To commemorate the 20th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies and US Southern Command published an edited collection of essays, Twenty Years, Twenty Stories: Women, Peace, and Security in the Western Hemisphere, that reflect the inclusion of women across mission areas including cyber, peacekeeping, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. This book elevates the voices of talented women and men working in defense and security across the Western Hemisphere and highlights Perry Center alumni.
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The permanent evolution of the relationship between states and the complexity of intra-state conflicts, challenges to innovate in security and defense policies from the position of international organizations, political will of member countries, in addition to the incorporation of other actors for cooperation and institutionalization of solutions to instability. Under this condition, the role of women is paramount, since from the classic concepts of specific functions and perfect society to their victimization in the latest humanitarian tragedies, their role should be more strongly inscribed in the construction of society through certain elements: their protagonism, product of effective public policies of national, regional and global scope, translated into robust and comprehensive institutions.
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The role of women in combat has been a controversial issue in the U.S. armed forces for decades. Yet, it has been only 30 years since the first women graduated from the US Military Academy, and only since 9/11 have large numbers of them served in combat zones alongside their male counterparts. This article examines the all-too-brief life of one of them, 2LT Emily Perez, who was the first female graduate of West Point to be killed in the line of fire in Iraq and the first member of the "Class of 9/11" to die in combat. A statistical comparison of female representation at the three major U.S. service academies is included, along with a discussion of the emergence of minorities. An African-American with paternal roots in Puerto Rico, this soldier epitomized all that is right about women serving in combat, willing to sacrifice their lives for the interests of their country. 2LT Perez's legacy lives on today among her family, friends, classmates, fellow soldiers, and the unique charitable causes promoting the values she held dear. The following is a tribute to "Emily's Way."
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