The two female sergeants volunteered for a job that in culturally conservative Afghanistan could have been carried out only by women: searching other women and children as they passed through the gates. But the two sergeants were also standout Marines in a force that is slowly changing, putting more women in combat roles and positions of leadership…

Expanding the rights of women, giving them access to education and work outside the home was for years one of the goals of American efforts in Afghanistan. As the Taliban advanced into Kabul, painting over ads depicting women in western dress and telling women to stay indoors, the nation saw much of that progress crumble. When Marines took over security at the airport gates, two young sergeants found themselves standing on the dividing line between a society opening opportunities for women, and one slamming them shut…

Described by her friends and family as vivacious, confident, bright, and strong, Sergeant Gee excelled in the Marines. She graduated from her corporal school at the top of her class and was meritoriously promoted ahead of peers to sergeant in Kuwait, not long before landing in Afghanistan.