Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester fought her way through an enemy ambush south of Baghdad, killing three insurgents with her M-4 rifle to save fellow soldiers’ lives — and yesterday became the first woman since World War II to win the Silver Star medal for valor in combat.
The 23-year-old retail store manager from Bowling Green, Ky., won the award for skillfully leading her team of military police soldiers in a counterattack after about 50 insurgents ambushed a supply convoy they were guarding near Salman Pak on March 20.
Read the whole thing. More detail here from her hometown press.
* New title, because it is my site and I can do stuff like that.
Katherine
That’s fantastic.
Far North
Go Leigh Ann Hester!! Great story.
James Emerson
The next time the Republicans in Congress want to pass legislation banning women from combat duties, they will have Sgt Hester to contend with.
Way to go Sargent.
Anderson
Congrats to the brave Sgt. Hester, and if she runs for political office 30 years from now, I hope no SOB’s run around saying her Silver Star is bogus.
Darrell
Congrats to the brave Sgt. Hester, and if she runs for political office 30 years from now, I hope no SOB’s run around saying her Silver Star is bogus.
Unless she starts claiming that she spent Christmas in Cambodia which was ‘seared’ into her memory, there’s little chance that will happen.
Good story John.
Swift Boat
Unless she starts claiming that she spent Christmas in Cambodia which was ‘seared’ into her memory
I know it’s shocking that Kerry thought he was in Cambodia during Christmas, when he was really there in January or February. Who could believe the MSM didn’t run that story on every front-page of every newspaper. Such a blatant inconsistency is reason alone to impugn a war hero’s integrity and vote for a draft dodger like Bush and a guy like Cheney who took four deferments because he “had better things to do.”
Chicken Hawks. Go fight this war if you love it so much. Then you can impugn the integrity of real vets like Kerry, McCain and even Kos. Until then STFU.
Kimmitt
Congratulations to the Sergeant, and if a member of her unit who also happened to be decorated during that time runs for political office as a Democrat, I hope no SOB’s run around saying her Silver Star is bogus.
Birkel
I just hope the good Sergeant doesn’t come back stateside and smear all those who fought honorably beside her. She sounds like a real hero and so are those fighting beside her.
Let’s hope nobody spits on her as she comes through the airport.
Al Maviva
The next time the Republicans in Congress want to pass legislation banning women from combat duties, they will have Sgt Hester to contend with.
Dude, that’s about an ill-informed combat. She did some great work with a gun. I wouldn’t down that, or her bravery.
But please – I doubt she could pick up an M-1 track section, let alone lever the track into and out of place.
There’s nothing wrong with your women being trained to fight if the SHTF. But there’s a difference between doing well in a pinch, and doing the day to day mule work that goes into combat arms duty. The average man isn’t strong enough to do what we require of our 11, 12, 13, and 18 series soldiers without pretty extensive physical training. The average female body breaks under that stress. Go check out the injury studies conducted at the military academies. There are hard and fast biological differences between men and women, and I’m not willing to sacrifice troops to indulge the fiction that there aren’t.
Al Maviva
And FYI, using her to make a point is just about as low as the Republicans using Jessica Lynch to prove a point.
Kimmitt
I’m not trying to make any kind of point; I’m dead serious.
John Cole
But please – I doubt she could pick up an M-1 track section, let alone lever the track into and out of place.
*Shudder*
I am now having flashbacks of throwing track to the inside in the middle of January at Hohenfels. Thanks Al.