In this Ted Talk, retired Air Force Lt Colonel Brenda Cartier talks about a new vision for leadership in the military. She begins the talk with a story taking place in Afghanistan 2009 when she sent out her aircrafts and airmen to save a ground team who had taken contact. She describes the gruesome scene when the aircrafts land on base, with bloodied medics and soldiers being carrier off the aircraft, a much different scene than shown on the media of draped flags and soldiers in dress blues. She goes on to describe the lone survivor of that special operations team, walking off the aircraft, emotionally shattered. Also a different image than the portrayed tough, emotionless special ops soldiers.

Through this experience, Lt Colonel Brenda Cartier talks about how her femininity benefits her in the military. She describes “precision guided masculinity” which allows her to use the right emotional weapons during the right times; such as comforting that soldier the night he returned. She says being a woman allows her to have a wide range of emotions for the situation and in combat, something many male soldiers lack. This range is what makes her such an effective leader in the military.

This talk interested me very much, because the debate of women in the military and their roles in combat are very debated, and I also have been torn. My philosophy on the issue has always been if the woman is physically and mentally fit enough to drag a fallen soldier off of the battlefield, there should be no problem with it. This talk allowed me to dig deeper into the mental and emotional benefits that women in the military posses. Her balance of hyper masculinity during combat and femininity after makes her much more suited for leadership.