Of all the things that I have done in my career as a Marine, my experience deploying to Afghanistan in 2010 with the I Marine Expeditionary Force Female Engagement Team is by far the most rewarding and challenging. Being one of the first women to operate and patrol with infantry and ground combat units for a full deployment, I feel the work that myself, along with the other courageous service women who served on the FET program (or similar programs such as the Lioness Program in Iraq), made it possible for our government and senior military leadership to see that women ARE capable of filling combat roles that had been exclusively reserved for men.  However, beyond breaking gender barriers in war for U.S. military women, the FET program influenced and affected international policies and counterinsurgency warfighting strategy in Afghanistan.  Using American military women to engage with local villagers undoubtedly saved both American and Afghan lives, and contributed to the stability and security of that region.  Whether it was winning hearts and minds by influencing a positive view of coalition forces, providing medical aid and health education to women and children, assisting war widows in developing small businesses to provide income for their families, or conducting security missions to deny the enemy the ability to hide and disguise themselves as local women; the FET teams made themselves an indispensable tactical asset to their infantry commanders and inspired hope and change in a people devastated by 40 years of war.