Frontline Unity: The crucial Role of the US Cultural Support team in Afghanistan -8

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Dakota [: 00:00:01

In this episode of dog tag diaries, we delve into the US Army Special Operations Command Cultural Support Team, also known as CST. These teams played a crucial role in direct action and build stability operations in Afghanistan. Working alongside elite units such as the ranger regiment.

Kim [: 00:00:23

We explore their missions, challenges, and the significant impact they made on the ground. Tune in to hear firsthand accounts and gain insights into the unique contributions of these brave women in special operations. Welcome to Dog Tag Diaries, where military women share true stories. We are your hosts, Captain Kim.

Dakota [: 00:00:47

And Captain Dakota. The stories you are about to hear are powerful. We appreciate that you have joined us and are eager to learn more about these experiences and connect with the military women who are willing to share their stories in order to foster community and understanding.

Kim [: 00:01:04

Military women are providing valuable insight into their experiences, struggles, and triumphs. By speaking their truth, they contribute to a deeper understanding of the challenges they face and the resilience they demonstrate.

Dakota [: 00:01:18

We appreciate your decision to join us today to gain insights and knowledge from the experiences of these courageous military women. Thank you for being here.

Kim [: 00:01:35

In this episode of Dog Tag Diaries, we delve into the US Army Special Operations Command Cultural Support Team Program. These teams played a crucial role in direct action and village stability operations in Afghanistan. Working alongside elite units such as the Ranger regiment, we have the honor of having army veteran, major Jess Yahn, with us today.

Dakota [: 00:02:00

Welcome, Jessica.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:02:01

Hi. Great to be here, ladies.

Dakota [: 00:02:04

Yeah. We're really excited to have you on and learn about your background and everything that you've done. So what we like to start off with is tell us a little bit about yourself growing up.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:02:16

Sure. I come from a very large family of mostly women, 4 sisters. All of our initials are J M Y. My parents are crazy. Wow. Military family. My dad served in the air force, retired out of the air force, flew the U2, which is a really cool platform. He's a big, burly, loud, boisterous man.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:02:40

Used to have me read the, Vince Lombardi's what it takes to be number 1 speech to my son.

Kim [: 00:02:46

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:02:49

My mom, stark contrast to my father, patient, quiet, kind. Everyone was mystified by how they wound up together. But I really couldn't ask for a more wonderful upbringing. I'm very fortunate and very grateful, loving parents. And, really, you know, the exposure to military communities and the military lifestyle planted the seed probably a little bit, you know, if not a lot of it in my decision to join the military.

Dakota [: 00:03:15

What was your, like, personality growing up? Like, how would peep other people describe you?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:03:21

Probably messy, like to play in dirt, wore iguana t shirts to school, you know, always was playing outside, sports, rebellious a bit, maybe? Yeah. Usually the sister that was getting in trouble for something or another, you know, sneaking out as a teenager, always pushing the limits. You know? Gotta keep your practice on their toes.

Kim [: 00:03:43

You were exploring your environment. How about that?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:03:45

Yeah. That's a great way to way to frame it.

Dakota [: 00:03:50

And so, what made you join the military?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:03:54

Again, I think the exposure to military communities growing up was, you know, it was so positive. My neighborhoods were safe. We lived on base a lot. My parents had wonderful friends. And so I always kind of had an affinity to to join and to serve. My dad, he would make me sit down and watch everything from Patton to Deer Hunter, which is not a happy movie. You know, boyfriends that I would bring over would have to sit on the couch and watch Deer Hunter. It was like, okay.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:04:21

Well, it's not him on the porch with a shotgun, but it's, you know, torture nonetheless. And then 911 happened, and I was in 8th grade at the time. My dad was actually serving at the Pentagon during 9/11, and so that just lit a fire even more so wanting to volunteer and to serve and to give back even if it was and, initially, I thought only, you know, stay in my initial commitment, you know, 4 to 6 years and get out, and here I am 14 years later.

Dakota [: 00:04:48

Yeah. You must have really loved it.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:04:51

Absolutely. I have. It's been a fun adventure.

Kim [: 00:04:54

Well, you said your dad was air force.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:04:57

Oh. Is that your rebellion, going into the army? It actually goes a lot deeper than that. And I don't know, you know, we wanna get into it. I out of my 4 sisters, I was the only one that ended up joining the military. My dad was always like, I want you to play sports, be engineers, and join the military. I was definitely not an engineer. But I did join the army and first, I went to the Air Force Academy for 1 year, was rebellious at the Air Force Academy, met great people. It was a great experience, but was a little too free spirited for that place, transferred to UC Santa Barbara, and commissioned through Army ROTC.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:05:33

And when I switched, my dad, he told me, you know, I wasn't his favorite daughter anymore. And No. Yeah. Yeah. Of course, he's all kidding, but that rebellious streak has, lived on.

Kim [: 00:05:46

Well, we'll take you with that. We'll take you into the army and the national guard. You can be part of our family.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:05:54

There we go. I love it.

Dakota [: 00:05:57

So you went through ROTC, and can you kinda explain where your career went after you got done with ROTC, reserved officer training core?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:06:07

Yes. I, immediately went to the center of the universe, Fort Bragg, now Fort Liberty, North Carolina, commissioned as a signal corps officer, so communications, and deployed to Iraq, really doing, I would say, very safe deployment, on base the whole time, working strategic communications, came back from that, and volunteered for the cultural support team program, which was my exposure to special operations. And my career, kind of after that, I spent the bulk of my years in in the military in the special operations community, you know, after that program.

Kim [: 00:06:46

So can you tell us more about the cultural support team program?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:06:51

Yeah. That was an incredible experience. It was the I'll set the stage a bit. So obviously, we're at war, we're in Afghanistan, we're in Iraq. Afghanistan in particular, we were about a decade into the war and, you know, joint force commanders were you know, they realized, hey, we are working with these conservative tribal societies. We are going on target. We are not tapping into 50% of the population. And so there was a need, driven by operational requirements, for women to be on target.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:07:30

And so that came to fruition in the US Army Special Operation Command's Cultural Support Team program. It was the first time that women were purposefully recruited, assessed, selected, trained, and then deployed forward with special operations units, you know, kinda en masse in an organized fashion in Afghanistan. And this was all prior to the lifting of the combat arms ban. And so women were essentially doing what they called, you know, cultural support or combat support. But in reality, you're on target with ranger regiment, other special units on direct action missions, and then in village stability operations. And the program and its success and and what it proved was, 1, the criticality of women on the battlefield, but it resulted in, eventually, 2015, the decision to lift the combat arms ban. And that, among a lot of other great women that came before and were in other unique situations in combat. You know, there's no really front lines when you're in the combat that we were experiencing then.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:08:40

So there were female engagement teams in Iraq, you know, the marines, the Lyoness program. So women continued to kinda pave the way forward. The CST program, again, informed that decision and helped influence it and ultimately resulted in opening all military occupational specialties to women.

Dakota [: 00:09:02

Wow. That's amazing.

Kim [: 00:09:04

And congratulations to you. That's a huge honor. Yeah?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:09:09

Oh, thank you. I mean, I think at the time, I was young. I was a first lieutenant. I don't know how old that means I was. You know, 24. I don't know. And so at the time, I was just looking for, you know, the next challenge. Always wanted to do the next hard thing and found myself, you know, surrounded by an incredible group of women purposefully employed, integrated with an awesome, you know, male team and couldn't have asked for a better experience.

Dakota [: 00:09:37

How was that training? Can you tell us a little bit about it?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:09:41

Yeah. That campaign, we've been hearing from you. Mistakes. But the program was modeled off of other assessment and selections that special operation command runs. And so know, there's a heavy physical component. You're doing a lot of rock marching. You know, you're doing your physical fitness tests and things like that, But there's a mental component. There's a, well, I'd say a behavioral component.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:10:09

You know, they're looking to ensure that you have good character, you have integrity, that you're a good teammate. And showing up to that training surrounded by a bunch of female alphas, you're looking around and you're like, dang. It's like GI Jane vibes. Wow. And it's really cool, you know? And that's that's a rare thing in in the military, as as you guys know, you know, survey, like, you're often 1 of 1, and and so to be in that kind of environment was definitely unique. And then deploying, you know, I guess I'll I'll share a funny story. First mission that I went on or maybe in the second mission and, you know, I'm gearing up. I've got my night vision goggles on.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:10:50

I've got my interpreter who was also actually a female. She was African American And we're getting ready in our kit room, the ready room, and, you know, your heart is pumping and you walk out, you join with the male team and you get on and you load the back of a of a Chinook. You're sitting, You take off. You're flying through the night. And when you land, you know, it's chaos. There's dirt flying up. You're in the middle of Afghanistan, and there's all kinds of dust, rocks, whatever. I stand up.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:11:21

Again, this was my second mission, and I and I get up. I'm kind of towards the front of the plane, so one of the last to actually exit. And when you exit, you're, like, sprinting off the back of the bird and running to the objective. And I stepped right into, watermelon field, immediately rolled my ankle, fell down, And now I'm looking straight up at the ramp of the plane, and I see, like, the dog jumping over me, dudes jumping over me. My interpreter smashed me, and I'm, like, buried in the mud of this watermelon field. And the sergeant major of this elite unit grabs me by the vest and is like, let's effing go CST. And he, like, points to the truck. Anyway so, you know, not a great first impression, but, you know, you overcome that and you prove yourself and continue to work hard.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:12:14

And I definitely recovered from that, but it was something that the guys ended up teasing me about quite a bit later. But that's kind of the environment that you're thrust into. And you gotta adapt. You gotta learn quick. And I, again, I was fortunate to have good group of male counterparts. And that sergeant major in particular, I think it was one mission later before he pulled me from the all female kit room into the, what was previously, the all male kit room. And he said, I don't care if you're black, blue, purple, like men, like girl, whatever. You're getting ready in here because we talk about critical mission details prior to going out, and you need to hear them.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:12:52

And so that's to this day, and I think a great example of inclusive leadership and what I try to emulate, you know, myself.

Dakota [: 00:13:00

Yeah. I love that. Because there's often that segregation even though we usually, you know, like, train together and operate together, but there's usually that segregation. That's awesome.

Kim [: 00:13:10

And let's talk about all those alpha females because a lot of the times, like you said, we're 1 of 1. Women are 1 of 1. And so since we talk so much about that in our other episodes, the fact that you were such a cohesive unit with other females, like, let's talk about what that was like.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:13:30

I've never had that experience again in the army and in the special operations community. And part of that is because the CST program was unique to Afghanistan. And when we evacuated from Afghanistan, the program shut down. We also, again, like I mentioned, women were permitted to join combat arms. So there was a decision made at the time. There was not a need for an all female unit. And so what you find is women kind of dispersed across a lot of different units. And so having that opportunity was very unique.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:14:02

And it's not just between US women's service member and US women's service member. When we were deployed in Afghanistan, we trained and fought alongside the female tactical platoon who were Afghan special operations females. And we worked with local women of Afghanistan. And so when you look at the broader picture, these are where I am proud of the CST's program's influence on the lifting of the combat arms ban, other women that came before, their influence on that, Like, even more proud to watch Afghan special operations females who come from a conservative society and are so despised by the Taliban or their, you know, our adversaries for just wanting to go outside the house, the house, to go to work, to serve in these capacities, and that they have the courage to do it. And I think that alone shows that with access to opportunity, people are gonna rise to the occasion. And I think that's one of the biggest lessons I took away from the program as a whole and really a a deep respect and appreciation for women all around the globe. I'll just leave it at that because there's a lot of women doing a lot of things behind in the shadows. And so, yeah, it was really, really awesome.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:15:21

And I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the sacrifice of women and some women that pay the ultimate sacrifice. And the CST program, both Ashley White and Jennifer Moreno were killed in Afghanistan on objectives while doing the CST mission. And Jenny was one of my close friends and teammates, and so, you know, everything that I do today, she often inspires me. You know, when I'm rocking and tired, you know, I think about her. You know, she she's a constant inspiration. And not just me, but other women in the community, you know, really try and carry her legacy and Ashley's legacy and all those that came before and after on because we've got to memorialize and honor their sacrifice and continue to fight for what they, stood for.

Kim [: 00:16:05

Thank you for sharing that. And she, Jenny, deployed with you at the same time?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:16:12

Yes. So we went through training together. And then the way the program works is that normally you deploy the different locations in a pair. So, you know, 2 CSTs at this location, 2 here, 2 here. So Jenny and I weren't in the same location, but were deployed at the same time.

Kim [: 00:16:30

And how many women were deployed in your unit?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:16:33

It was less than 20. And, again, the program's kinda divided into the direct action side who went forward with Joint Task Force Units, and then the Village Stability Operations side. And so there were less than 20 that deployed on the direct action side. And then, again, probably about the same amount for that rotation that supported Green Berets on village stability operations.

Kim [: 00:16:58

I feel like we need to take a moment of silence for Jenny, and I'm so sorry to hear that. So let's just take a moment. How are you doing? Are you okay?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:17:14

I'm good. Okay. I always try and, share her story, share Ashley's because, again, it's, they're such great examples of not just service, but just good humans. And so I appreciate the opportunity to come on and and talk about them and and and share again what they did and how they've continued to inspire the next generation.

Dakota [: 00:17:38

Yeah. Well, thank you for sharing their stories with us. Like you said, those should be shared with everyone, so thank you. Were there any other challenges that you faced?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:17:49

There are a few different experiences that really stood out during my CST deployment, obviously, the loss of Jenny. But another one that stood out was it was my very last mission. And so one of the responsibilities that I had as a CST was to, you know, you go on Target and generally, if there's women and children, that's kinda where your focus is. And so you're questioning and searching and trying to comfort women and children and and really help inform the task force element of any critical security gaps or information. On this particular target, this last mission, there were no women and children. It was a madrasa, which is an Islamic school for all boys. And as a CST, I did still we separated the young boys and they were anywhere from, you know, 7 to 13 or so. And there were quite a few of them.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:18:44

And at the end of that mission, one of the other responsibilities that we had was to speak with the leader on that objective, and we would just basically get a stamp, talk with that individual, which was always male, through our interpreter, ensure that if there was anything broken or that needed to be fixed, if you will, with the US government or the allied forces, then we would do so. And so I'm talking to this imam or their religious leader and he told me essentially that I was an infidel and that the war would never end. And so I walked away from that mission thinking, holy smokes, you've got an entire next generation of young kids that are being taught to hate not just Americans, but anyone that doesn't believe what they believe. And that is so, you know, obviously that life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. So it's super, very unique moment. And my takeaway from that was education has to matter more and the next generation has to matter more if we're going to, you know, have enduring stability, not just in Afghanistan, but even in our own societies. And and today, you know, we talk a lot about integrated deterrents and adversaries like China and Russia. In any conflict, the next generation matters.

Dakota [: 00:20:10

Absolutely. That's well said. Yeah.

Kim [: 00:20:13

I do have to ask, being an all female cultural support team and your crucial role is to working alongside the elite unit. How were the males? Were they respectful of the females?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:20:30

I was very fortunate. I gave that one vignette of the, he's really the senior enlisted on the team that I was attached to that was an incredible inclusive leader and made decisions and took action that incorporated me in ways that, you know, other CSDs didn't have that experience, whether that was ensuring that I was in the kit room or ensuring that I was on the mission because they knew that it was an operational imperative. I, again, had had a really good team, but it all really comes down to everyone new on any special ops team has to prove themselves. So whether you're the chick, whether you're the dog guy, whether you're the intel dude, it doesn't matter. Like, you have to show up and perform. And if you demonstrate character, competence, commitment, then you're welcomed with open arms. And that's, I think, what you'd find if you'd ask the majority of the women participated in this program and and in other unique special ops programs is, hey, show up and perform. And in this case, it was unique because we were adding value because of our gender.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:21:37

So we weren't going through the same training. We weren't meant to be the door kicker, but because of our gender and what we were tasked to do on target, it resulted in really awesome things, which we can't talk about. Yeah. But I will give one example just because, again, another example of Jenny in any chance I can to to highlight some of the things that she was able to do. You know, she built great trust with her team. And on one mission, through the women and the children that she was talking to, she was able to identify where there was a weapons cache that our adversaries were hiding. And so she led the task force to a weapons cache. And just one small example of, you know, the type of impact that you have when you address more than just half of the target building, when you address more than just 50% of the population.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:22:32

And so I think part of the legacy of that program and of Ashley and Jenny is that, hey, we can be fully integrated and have women who can meet the standard, go out and be Rangers and be door kickers. At the same time, we need to ensure that women are purposefully employed and for their gender because it advances our operational objectives no matter, again, whether they're counterterrorism, whether it's integrated deterrents, you've gotta address the full human terrain, and so you've gotta have women involved in your operations.

Dakota [: 00:23:06

So for those that may not understand the culture, why is it important for women to talk to other women?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:23:13

Some people will be like, well, it's a conservative society, so maybe it's only necessary there. But I think in general, like, women like talking to women. Women chitchat. They gossip. They this, they that. You know, so no matter where you are in the world, I think we've proven this in other, you know, sense of operations where women are naturally observing. They potentially and conservative societies definitely have the influence in the household, even though they're not often influential outside the household. But in even in nonconservative societies, women are just gonna have a different perspective and perhaps different awareness and access to things that men don't.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:23:53

In Afghanistan, it was definitely needed because even in Afghan culture, women in their own family wouldn't even unveil that, you know, they wouldn't even show themselves to other men in the family. So then you think about what kind of narrative are you setting if you have a bunch of big dudes from the US or allied forces barge down your door, and now they're seeing these women or talking to these women in a way that is absolutely viewed as inappropriate. And that can spin into a lot of hatred and, you know, not to be cliche, but part of that mission at the time was hearts and minds and ensure that you have the support of the population, of the local population. And in Afghanistan, particularly, we were kinda shooting ourselves in the foot when we tried to have men engage with women in more rural areas in Afghanistan.

Dakota [: 00:24:51

Thank you for explaining that. As a female on the stream, you did mention that you had an interaction with Afghan male. Did you have any other interactions, and how did that go, especially with the culture that you just explained?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:25:07

So what's I guess it's ironic. Because I'm white, I'm held to a different standard, and so they don't care. The other side of the female tactical platoon that I mentioned were male Afghan special forces. And I used to play soccer with them on the airfield. Mhmm. And they would push me around. They joke with me. At one point, this is actually kind of embarrassing.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:25:31

They had a camera. They used it on Target, but our team, it was US property. So at the end of our rotation, one of the US team guys goes, hey, Jess. You're you're real popular among the Afghans. I was like, what do you mean? And he showed me these pictures, and they just were taking random pictures of me on the airfield. And I'm like, oh, that's very unbecoming. Just like there's just like the pope. And I you know, trust me.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:26:01

I'm there's plenty of beautiful women out there and I you know, whatever.

Kim [: 00:26:05

But they invited you in as one of their own.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:26:08

Yes. And there was one meal that we had where it was, you know, a holiday in Afghan culture, and I was the only woman in the entire room, but they they specifically asked to invite CST. So I got to go. Unfortunately, though, you know, my interpreter, the Afghan female tactical platoon, they they were not invited. And that's, again, I think over time, those barriers would break down more and more. And we've seen that in America's history. Every time we've been at war, it has demanded that women step up and serve and that demonstrated competence has evolved into more opportunities and women's rights, whether it was the right to vote or fast forward, the right to join combat arms. You know, it's never fast and maybe not as fast as we'd like, but those things evolve over time when you have men and women in the same space, and and they can, continue to interact and build trust amongst each other.

Kim [: 00:27:07

We're moving forward, and that's the positive thing.

Dakota [: 00:27:09

Yeah. I I actually, a couple years back, went to a training for military on how they integrate women and children into, you know, missions and why it's important and the benefits that come from that. So, yeah, we we're getting there. Great to see that.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:27:27

Yeah. When I was at the, Command and General Staff College, like the professional military education from majors, there was a I took a woman in war class, and I learned about the Women, Peace, and Security Act. And I had no idea what the WPS Act was. And I was like, why have I not known this? It was passed legislation in 2017, but it came from a United Nations security resolution. And I was like, this was you know, the CST program is a great example of WPS in action. And I was just dumbfounded that I had spent, at that point, 10 years in the military, and I had never, you know, I had I'd never heard of it. I was like, what?

Dakota [: 00:28:06

Yeah. That's the training I went to.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:28:08

That's awesome. Yeah. And that whole thing is emphasis on a woman's role in the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict.

Kim [: 00:28:15

So, Jess, let's transition into this all true role models, the premium organization for women of the special operation community to gather and give back. And you are part of this. Correct?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:28:29

I am and, founded it with a bunch of teammates from both inside the cultural support team program and outside. And ultimately, we looked around and said, Hey, there's the Green Beret Foundation. There's the Navy Seal Foundation. There's no organization that is because we're all dispersed. There's no organization that's really focused on supporting women of the special operations community. So we wanted to build something that provided an enduring home for women of this community, but also to serve others. And that's really inspired by the example that Ashley and Jenny set, and later Shannon Kent, who was killed in Syria in 2017. And so what we do is we take women and men that we served alongside that have set a great example, like my sergeant major that I was deployed with in Afghanistan.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:29:24

And we put them in front of the next generation. And we tell them these stories, we share these stories, and try to instill the same industrious attitude, the same altruism that our fallen teammates have, and so, ultimately, ensuring that we inspire the next generation of problem solvers and leaders.

Kim [: 00:29:48

Do you wanna tell the listeners if they want more information on this, where they can go to find more information?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:29:55

Heck, yeah. Alltru.com. Alleru.com. We have Instagram too, but we'd love to continue to bring more and more role models in and love for everyone to share the word and and, again, share the stories of our of our teammates. And, yeah, appreciate the shout out.

Kim [: 00:30:14

Well, you we are so thankful for you helping to transition the women into these programs and make them more aware of what is going on over there and bring that to their attention. So thank you for that. Absolutely.

Dakota [: 00:30:30

And also leading and being a part of the change for women in the military. I think that's really important too. So thank you.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:30:38

I have a positive I'm an optimist at heart. I like to call myself a realistic optimist, but I I would say, I think if I'm a young girl looking to join the military today, I mean, man, the the world's your oyster and there's so many every opportunity is open to you. And there is truly an awesome sisterhood and camaraderie that you find, you know, in the military. And I didn't if I one day have a daughter, I'd encourage her to consider it.

Dakota [: 00:31:06

Do you have any advice for women who are currently in the military?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:31:11

You know, a lot of people say, hey. Timing and opportunity, you know, that results in these great experiences. I think part of it is being willing to try. And so a lot of women that I see come through different programs, they'll self select. They may not even apply for a program because they don't think they'll make it or they don't think they're good enough. So I think the biggest advice that I'd give to women serving now is volunteer for things and push yourself and accept new challenges because no matter what, you're gonna learn something about yourself, whether you fail or not. I've had plenty of failures and I've learned from those, and I'm grateful for the highs and lows. And so don't self select and take on every tough opportunity you can find.

Dakota [: 00:31:53

I like that. Is there anything else you wanted to share about the CST program or anything else, the Altru program?

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:32:03

So with Altru, we have kinda three lines of effort, very military terminology since we're a military based organization. But in addition to, you know, bringing together the women in soft community, the women in special operations community, in addition to getting role models in front of youth, there's a third line of effort where both Ashley and Jenny gave their lives in Afghanistan. When we evacuated from Afghanistan, we left. Unfortunately, young girls, Afghanistan is the only place that has restricted girls' education. And reverting back to that story about the madrasa and how, hey. If we're not educating the next generation, the chances of stability and prosperity are very slim. And so what Altru also does is closes the digital divide and provides Internet and digital tools to underground schools in Afghanistan. And so Pashana Durrani is the founder of Learn Learn Afghanistan.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:33:00

And so right now, she's running schools, and and that's the new frontline. You know? So the Taliban saying, hey. Nope. You don't have this access to you're not gonna be educated, and and these girls are showing up every day at risk of being killed just for an education. And so I just wanna highlight, the fight continues. And if you get a chance, Pashana Durrani has a has a book that she just came out, Last to Eat, Last to Learn. And so it's a great read. No matter who you are, it's funny and it's very moving.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:33:31

So I think that'd be my last last shout out just not to forget what so many sons and daughters of America died for. Let's continue the fight.

Dakota [: 00:33:39

I love that. Thank you for sharing that with us.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:33:42

Absolutely.

Kim [: 00:33:43

And, Jess, we wanna thank you for being on our podcast, Dog Tag Diaries, Diaries, and for being a pioneer for military women to work aside elite forces. And we wanna acknowledge the loss of Ashley and Jenny and offer you comfort as well.

Major Jess Yahn [: 00:33:59

Thank you so much, and thank you for what you guys do to really just amplify stories like this and couldn't be more more grateful. So I appreciate it, ladies.

Kim [: 00:34:12

Thank you for tuning into Dog Tag Diaries. We appreciate your willingness to listen and engage with these stories as we understand the challenge that comes with sharing and hearing them. Your support in witnessing the experience of our military women is invaluable. These stories are meant to inspire and provide meaning, and we hope they can help you find your own voice as well.

Dakota [: 00:34:36

If you or anyone you know are in need of immediate help, call the crisis line by dialing 988, then press 1. There are resources available to help and provide guidance during difficult times. Please visit our website www.reveilleandretreatproject.org to learn more about the Reveille and Retreat project, including upcoming retreats for military women and resources. The link is in the show notes. We'll be here again next Wednesday. Keep finding the hope, the healing, and the power in community.