{"product_id":"9780062394903_ashleys-war","title":"Ashley's War","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 2010, the Army created Cultural Support Teams, a secret pilot program to insert women alongside Special Operations soldiers battling in Afghanistan. The Army reasoned that women could play a unique role on Special Ops teams: accompanying their male colleagues on raids and, while those soldiers were searching for insurgents, questioning the mothers, sisters, daughters and wives living at the compound. Their presence had a calming effect on enemy households, but more importantly, the CSTs were able to search adult women for weapons and gather crucial intelligence. They could build relationships—\u003cem\u003ewoman to woman\u003c\/em\u003e—in ways that male soldiers in an Islamic country never could.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eAshley's War\u003c\/em\u003e, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon uses on-the-ground reporting and a finely tuned understanding of the complexities of war to tell the story of CST-2, a unit of women hand-picked from the Army to serve in this highly specialized and challenging role. The pioneers of CST-2 proved for the first time, at least to some grizzled Special Operations soldiers, that women might be physically and mentally tough enough to become one of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe price of this professional acceptance came in personal loss and social isolation: the only people who really understand the women of CST-2 are each other. At the center of this story is a friendship cemented by \"Glee,\" video games, and the shared perils and seductive powers of up-close combat. At the heart of the team is the tale of a beloved and effective soldier, Ashley White.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMuch as she did in her bestselling \u003cem\u003eThe Dressmaker of Khair Khana\u003c\/em\u003e, Lemmon transports readers to a world they previously had no idea existed: a community of women called to fulfill the military's mission to \"win hearts and minds\" and bound together by danger, valor, and determination. \u003cem\u003eAshley's War\u003c\/em\u003e is a gripping combat narrative and a moving story of friendship—a book that will change the way readers think about war and the meaning of service.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gayle Tzemach Lemmon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46899472695445,"sku":"9780062394903","price":46.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780062394903_fb5049b6-a482-42ca-af01-3d3d9347a88b.jpg?v=1776888388","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780062394903_ashleys-war","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}