The Women Who Searched the Storm

In 2004, the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) (Special Operations Capable), or SOC, deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). While in-country, the MEU conducted several operations, including Operation Mountain Storm, Operation El Dorado, Operation Rio Bravo, and Operation Asbury Park, the last of which involved direct combat with the Taliban. During these operations, among others not listed, Female Searchers were embedded with Battalion Landing Team (BLT) 1st Battalion, 6th Marines (1/6), in the mountains of Afghanistan and tasked with checking Afghan women for weapons, documents, or persons of interest in disguise. Their presence ensured that missions could be carried out without offending the local population by adhering to their customs and courtesies regarding Afghan women.

The BLT had plans to use Female Searchers long before the 22nd MEU arrived in Afghanistan. They knew that the Taliban would exploit and hide behind burqas if the Marines did not search Afghan women. The MEU was not initially supportive because they didn’t want women in actual combat alongside an infantry unit, according to LtCol Asad Khan, the commanding officer (CO) of BLT 1/6. However, Col Kenneth McKenzie, the CO of the 22nd MEU, agreed to the plan, and 12 women from the Marine Service Support Group (MSSG), including me, were voluntold to accompany the BLT on cordon-and-search operations. It was a history-making moment because, as far as everyone knew, it was the first time women had been attached to an infantry unit in a combat zone.

NOTE: Female Searchers existed and were used before the Female Engagement Teams (FETs) and Cultural Support Teams (CSTs) were developed and implemented, but unlike the FETs and CSTs, the Female Searchers have not been officially recognized by the military.

After a quick run-through of how to search a body from head to foot using the credit card swipe and back-of-the-hand method, the women Marines and sailors selected as Female Searchers were deemed ready and flown out with the grunts to conduct the first of several missions. However, the women were initially told it would only be a ten-day op. So, when the mission got extended, not all the women were prepared to continue on mentally or physically. The operational tempo was punishing (i.e., continuous day-and-night movements with no breaks), the mountainous environment was physically challenging to navigate, and the extreme temperatures took their toll on everyone. As a result, complaints and accusations of mistreatment were made.

The women were immediately pulled from the front lines and returned to FOB Payne to be questioned by the SgtMaj and chaplain of the MSSG about these allegations. However, nothing came of it. In the end, it was decided that only six Female Searchers were needed to continue missions, but this time it was up to the women whether to stay or be sent back to FOB Ripley. Capt Marte, 2nd Lt Stock, Sgt Merritt, Cpl Rivera, LCpl Abad, and I stayed behind. We were then divided up and sent out to the companies and the Combined Anti-Armor Team (CAAT) to begin our next mission.

Not all the men were welcoming of the women’s presence within their ranks, which is understandable. It was up to the women to prove themselves and earn the men’s trust as they climbed the same mountains, searched the same compounds, slept in the same goat shit, endured the same weather conditions, and faced the same enemy when bullets fell like rain around us. Despite all the hiccups and bumps in the road, the females proved their worth over time. It helped smooth things over, too, when the women did not freak out when the convoy got ambushed or lose their cool when the company came under direct fire. That was no easy feat when the enemy had us pinned down and air support wasn’t available for immediate relief, which felt like an eternity when everyone wondered if they would return home alive and in one piece.

When it was all said and done, the MEU suffered minimal losses while completing its objectives in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), and Army Maj. Gen. Eric Olson, commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force 76, called their efforts “the most successful military operation since Operation Enduring Freedom began.” That success belonged primarily to the BLT, but included the women who were never supposed to be there. The Female Searchers proved—not in policy or after-action reports, but under fire—that we could shoulder the same risks. History may not have recorded our presence, but the men who fought beside us knew what we did. Sometimes, in war, that is the only record that exists.

Learn more about Female Searchers:

Fortidudne (Sept 2013)

Lessons Learned and Forgotten from Operation Mountain Storm, 2004

Female searchers vital to 22nd MEU (SOC) Combat Operations

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Lori Butierries is a full-time caregiver to two children with disabilities. She uses her life experiences and the medical knowledge she gained from serving as a Hospital Corpsman in the United States Navy to help others facing similar hardships. Lori is an author for The Havok Journal, an official columnist for AwareNow Magazine, and a contributor to The Mighty. Likewise, other news sites like MSN and Yahoo! News have also republished select articles Lori  has written. Lori’s writing extends to children’s literature. Her debut picture book, GIFT FROM GOD, was self-published at the beginning of 2021 and placed as a finalist in two categories in the 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Lori’s long-term goals are to use her writing to educate others about, advocate for, and dismantle negative stereotypes regarding disability, mental health, and the military/veteran community.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.