VOA标准英语2013--Women Soldiers Pay Price on Front Lines

Women Soldiers Pay Price on Front Lines

When it comes to fighting on the front lines, Army Staff Sergeant¹ Cassandra Partee has been there and done that. Her first deployment² was to Iraq as part of an artillery³ unit eight years ago.

"We would go out on patrols and just conduct raids and things of that nature," she said. 

On her second deployment to Iraq, she was wounded in action.

"I [in] one incident was hit by improvised⁴ explosive device that was attached to a guard rail," she explained. 

Partee suffered shrapnel wounds to her face and back. 

Since her last deployment, she has survived cancer and given birth to two babies.

In her current job with the Army’s Seventh Sustainment Brigade, she helps train other soldiers. She reflects on her experience in Iraq. 

"There wasn’t anything discriminatory as far as what females could do over there," she said. "When it came time to be a gunner and be on the gun, females took the guns." 

So it was no surprise to her when, in one of his final decisions as Secretary of Defense⁵, Leon Panetta announced the lifting of rules excluding women from some combat roles.

"They serve. They’re wounded and they die right next to each other. The time has come to recognize that reality," he said.

"These are the roles that we’ve played in the war. We’ve been there all along," said Staff Sergeant Partee. "They didn’t look at me and say, you’re a female you can’t do this. It was 'hey, we need a soldier. You need to get up there and do this.'" 

Some women soldiers say they hear comments from male counterparts who don't believe women should be in certain combat units - though few express those sentiments openly.

One of Partee’s male counterparts, Sergeant Shawn Yearby - also an Iraq veteran - says he was surprised by Panetta's announcement.

"What first went through my mind, was uh-oh, you know, females are going into combat arms. But then I thought about it and I said, it all depends. It all depends on if they can handle it, they can handle it," he said. 

Sergeant Partee has been able to balance life in the military with the other job in her life that she says is her highest calling.

"I will always be a mother first, but [by] the same token, I have the soldier in me. The scale is even," she said. 

Even with the opening of more combat roles, few expect a big rise in the number of women in those roles. The military is planning no change in its physical requirements or training standards. 

But for soldiers like Partee, the recognition that she can do the job goes a long way. 

1 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

2 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

3 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

4 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。