CAMP NEW YORK, (Kuwait): The women serving in the world’s mightiest fighting force face the difficulties of single parenting, loneliness, lack of privacy, “putting in time” to earn a free college education, and gender discrimination in the US army’s male- dominated culture — as well as the ever-present prospect of war.

Several women assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division (3rd ID) (Mechanized) from Fort Stewart, Georgia spoke to dpa, from one of the five sprawling US army complexes in north west Kuwait.

Most of the women are in their 20s, but ages range from 18 to 45. Their reasons for choosing the austere military life are varied.

Some said they joined the army because they had difficulty finding a job in the US. Others remain to receive free health care as they have medical conditions which mean they cannot qualify for civilian health insurance.

Women in the US Army are forbidden to serve in combat, so they perform support roles as medics, cooks, logistics workers, mechanics, communications and administration personnel.

Each soldier in the camp, male or female, carries a weapon — usually an M-16 rifle. Private First Class Shala Souza’s A4 rifle is nearly as tall as her five-foot-one frame.

“There is still a lot of gender discrimination in the US Army, especially toward pregnant women. You are looked at as if you can’t do the job of a man, or that you have no business in the army — that’s 3rd ID mentality,” said Specialist Krissi Collins, aged 29, who is a single mother to a two-and-a-half-year old.

She has served about nine years in the military, and is currently working as a mechanic although she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and is studying for a Masters in the same field.

Sitting in the tent she shares with six other women, Collins said she chose to stay in the army to help pay for the health care of her asthmatic child and her own medical problems following the removal of her spleen during complications in the delivery.

“It’s rare for single parents to stay in the army since the demands are so high — the army has to come first. It’s not a natural way to bring up your child,” she said.

Other women are not necessarily supportive. For 21-year-old Specialist E4 Jennifer Nelson “inequality and competition from other women” in the forces is the most annoying part of her job analyzing battlefield intelligence.

Nelson says she prefers to work with men and is glad there are only six women in her 100-person unit. She claims women in predominately female units have a tendency to backslide and compete to work only at the better jobs.

“I’d rather work in a unit with more men. It’s more productive. More gets done and it’s more fair,” she said.

In a women’s unit “you loose track of the mission,” she said, adding that she joined the army to obtain a free education at the end of her four-year stint. She has six months left and she intends to earn a degree in international business.

Private First Class Samantha Brown, aged 26, said the lack of privacy was one of her biggest challenges in army life. She has sectioned off a section of her tent with a plastic shower curtain but this is not quality living for the single mother of four. She said she desperately misses her children who live with her mother.

But even soldiers have time off. Brown said the “most fun” event to take place at Camp New York was a recent “Rhythm and Blues” (R&B) event when, for once, dancing between men and women was allowed.

Sex and any expression of romance, from hand holding or slow dancing, between army staff of the opposite or same sex is strictly forbidden. The ultimate penalty is a dishonourable discharge. Alcohol is also banned in accordance with local Kuwaiti law.

“There is absolutely no sex, no flirting, or anything like that. We know the rules and we choose to be here so we have to keep sex and dating out of the job,” said 25-year-old Sergeant Kelly Gale.

Gale, a squad leader for fuel and arms supply, said she thought the dance organizers “played only fast songs,” and no slow dancing was allowed.

But the soldiers’ main gripes are about the routine of daily life — queuing several hours to make a phone call home, the shortage of Internet-access computers and the ban on going outside the one-mile square confines of the camp.

The prospect of war with Iraq is something the army women say they are ready for, although many said they privately hope it will not happen.—dpa