Sisters in Arms: Female Characters in Contemporary Military Fiction

I am a U.S. Army veteran of ten years. I deployed twice to Iraq with a Combat Support Hospital (think M*A*S*H* but in today’s wars). Now I’m a 34-year-old mom of two small children.

One thing I experience as a female veteran on all platforms is that many people forget women serve and have served in the military for a long time. I’m often asked if I drive my husband’s truck with the blue “Disabled Veteran” license plates. The guard at the local VA facility stops me at the entrance to the parking garage every time to make sure I’m “in the right place” while the four vehicles in front of me, driven by men, are waved on through. I had a boss ask me if my VA health care was through my husband.

So, unsurprisingly, it is common to see a glaring omission of women from contemporary military fiction.

If I were to guess a reason behind the lack of female representation, it could be due to the unfamiliarity of how females function in this capacity and how they change the dynamic of the element they belong to. Only 1% of the U.S. population will serve in the armed forces (3.25 million people both serving or have served, which is roughly about as many people living in Los Angeles currently). So, for the majority, speculating on the military experience with the addition of women might be difficult. Movies have gotten better at the incorporation; however, females do not often appear in serious leadership roles.

As much as I would like to think the real-world incorporation of females in combat jobs did not affect the atmosphere of comradery, I do not assume the world, much less the military or the literary world, has ultimately reached gender equality.

How can you do military women justice in fiction?

Do you have a sister? A sibling bond is the type of relationship most males and females foster within the ranks. Imagine a female friend who is romantically off-limits. Even if there is an attraction, there is an understanding that nothing outside of a platonic relationship is acceptable. You can even write a motherly figure into an otherwise all-male element. No doubt she can pull her weight, but she might also bring a nurturing dynamic. Do you work in an office with ladies? These non-threatening, non-sexual, entirely coherent and competent female beings exist in the military as well.

Domestically, I have a vast knowledge of combat firearms. Some days I put my daughter down for a nap and wonder if I’ll ever shoot a grenade launcher again. These aren’t play-date conversations I can have with other moms. So, opening a book which might let me relive the glory days quickly becomes another alienating experience as the male characters go around kicking in doors and shooting down the enemy.

Want to know something scary? Once a woman leaves the military and takes on other jobs in society, maybe becomes a mother, she simultaneously becomes the single most capable and defensive human being to walk this planet. Imagine Winona Ryder’s character on Stranger Things, ripping a hole in her wall with her bare hands to reach her son… Now imagine if she had been combat-trained.

Also, there are no “lady-sized” combat loads. 210 rounds of ammunition weigh as much for a 6’3”, 200-pound man as it does for a 5’2”, 117-pound woman. There is no “male small” and “female small” body armor. When the ruck requirement is 50 pounds, it’s 50 pounds for everyone. Women get all the same tactical and lethal combat training men go through. Now, more than ever before in the military, there are very few special considerations differing between the two genders. Gives a new meaning to “she can pull her own weight.”

I hope I was able to shine enough light on this mythical creature to make writers more comfortable incorporating females into their fictional defense of this country.

And before someone outs me, yes, some writers are aware of such matters and do incorporate strong females, often seen in military sci-fi. David Gerrold did it in the ‘80s with Elizabeth “Lizard” Tirelli, a chopper pilot, and David Weber also with Honor Harrington.

I’m just a girl, reading this contemporary military fiction, wishing it was more realistic.