did. Noticing that her male colleagues struggled to relate to local women and were losing needed intelligence as a result, she began showing pictures of her own children to local civilians. By relating to them as a mother, she broke the ice and gained their trust. Over her months with the FET, she was able to collect information about the population, their needs, and local tensions that proved valuable to mission success.

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A Marine myself, I often found that my observations differed from those of my male peers. For example, in 2003, flying low over homes in Iraqis at stake, these questions should be asked.

Security research has engaged with these questions with compelling results. For example, Valerie Hudson’s work on the links between gender and security demonstrates the deep connections between the security of women and the security of states. Research on peace processes finds that women’s participation increases the likelihood of longer-lasting stability. And the New America Foundation’s report on gender and national security recognizes that while gender remains neglected in many national security decision-making processes, including a gender perspective is critical for effective security policy development and implementation.

Despite this foundation, research specifically into gender and military effectiveness remains thin, creating a gap between the operational experiences of female veterans and the security picture embraced by military leaders and national security decision-makers–upon which policy