thedrifter
06-30-07, 08:39 AM
On June 28, local writer Kristen Holmstedt will debut her new book at the Jacksonville Country Club titled "Band of Sisters," a sweeping non-fiction work that seeks to explore the lives of more than a dozen women who have served in combat in Iraq. While the debate rages on -- in the television news, court rooms and in congress -- whether women should serve in combat roles, Holmstedt has crossed over the verbal quagmire and controversy to show women serving with honor under the most difficult of circumstances.
While often stigmatized and forced to overcome obstacles to participate in combat, Holmstedt sheds light on the sacrifice, tragedy and triumphs of these modern day warriors who have, until now, done their jobs with quiet professionalism far from center stage. In her own words, she talks about the motivation for writing and what the book means to her and the women she wrote it for.
C: Where did the idea for this book come from?
H: "I was hearing all of the news about the military going off to war and I was hearing about women and I was seeing them -- they were my neighbors; women I saw at the grocery store and at the coffee shop; they were women I saw here, students of the college and I saw them going off to war.
During the spring and summer you'd hear about women over there but I never was satisfied with what I heard; the sound bytes on T.V. and on the radio, I always wanted to know more about them. Part of it is because I am a woman and I don't care if you say I'm 43 and a little old to be serving, but definitely wondering if I was their age, would I have enlisted after 9/11?
"The book is really all about getting myself and civilian women to put themselves in these combat boots and to find out what women are doing over there, the extraordinary things that they're doing; their accomplishments and their sacrifices. Getting to know them as moms and daughters, sisters and what they're doing over there. They're firing missiles, their dropping bombs, they're nurses holding the hands of Marines wounded and dying, they're medics running to the rescue, they're MPs.
"Up to this book, every book that was written about women in combat has been about the debate on women in combat. They're telling about women in combat, not showing them in combat. I wanted to take the debate off Capitol Hill and put it on the battlefield, and show how this experiment with the largest 'band of sisters' in history played out."
C: How has women's role on the battlefield changed?
H: "I think there's been a real change in women. I think there are more opportunities for women and that's why you see them serving in so many different roles. Women are definitely making history all over the battlefield which is really exciting. In my book, I talk about the first black female pilot in combat. In the book I talk about the first female to be shot down and survive. I wanted to show women in different roles and in different branches of the armed forces. I wanted women of different ages; I wanted moms; I wanted single women, married women. There are officers and enlisted. I wanted to run the gamut. There's something for everyone."
C: Do you think this book will stir up controversy?
H: "I know there are some guys that will never accept women in combat. But, on a recent call-in radio show, I expected some controversy, but the guys who called in were all like 'Ooh-rah' and 'thank you' and 'what you're doing is great.' So I wonder how controversial this book is going to be in the long run. Maybe it isn't going to be. I know women aren't fully integrated, but they're getting there."
C: What do you hope people take away from this book?
H: "I want people to see just how brave and courageous the women are who are serving in combat and to understand the sacrifices that they're making over there. I really want this book to educate people on what women are doing in Iraq, because I don't think we have any idea. My mom read this book and she was like 'my gosh, if there was a draft I'd have to go to Canada, because I can't do any of this stuff.' My mom was amazed, she was like 'women are doing all of that over there?' I just don't think people have any idea. It's really to elevate women. People have always written about men in combat, as they should, because men have always been in combat. Now women are in combat so let's hear their stories."
C: What do you take away from this experience?
H: "What I take away is a huge appreciation for these women. I feel like they have a lot of courage and strength and inner strength in what they do. It is still a man's world, the battlefield and the military. With all the obstacles they're up against and to really do their job, and do it well, I think is amazing."
While often stigmatized and forced to overcome obstacles to participate in combat, Holmstedt sheds light on the sacrifice, tragedy and triumphs of these modern day warriors who have, until now, done their jobs with quiet professionalism far from center stage. In her own words, she talks about the motivation for writing and what the book means to her and the women she wrote it for.
C: Where did the idea for this book come from?
H: "I was hearing all of the news about the military going off to war and I was hearing about women and I was seeing them -- they were my neighbors; women I saw at the grocery store and at the coffee shop; they were women I saw here, students of the college and I saw them going off to war.
During the spring and summer you'd hear about women over there but I never was satisfied with what I heard; the sound bytes on T.V. and on the radio, I always wanted to know more about them. Part of it is because I am a woman and I don't care if you say I'm 43 and a little old to be serving, but definitely wondering if I was their age, would I have enlisted after 9/11?
"The book is really all about getting myself and civilian women to put themselves in these combat boots and to find out what women are doing over there, the extraordinary things that they're doing; their accomplishments and their sacrifices. Getting to know them as moms and daughters, sisters and what they're doing over there. They're firing missiles, their dropping bombs, they're nurses holding the hands of Marines wounded and dying, they're medics running to the rescue, they're MPs.
"Up to this book, every book that was written about women in combat has been about the debate on women in combat. They're telling about women in combat, not showing them in combat. I wanted to take the debate off Capitol Hill and put it on the battlefield, and show how this experiment with the largest 'band of sisters' in history played out."
C: How has women's role on the battlefield changed?
H: "I think there's been a real change in women. I think there are more opportunities for women and that's why you see them serving in so many different roles. Women are definitely making history all over the battlefield which is really exciting. In my book, I talk about the first black female pilot in combat. In the book I talk about the first female to be shot down and survive. I wanted to show women in different roles and in different branches of the armed forces. I wanted women of different ages; I wanted moms; I wanted single women, married women. There are officers and enlisted. I wanted to run the gamut. There's something for everyone."
C: Do you think this book will stir up controversy?
H: "I know there are some guys that will never accept women in combat. But, on a recent call-in radio show, I expected some controversy, but the guys who called in were all like 'Ooh-rah' and 'thank you' and 'what you're doing is great.' So I wonder how controversial this book is going to be in the long run. Maybe it isn't going to be. I know women aren't fully integrated, but they're getting there."
C: What do you hope people take away from this book?
H: "I want people to see just how brave and courageous the women are who are serving in combat and to understand the sacrifices that they're making over there. I really want this book to educate people on what women are doing in Iraq, because I don't think we have any idea. My mom read this book and she was like 'my gosh, if there was a draft I'd have to go to Canada, because I can't do any of this stuff.' My mom was amazed, she was like 'women are doing all of that over there?' I just don't think people have any idea. It's really to elevate women. People have always written about men in combat, as they should, because men have always been in combat. Now women are in combat so let's hear their stories."
C: What do you take away from this experience?
H: "What I take away is a huge appreciation for these women. I feel like they have a lot of courage and strength and inner strength in what they do. It is still a man's world, the battlefield and the military. With all the obstacles they're up against and to really do their job, and do it well, I think is amazing."