Female Engagement Team's

Yesterday a friend sent me this link (Thanks, Dave). Ironically, a little more than a month ago I read a report on the first Female Engagement Team (FET). FET’s are used to get further into the culture and root of Afghan life to address issues truly affecting Afghans, their villages, culture and families. The FET’s are far more successful at getting into villages and, among other things, speaking with women about their most pressing needs. After a while, trust is built up and is used to provide them with needed services such as medical care for themselves, their children and their families. This is just one of the many ways Americans are working on "winning the hearts and minds" of Afghans.

The success of the FET’s is simply not possible with all male teams. Our women are brave and an serve as immeasurable assets to the efforts here in Afghanistan. Here are two links with pictures and additional information on our FET’s which are hard at work:


http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/12/09/5616457-all-female-us-marine-team-in-afghanistan

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/world/asia/07women.html