thing has worked in our favor. July and August were the dealiest months of the war in Afghanistan but thankfully, only one American female soldier died. (I have no idea how many Afghan women and girls died as a result of the violence.)

No female soldiers died in July (44 male soldiers did) while Staff Sgt. Tara J. Smith of Nashville, North Carolina, was the only woman of at least 47 troops to die in August. Staff Sgt. Tara J. Smith of Nashville, NC,was 33 and a member of Company C, 50th Signal Battalion, 35th Signal Brigade. The Washington Post reports that Staff Sgt. Smith:

died August 8, 2009, in Bagram, Afghanistan, from a non-combat related incident that occurred Aug. 4 at Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan.

Meanwhile the Raleigh News & Observer tells us a little more about the 121st female soldier to die in Afghanistan:

Smith, who was assigned to the 50th Signal Battalion, 35th Signal Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, was born in Spring Lake, N.C. She joined the Army in February 1997 and has served tours in Arifjan, Kuwait; Camp Casey, South Korea; and Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

“Tara Smith, in addition to being an outstanding noncommissioned officer and leader in the unit, was a bright and charming young woman who will be missed by all,” Battalion Commander Lt. Col Brian Foley said.

Smith is survived by her husband, Deron, and sons, David, 8, and Jordan, 6, according to

the Army.

It should be noted that at least 90 other American troops died in Afghanistan in July and August. Please click below to at least read their names and learn more about these heroic individuals.

• July Casualties in Afghanistan
• August Casualties in Afghanistan

Photo credit: MilitaryCity.com