Vet highlights women in combat, military health care
http://tinyurl.com/6kqbwk
November 12, 2008
Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth stood next to President-elect Barack
Obama at a memorial in Illinois yesterday and saluted those who fought
beside her and died - men and women who weren't as lucky as she was.
Duckworth, 40, as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot in 2004, lost her legs
and partial use of an arm during the conflict. She spent 13 months
recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Wa****ngton and
received a Purple Heart and Air Medal.
The Illinois National Guard major had flown more than 200 combat hours
before a grenade exploded in her cockpit. She told The Associated Press
that her experience shows women are increasingly exposed to combat. "The
American public is beginning to realize that women are playing an equal
part in this war and that they are facing the same risks," she said.
Duckworth narrowly lost a bid for Congress to Republican Peter J.
Roskam. She is now director of the Illinois Department of Veterans
Affairs and has garnered a reputation as an advocate for injured veterans.
Last year, she gave an acerbic *****sment of the Bush administration's
war planners, who she said seemed to greatly underestimate the scale of
soldiers' injuries in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. She testified
before Congress, asking lawmakers to fund health needs of returning
veterans.
As a civilian, she swims, runs marathons and pilots planes.
--
Civis Romanus Sum
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