Book Review: Ashley's War, The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Ashley's War:  The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon is a non-fiction book published in April 2015.  The story follows several women and their quest to become the first women to be in combat along the Green Berets and Army Rangers.

This is a book that was selected in my workplace for discussion between women and/or veterans.  The book discussion was broken into three parts much like how the story was broken up.  It garnered great conversations.

Some of the things that happened in the book didn't surprise me, such as how physically demanding the tryouts were to be part of the special operations.  It's a demanding job that requires people to be not only physically strong but mentally strong.  

 

What did shock me was that it took the military so long to allow women to fight along men on the battlefield.  Another thing that astonished me were how accepting most of the men in the Army Rangers were of the women fighting along side them.  I expected them not to be so accepting.

 

One thing that distressed me a lot is that the military used to leave the military dogs in the war zones when the military was pulled out, like in the Vietnam War.  I am so glad that they don't do this anymore and allow for the dogs to be adopted.

This story gives readers great insight into what goes on behind the scenes of the military, and it's an interesting read if you want to learn more about women in the military and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Three out of five stars is what I gave Ashley's War:  The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.

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