U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) on June 15 introduced a bipartisan bill to ensure that certain members of the U.S. Armed Forces who served in female cultural support teams receive proper credit for their service.
“Make no mistake — women have been wearing our nation’s uniform and serving honorably in war zones long before our military removed the ban on women serving in combat,” Sen. Ernst said. “As the first female combat veteran to serve in the U.S. Senate, I’m proud to fight for the hundreds of women who played critical roles in Afghanistan and Iraq and ensure they receive the care and recognition they have always deserved.”
According to the U.S. Army, cultural support teams (CSTs) are comprised of female soldiers who serve as enablers supporting Army special-operations combat forces in and around secured objective areas. Their primary task is to engage the female population in an objective area when such contact may be deemed culturally inappropriate if performed by a male service member.
CSTs directly support activities ranging from medical civic-action programs, searches and seizures, humanitarian assistance and civil-military operations, and the training is primarily focused on basic human behavior, Islamic and Afghan cultures, women and their role in Afghanistan, and tribalism. CST members must make, at a minimum, a one-year commitment to the program, the Army says.
Sen. Ernst signed on as the lead original cosponsor of the Jax Act, S. 2014, which is sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and fellow original cosponsor U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). The bill would amend the military records of female veterans who deployed from 2010 to 2021 alongside U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq to ensure they accurately reflect their work as CST members, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
The bill is named for Jaclyn “Jax” Scott, a tenured special operations warrant officer who served on a CST embedded with Special Operations Forces in the Middle East. She is on the board of directors for the Special Operations Association of America.
“Women combat veterans are not extended the same recognition as their male counterparts,” Scott wrote in a March 31 opinion piece published by Fox News. “I know because I served as a CST and have routinely experienced complete disregard for my service.”