Team Lioness

Team Lioness were female United States Marines attached to combat units in Iraq and Afghanistan. They were utilized to respect local customs regarding the prohibition of men touching or searching local women during operations. Team Lioness, considered one of the forerunners of the now official FETs (Female Engagement Teams)^{[citation needed]}, distributed information to local women and families and gathered intelligence.

The original Lioness teams were created for the sole purpose of providing an "acceptable means of searching the female populace."^[1] Various studies have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of the Female Engagement Team programs with both positive and negative results.^[2] One such study from 2010 by then-Major Ginger E. Beals finds that, "both the Lioness and female engagement team programs have proven to be a beneficial capability delivering huge gains by interacting with a portion of the population that the male Marines could not engage."^[3]

When Lioness teams were initially conceived, the role of women in combat was restricted by the Combat Exclusion Policy (which was lifted in 2013). Instead, when commanders wanted to put talented women soldiers on combat teams, they did so by temporarily "attaching" them to those units, or sending them in a support role, rather than an official combat role,^[4] thus Team Lioness was "attached," but not assigned to infantry units. Therefore, women were relegated to the "soft, hearts and minds" missions designed to win over the population, whereas men were used in the more direct, offensive operations designed to seize the terrain.^[5]

A documentary titled Lioness^[6] covered one of the first members of Team Lioness in Ramadi, Iraq between 2003 and 2004. Since its release in 2008, Lioness has contributed significantly to the mainstreaming of the movement to recognize and respond to the needs of American servicewomen.

As a catalyst for military-civilian dialogue, the film has led to tangible change in a number of arenas by framing an important but largely invisible issue in meaningful human terms.^{[citation needed]} Among the film’s notable accomplishments is its integration into the national veteran and Department of Defense healthcare infrastructures as a training tool for VA and military healthcare personnel. ^{[citation needed]} The film has also played a pivotal role in the passage of two critical pieces of legislation improving women veterans' access to healthcare in the VA system. ^[how?] The Women Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act, designed to increase availability of gender-specific services for women, was signed into law by President Obama on May 5, 2010, as part of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act.^[7] The Compensation Owed for Mental Health Based on Activities in Theater Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Act ^[8] expanded the definition of combat, making it easier for all veterans to qualify for combat-related disability benefits.