An experiment to allow women in Afghanistan to help U.S. special forces during combat raids was a full-fledged program by the time the American military pulled out of the country in 2021. Sergeant Rebekah Edmondson was there as the Cultural Support Program began and Americans started training women from Afghanistan to became soldiers as part of the Female Tactical Platoon. In a candid interview, she gets honest about the challenges of developing trust across different cultures and under pressures of war. Now she feels a personal responsibility to make sure these Afghan soldiers are supported in America. Rebekah’s work continues now with the PenFed foundation to assist these women who were allies to the U.S.

For more information on the PenFed Foundation’s Afghan Rescue and Resettlement program, visit penfedfoundation.org.

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Stranger Becomes Neighbor is a production of KSL Podcasts.