Women in the Military

Darlene Iskra joined the Navy in 1979, and served in the Persia Gulf War from 1990-1995 and eventually achieved the rank of Commander.  In her interview she talks about bonding with the other women who were also involved in the navy and how that has changed over the years.  She said that when she was in the navy she and the other women had a special bond because they were women and that even to this day she keeps in touch with them.  However, she also mentioned that friends of hers in the navy today say that the women are more isolated and are not encouraged to help other women out.  I thought this was interesting because I would have thought they would encourage any camaraderie between their crew members.

I really enjoyed listening to her story because her experiences were quite different not only from the men, but also the women we have listened to so far because she actually served in combat.  Not only did she have to get used to the blood and gore that the women who served as nurses did, but she also had to get physically and mentally prepared for war.  In one segment of her interview, she talked about surviving dive school.  In her class there were just two girls including her, and although the men were supportive, their teacher was not and he made it as hard as he could on them.

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