Specialist Kate Norley, United States Army, Maryland Vets for Freedom

Kate Norley's call to duty occurred following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when she realized that her country needed her, and she subsequently put her education on hold to go join the military.

After completing basic training at Ft. Jackson, SC, in 2001, Kate received medical training at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX. Once she had completed medical training, Norley was assigned to Ft. Hood, TX. While at Ft Hood, Norley served under the 1st Cavalry Division and completed desert-warfare training at the National Training Center in the Mojave Desert, CA—an exercise in how the weather and sand in a desert environment will effect both medical equipment and transport.

Specialist (Spc.) Norley deployed to Iraq in December 2003 for a combat-tour of 16 months.  Norley served as a medic during combat operations in Fallujah, Sadr City, and Ramadi—some of the most challenging arenas in the war. While doing so, Norley was awarded the Combat Medic Badge for providing medical care while under fire. Norley traveled throughout Iraq as medical support on patrols, and also provided emergency response to ambushed units. When working with mobile-forward support elements, Norley met with Army sniper teams, and collected valuable information regarding morale and sleep logs used between missions to provide reports to top commanders in the theater.

Spc. Norley has additional specialty training in handling combat stress, and she served as the sole female combat-stress specialist to more than 20,000 troops. In addition to conducting critical event debriefings, Norley also managed the task of identifying troop remains alongside Mortuary Affair teams throughout Baghdad. Towards the end of her tour, she was presented the honor of addressing female students at the University of Baghdad about gender equality. Upon returning from Iraq, Spc. Norley was assigned to Walter Reed Army Medical Facility (Washington D.C.) where she completed her initial military obligation.

Norley has also spoken at the 2006 Cross-Cultural Solutions Global Summit regarding gender equality and monitoring the stress of volunteers during transition when abroad.

She is currently attending George Washington University and plans on continuing service once she has completed her degree as a Physician's Assistant.