Photo By Spc. Douglas York | Capt. Angela Gillie, a native of Detroit, who serves as the senior medical logistics...... read more read more
By Spc. Douglas York
Multi-National Division – Baghdad
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – Throughout most of America's wars, women have been integral to the success of the Armed Forces, serving in many capacities in every major conflict since the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord.
Since that time nearly two and a quarter centuries ago, women have finally attained a measure of gender equality in the professional realm, in civil liberty, in the medical field and as Soldiers.
And on June 23, 2008, Lt. General Ann Dunwoody, deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Materiel Command, became the first woman in U.S. military history to be nominated and confirmed to hold the rank of four-star general.
Dunwoody, however, is not the only woman forging a remarkable path in a once male-dominated world. The Ironhorse Division touts many such Soldiers, two of whom serve together in the Division Surgeon section of the 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.
"Honestly, I don't look at myself as different from anyone else, male or female," said Capt. Angela Gillie, a native of Detroit, who serves as the senior medical logistics planner, division surgeon section, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B. "In the job that I do here, when I go out, I'm the only female. But, ironically enough, that does not phase me one way or another, and I just look at it as I have a job to do and I just do it," she added.
Gillie leads a small team of Soldiers, who make sure that medical personnel in Baghdad have the supplies they need and that each MND-B unit's medical logistics systems are working, coordinating with the 56th Multifunctional Medical Battalion in Balad and with the division's supply section to fix them if they are not.
Additionally, she attends weekly sustainment huddle meetings to synchronize her group's medical logistics mission with the regular sustainment community. She and her troops also handle the medical logistics for the Iraqi security forces in the MND-B operational environment, visiting various military transition teams as well as the 6th, the 9th and the 11th Iraqi Army Divisions.
During such visits, they assess each unit's level one and two medical care facilities and warehouses. The assessments generally lead to eye-opening and challenging experiences for her team.
"Going out and seeing the state and the condition that some of these facilities are in is really heartbreaking," Gillie said. "They [the ISF] can't get certain types of medications or certain types of things we might take for granted," she added, elaborating that while U.S. troops are helping make improvements, they are instructed to work within the ISF's already existing medical system.
Be that as it may, when improvements are made, and supplies are ordered and delivered, Gillie said she knows that it starts first and foremost with the Soldiers serving with her.
"I have a really good non-commissioned officer in charge," Gillie said, referring to Staff Sgt. Viola Prouty, the non-commissioned officer in charge of medical logistics, who is a native of Forsyth, Ga. "I also have a really good medical maintenance NCO, and when I'm not in the office, when I'm out doing ISF stuff, [Prouty's] here running the shop making sure that all of our brigades have what they need," she added.
Much like Gillie, Prouty has risen through the ranks during her 14 years of service and has seen many changes in the mindset of the world toward women. She said that in her opinion, few changes, in terms of gender stereotypes, have been more apparent than those of the Armed Forces.
"Earlier in my career, I felt like they would only give me desk jobs or easier jobs because I was a woman," Prouty said. "But over the last several years now, I've felt like I've been treated equally because as my career has progressed, I open my mouth more and say 'I can do the same job he can.'"
Whether she is still low-key or not, Prouty is doing an excellent job in the role she fills now, a position that's vastly different from the time she served as a food service specialist earlier in her career. In turn, she is now also able to see how her work affects the mission as a whole.
"I enjoy going out to see how everybody else works," Prouty said. "This is my third deployment here and normally I'd be in a warehouse somewhere packing boxes and sending them out. But this is my first time actually getting out and actually seeing how everybody else is living and how the end items actually effect the patients," she added. Seeing the fruits of her labors have made this a much more memorable deployment for her, she said.
The collective efforts and labors of these two Soldiers and their section are not lost on the officer who oversees their operation and is responsible for the overall health and welfare of the entire Ironhorse Division.
"Team MEDLOG does a great job of ensuring that MND-B's medical personnel have all the logistical support necessary to care for our Soldiers," said Lt. Col. David Ristedt, a native of Logansport, Ind., who serves as the division surgeon, 4th Inf. Div. and MND-B. "Their leadership and proactive medical logistics management ensure the right medications, equipment and supplies are available wherever needed," he added.
Needless to say, it is an important job and one that seems to be a far cry from what was expected of military women in the past, the same low expectations that Prouty feels existed as recently as a little over a decade ago.
"I think our job is very important," Prouty said. "Although we are not physicians, we are the logistics part of this and without us they can't do their jobs," she added, noting that her section is the supplier of everything the physicians need.
Gillie seconded those thoughts and added a few of her own.
"Here's why I think our job is important: It's directly tied to the Soldier," Gillie said. "Our Soldiers are the end customer and if they aren't healthy then our Soldiers can't be out there doing their missions," she added.
It is this mission first mentality that Gillie and her section take to heart, allowing them little if no room for error in their daily duties. As a result, their job requires them to "log" many hours.
"We work about 75 hours a week, or about 12 hours a day – sometimes longer. It just depends on if we're out on a mission," Gillie said."
Their efforts and long hours do not go unnoticed.
"These two Soldiers are clearly examples of women who are dedicated to the mission and are leading the way in action and deed," Ristedt said. "I never have to worry about medical logistics because they anticipate the needs and work for solutions daily," he added.
Those daily solutions require overcoming a myriad of obstacles in order to fulfill the various units' supply requirements. However, none have been more challenging than technology.
"There are definitely challenges with our medical systems, how we track supplies, and some of our units have to mitigate those within their immediate areas," Gillie said. She said she would like to see the systems become more integrated to the point where they are more seamless.
Aside from this minor hitch, everything else has worked almost perfectly, said Prouty.
Notwithstanding all of the challenges, these Soldiers optimistically press forward with their mission without skipping a beat, their hard work continuing to add to the ever-increasing possibility that the preconceived notions about women will remain a thing of the past.
"I love my job," Gillie said. "We volunteer to do this and if I have to be over here, I want to make a difference in what I'm doing," adding that it is essential for all the troops to leave the Iraqis in the best possible situation.
"I think that this war has changed the views of a lot of people," Prouty said. "At first, it was 'Women can't go to the front lines,' but to me, it's all the front lines now and women are able to do it all."
Both men and women fight side-by-side in this war, she said, and no Soldier takes a back seat to another based on gender.
With their mission progressing daily and their niche safely carved out as examples of what all Soldiers can be, these two steadfast and loyal women begin to look towards their futures and whatever is in store for them.
"You look around here and there are so many female lieutenant colonels and sergeants major all over the place," Gillie said. "There is so much mentorship and people to look up to as far as females go, and I can think of several off the top of my head that have influenced me throughout my military career.
She also noted that high-ranking females, such as Dunwoody, are no longer a rarity in the military.
"I don't look at myself as just being a woman. I just look at myself as being a Soldier," Prouty said with pride. "It's weird to say that, but when I put on the uniform, I'm an American Soldier and I just do the same things everyone else does."
Along those same lines, Gillie took a moment to further reflect on the strides the United States has made in all facets of equal rights.
"To elect our first black president means we're at a place right now where I just feel like we have arrived as Americans and as women," Gillie said. "I haven't had a job since I've been in the Army where I felt like I was discriminated against because I am a woman or even because I am black."
Gillie said she believes the celebration of diversity in the Army is a model the rest of the nation should follow. It is that same diversity and the acceptance of people from all walks of life that has led Gillie and Prouty to choose the Army as a career.
"I was originally just going to come in for four years, do my time and get out of the Army," said Gillie, who was once an enlisted Soldier rising up the Quartermaster Corps to the rank of sergeant. "But coming in and seeing this culture and seeing what it's like, it makes you want to be a part of it; it makes you want to stay because every day you know you will meet another great person."
Prouty is currently in her second tour of duty with the Army.
"I did six years and then I got off of active duty for nine years," Prouty said. "I really missed the military. I missed meeting people. I missed the travel; so I came back on active duty as a medical logistics NCO, and I can't imagine doing anything else. I love what I do."
While the future of civil rights, diversity and acceptance of others will most likely progress in the United States and the world over, the two women will continue to be grateful for the sacrifices that have been made that make it possible for them to realize their dreams.
"Where I am right now is because of all of the people who I've ever worked for or who have worked for me and most importantly because of God," said Gillie.
"Like Capt. Gillie says, it's not about male or female; it's all about the team," Prouty said. "We can't do it without working together."
| Date Taken: | 11.08.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 11.08.2008 12:08 |
| Story ID: | 26102 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 220 |
| Downloads: | 159 |
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