By JANE LaTOUR

Over 15,000 — 11 percent — of the U.S. troops in Iraq are female. Three 911 operators who returned recently are Police Communications Technicians, members of Clerical-Administrative Employees Local 1549 and reservists in the Army.

PCT Iraida Velasquez signed up with military recruiters at Brooklyn’s Eastern District High School in 1991. Her graduation that June was followed by boot camp at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. Twin sister Idalia is also a reservist who served in the Gulf War and Bosnia. As she was scheduled to depart for a second tour in Iraq, a slot opened up in her unit and Iraida was assigned. Her first thought was: “How am I supposed to break the news to our parents?” Days before her youngest daughter’s birthday and graduation from pre-K, Iraida took the 28-hour flight to Kuwait with her sister. “My mother was actually relieved when she found out we were going together,” she said.

By July, Sgt. Velasquez had assumed a position of command in Iraq; she was in charge of setting up postal services. “The 82nd Airborne engineers helped us to build post offices from scratch. We were in charge of receiving, sending and giving out mail in all the units,” she explained.

PCT Robyn Clay was in Sgt. Velasquez’s platoon. They shipped out and served together. “Joining the Reserves six years ago was a bit of an experiment,” said Specialist Clay. “I wanted a little extra money for school.” In Iraq, she also handled mail for the troops.

Nichole Santos, a reservist since 1990, was called up for active duty and arrived in Kuwait on Easter Sunday, 2003. “A lot of my Military Police unit is from the NYPD,” she explained. “We did a lot of convoy escorts, such as traveling to Basra for fuel, and force protection. We also trained Iraqi citizens for policing.” Specialist Santos is also a Combat Life Saver, trained to provide medical care in emergencies. “Luckily most of our injuries were due to heat. I think my unit was blessed,” she said.

Desert conditions
“March through April is sandstorm season,” said Robyn Clay. “It gets in your hair, in your clothes. It covered up everything.” “The heat felt like 150 degrees throughout the day. At night it was in the 90s and you wouldn’t even feel the difference,” said Sgt. Velasquez. “There was sand everywhere, scorpions and spiders and back-breaking cots. The water was bottled, and it was saturated with sodium to prevent dehydration.”

Back from Iraq, the women experienced ecstatic reunions with their families and coworkers. In February, the twins showed up unannounced. “I thought I’d have to call 911 for my mom,” said Sgt. Velasquez. “She was hyperventilating and screaming. She cried for days.”

Specialist Santos was reunited with her son Julius, 8, in May. “My son had a hard time,” she said. “He missed me a lot and had difficulty with school. It’s strange. I felt like I was just visiting. It took a while to readjust.”

Robyn Clay is expecting her first child, a boy, in January. “I’m not supposed to be called up again for six months after I deliver,” she explained. “And hopefully, not after that! It was an experience — one I wouldn’t want to repeat. I’m just happy I made it home in one piece.”

Costs of war
The percentage of women casualties is much higher in Iraq than in previous wars. Lori Piestewa, an American Indian and a member of the 507th Maintenance Company, was the first woman killed in the war.

Active duty soldiers and their families are starting to speak out against the war. In late October, two active duty Marines told the Washington Post that things in Iraq are getting worse every day. “We’re basically proving that our government is wrong. We’re catching them in a lie,” said Lance Cpl. Alexander Jones.

Back at 911, the female reservists support that assessment. “The war is senseless,” said Specialist Santos. “We’re dying unnecessarily over there. It seems like we can’t get ahold of the situation, and that defeats the purpose.”

Sgt. Velasquez agrees with her sister soldier. “There were no weapons of mass destruction. We shouldn’t even be fighting there. But I signed on the dotted line. If called up again, I would have to go. If George Bush is reelected, I feel certain that he’ll institute a draft,” she said.