Ten years after the first equal access training, Army women in Kosovo tell Róisín Ingle how they're playing a full role - and the handbags are no more
The 10 women assembled in the conference room at Camp Clarke just south of the Kosovan capital of Pristina are slightly puzzled as to why a journalist would be interested in interviewing them. It's just a job like any other and gender doesn't matter, insist these members of the 28th Infantry Group which includes a female platoon commander and a technical expert in armoured vehicles.
Because they live, breathe and sleep army life, their part in what has been a dramatic change in the role of women in Irish armed forces over the last decade is not something they tend to dwell on.
"We do exactly what the men do, everything is equal and there are no restrictions," says Cpl Pat Cronin.
From the smiles and nods it's clear everyone else in the room agrees.
But such genuine assent at the equality to be enjoyed in the Army shouldn't overshadow the fact that this month marks just 10 years since the training of female recruits became fully integrated, allowing women to train alongside men for the first time.
Back then, women made up less than 1 per cent of the defence forces, a percentage that increased to 4.6 this year.
Now there are 493 female officers, non-commissioned officers and privates serving in a defence force of almost 10,500. Last year 15 per cent of all applicants for officer appointments were women, while women also made up 15 per cent of the successful applicants.
Since former Army officer Tom Clonan's controversial dissertation on bullying and harassment of women in the Army was released three years ago - a report that was later backed up by an independent study carried out by Dr Eileen Doyle of DCU - the Army has become more female-friendly than ever before.
Women still comprise a minority of the forces, but for the first time the level is approaching that of other national armies.
Studies have investigated what unique qualities women bring to the armed forces. Signalwoman Maeve Hourihan says females soldiers are "more determined" than men. "You might have to work twice as hard to get half the credit," she says.
Cpl Cronin adds that there has been a shift in attitudes in the seven years since she began training.
"At that time you might have worn leggings and maybe a long-sleeved top when training, but now they don't mind you going out in shorts and short-sleeved T-shirts. They are small things but they make a difference," she says.
These women say the reasons they joined the Army are exactly the same as reasons given by men. They want to see the world, meet interesting people, work outdoors and face exciting challenges. In the past, many Irish Army women have found themselves frustrated to be left ticking only three out of four of these boxes.
In the early days, logistics, signalling, physical training instruction and personnel administration were about as exciting as the challenges got. Later, when Irish forces were stationed in Lebanon, cultural restrictions there meant women were unable to perform the more active operational duties.
Now, in countries such as Kosovo and Liberia, Irish women are proving their worth as peacekeepers on the field as well as in the office, some leaving behind young children for six months to fulfil their professional duties.
When recent trouble broke out in Pristina, women from the 27th Infantry Group were on the frontline, holding off angry Albanian Kosovan mobs and successfully preventing them from destroying hundreds of Serb homes.
Lieut Roisin Condron is a platoon commander, in charge of 33 men and two women in Kosovo. She says she has rarely encountered opposition from male subordinates.
"Once or twice in certain barracks you would get an older soldier on his last legs who has spent 20 years of his career without women in the Army and has this idea that women shouldn't be there," she says. "Those kind of guys are few and far between and even if they think it, they can't do anything about it, you are still in charge by rank."
At dinner in the mess hall later, one senior soldier confirmed to this reporter that he had once harboured a negative attitude towards women in the Army, but has since changed his mind.
"I can tell you honestly that some of them are better than the men," he says.
Other soldiers were clearly impressed by the competence of Minister of State at the Department of Defence Mary Hanafin, who was on a morale-boosting visit to the troops.
Lieut Condron says the Army has to face the same issues around harassment as other organisations but "luckily we have a structure in place to deal with them".
The structure she refers to relates to the A7 guidelines which were amended after the Clonan report showed widespread bullying and harassment in the Army. Those in the forces say the new guidelines, which forbid the display of pornography and sexually explicit text messages have acted as a deterrent for unacceptable behaviour.
Comdt Maureen O'Brien, based at the strategic planning office in Dublin says while members were shocked at the sensationalist coverage that followed Clonan's study, the results have been positive.
"We now have an incredible structure for tackling these sensitive issues, something which not every large organisation can lay claim to," she says.
Asked for gender-based oddities from her more than 20 years in the Army, O'Brien recalls a sewing kit known as a "housewife" that was standard Army issue. The younger women bring up bathroom access.
"It's an issue physically when you go on a tactical exercise," says Lieut Condron. "It's very easy for the guys to just stand behind a truck and go to the toilet, it's much harder for the girls."
One private recalled finding a secluded spot in a field only to be called by one of her male colleagues who had a full view of her not quite covert activity.
After more than 20 years of female soldiering, many firsts (see panel) have been achieved, although a woman has yet to successfully complete the physically gruelling training required to enter the elite Ranger force.
However, one woman did complete a week of the training before dropping out, earning the admiration of male colleagues, some of whom lasted only a couple of hours. There are about 11 female commandants with their eyes on the highest prize, that of Army chief of staff.
"It's definitely a realistic proposition," says Comdt O'Brien. "It just might take another 15 or 20 years."