Ft. Bliss: Female Engagement Team breaks Army’s boundaries

Women have been serving in the U.S. Army since the 1900s.

They started off as nurses and have sincemoved into other fields, like cavalry, communications and logistics.

Now there’s a new company under the First Armored Division,the first of it’s kind, called the Ft. Bliss Female Engagement Team or FET.

Their daybegins at the break of dawn. Their countdowns fill the air like a chorus.

The Female Engagement Team’s day quickly becomes grueling, but it’s crucial preparation.

“I take all the training we do pretty seriously,” said Spc. Shanon Sumpter.

By winter, the FETwill walk side by side with men as soldiers on the front lines of Afghanistan.

Team Leader Fanta Mballow Jones told ABC-7, “Ido think that it’s a breakthrough to see how the front lines actually work.”

But theFET’s mission isn’t to combat, it’s to engage.

“These women are able to interact with that female population, with the younger children of Afghanistan,” said Public Affairs Officer, Jennifer Dyrcs.

Because of cultural differences in Afghanistan, male soldiers are not allowed to talk to women and children. Consequently,the U.S military is only hearing 50 percent of the feedback from the nation’speople, especially when it comes to the economyand security.

“We’re able to get information, for example, what the women are looking to see in their country,” Dyrcs said.

A large part of the FET’s engagement mission is communication, so each member is required to learn “pashtun”, the native language of Afghanistan. But in case a situation on the front line takes a turn for the worse, the women are trained for a combat situation.

They have weapons training and trainingon improvised explosives, one of the military’s biggest threats.

Once these women finish the 24-week training program, they have a graduation ceremonyat which they will receive aheadscarf they will wear when walking the villages of Afghanistan.

Pfc. Kristen Hall told ABC-7,”It’s such a great opportunity that we might be able to make a difference even if it’s just for one person or the whole country.”

TheFET is composed of about 60 womenwho all volunteered to be on the team.