Archive photo of the day
From the archives: A female soldier at Forward Operating Base Falcon in Iraq, 2005
Stars and Stripes
March 25, 2026
(Vince Little/Stars and Stripes)
Forward Operation Base Falcon, Iraq, Feb 27, 2005: Army Capt. Tristan Vasquez, 25, of Cody, Wyo., a platoon leader for the 127th Military Police Company at Forward Operating Base Falcon, Iraq, earned a Bronze Star for her actions last August during an ambush in northwest Baghdad. just days later, she helped repel an insurgent attack on the Al-Shoula Iraqi Police Station, which brought an additional commendation. “We joke around all the time and say there are no women in combat,” she said. “That’s all right, though. We know what we do.”