When 24-year-old Lt. Lauren Luckey was stationed in a rural village with her unit, the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry regiment of the U.S. Army, her Lieutenant Colonel gave her free rein to design and lead a project focused exclusively on community building and social engagement among the Afghan women. With women being the heart of a household in Afghanistan, rearing the children of the country's future, Luckey hoped to impart the influence that comes with being a woman in a position of power, a foreign concept to some.
"I wanted them to see a strong woman -- [that] there is something else out there," Luckey tells Huffington. "If you never see it you never know what's out there. They've never seen a female officer before me."
Luckey chats candidly about her experiences and goals in a way that makes it simple to understand her success in leading a Female Engagement Team in Northern Kunar in Afghanistan, bringing the women of the village into her confidence.
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