Love My Rifle More Than You: Young and Female in the U.S. Army

By: Michael E. Staub and Kayla Williams

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Synopsis: "A woman soldier has to toughen herself up," writes Kayla Williams in this fiercely honest account of what it's like to be part of the female 15 percent of today's Army. "Not just for the enemy, for battle, for death. I mean to toughen herself to spend months awash in a sea of nervy, hyped-up guys " Irreverent, vulnerable, angry, and humane, Williams describes what it's like for a young woman to be surrounded by an ocean of testosterone, respected for her skills and qualifications but treated variously as a soldier, a sister, a mother, a bitch, and a slut. During her five years of service -- including a year of deployment to Iraq during and after the invasionWilliams and her female peers navigate both extreme physical danger and emotional minefields. As a specialist in Military Intelligence, fluent in Arabic language skills, Williams finds herself at the forefront of the troops' interaction with local people. Brave and patriotic, with a strong sense of duty to her country and her fellow soldiers, +