Lioness

Women have been a vital part of the military for decades, although forbidden from participating in direct ground combat…until recently. Broadcast on PBS' Independent Lens series, filmmakers Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers' sympathetic documentary profiles five female support soldiers, aka “Lionesses,” who fought alongside male combat units in Iraq, circa 2003-04. While Congress specifically bans women from the infantry, armor, field artillery, and special forces, the rules can change (at least unofficially) in times of need. Says Katherine “Katie” Guttormsen, “When we go outside of the wire, the enemy doesn't care what gender you are, and everybody runs the same risk.” Unfortunately, these Army soldiers found themselves in combat without the same kind of training as their Marine colleagues (fortunately, none were injured). Ranie Ruthig adds, “If it was ‘92, we would never have done that.” For Shannon Morgan, who hails from rural Arkansas, the experience haunts her just as her Uncle Glenn's time spent in Vietnam haunts him, and she acknowledges undergoing treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Other subjects include Anastasia Breslow, who reads excerpts from her journal, and Rebecca “Becky” Nava, whose husband was serving in Iraq at the same time. Aside from the central quintet, McLagan and Sommers speak with family members, military experts, and commanders who worked with them in Ramadi. On the whole, the women are disappointed by their absence from the historical record—an oversight this valuable documentary helps to correct. Highly recommended. [Note: Lioness will be available on home video from Docurama priced at $24.95 on October 30.] Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)