Julie Jacobson / AP Photo
Forty female Marines have arrived in Afghanistan with a mission impossible for their male counterparts: connecting with the war-torn country's women. In groups of twos and threes, they've been sent throughout the country, into homes, where over cups of tea they dispense medical help and encourage women to become involved with Afghan society. "We know we can make a difference," Capt. Emily Naslund told The New York Times. The female marines are not just running into the country's cultural barriers but also those of the military as male commanders prove reluctant to send the women on some dangerous patrols. However, the men know the impact having women soldiers in their midst can have on the Afghan population. Without them, one said, “It’s just a bunch of guys with rockets and machine guns trying to hand out a bear to a kid, and he starts to cry.”