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| Plot Summary of I Love My Rifle More Than You: Young and Female in the US Army |
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"Kayla Williams had been rebellious in high school and believes the instability of her parent's marriage and their counterculture lifestyles played a significant role in her clash with authority. She went to college and did well. Upon graduating, looking for direction and a challenge, she enlisted in the Army Reserve during the Clinton era. The military offered improved benefits for pay and college loans depending on the length of time of enlistment. Williams gets high marks for language aptitude, learns Arabic as a result, and is assigned to a military intelligence unit. All of it was good for her despite the often mind-numbing routine while in basic training at Fort Campbell. She even got married but found the relationship could not survive the rigors and stress of military life, with the divorce being filed not long after.
Everything changed with 9/11 and the US involvement with Afghanistan and Iraq. She and her unit finally get deployed to Iraq. Her initial experiences are traumatic as she witnesses death and injuries up close. Eventually her unit is sent to run operations (ops) on a remote mountainside near the Syrian border far from where the fighting is. She finds that the villagers in Iraq are colorful, enterprising, and pro-American. She enjoys the camaraderie of her fellow soldiers but bristles under the command of her Staff Sergeant. She is asked to take part in interrogations of Iraqi prisoners but is mortified by the tactics of humiliation and abuse.
Williams develops problems with her feet and eventually must seek medical treatment for them. She is very candid about the nature of male to female relationships in the Army and the treatment of women in uniform. Hardly one to bash the male soldiers, who often misuse or harass her, instead she offers criticism of the women who use their sexuality for promotion and favors. She believes that most enlisted women crave the attention they receive, as they are outnumbered roughly 6 to 1 and treated as beauty queens. Williams is especially critical of the leadership of two female officers she served under. She returned to the US after her tour of duty and is upset with the lack of financial and medical assistance offered by the military to injured veterans upon repatriation."
David Fletcher, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of I Love My Rifle More Than You: Young and Female in the US Army |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
War/Cloak & Dagger story?
- Fought as soldier
War/Spying
Yes
Period of greatest activity?
- 1950+
Which war?
- Iraq/Persian Gulf II
Subject of Biography
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- infantry soldier
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity
- White
Nationality
- American (!)
How sensitive is this person?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other people
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 6 (an above average amount)
United States
Yes
The US:
- Southeast
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- Arabia
Desert?
Yes
Desert:
- hostile arabs
Misc setting
- fort/military installation
Century:
- 1980's-Present
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- very explicit references to deaths and torture
Book makes you feel?
- challenged
Sex in book?
Yes
Writer's slant towards subject:
- somewhat unfavorable
Story of entire life, or part?
- story of nearly entire life
Autobiography?
Yes
Pictures/Illustrations?
- A ton 16-20 B&W
How much dialogue in bio?
- significantly more descript than dialog
A LOT of info about personal vices?
Yes
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Click here for more information about this book
Kayla Williams Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 David Fletcher
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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