Changing the Rules of Engagement

Inspiring Stories of Courage and Leadership from Women in the Military

Martha Laguardia-Kotite

Narrator to be announced

Book published by University of Nebraska Press

Changing the Rules of Engagement documents the lives of American women who have shattered the glass ceiling and performed extraordinary feats while serving their country in the military. By telling their stories about their remarkable careers in traditionally male-dominated environments, Martha LaGuardia-Kotite demonstrates how tenacious and courageous women can achieve the unimaginable.Among the pioneering women profiled are Vivien Crea, who as vice commandant of the Coast Guard held the highest position of any woman in the history of the U.S. military; Tammy Duckworth, a Purple Heart recipient and triple amputee who was shot down in Iraq while piloting a helicopter; and Heather Wilson, an Air Force Academy graduate, Rhodes scholar, and the country’s only female veteran in Congress. Included are the inspirational stories of women Marines, one of the three female Space Shuttle commanders, and the first female members of the military service academies’ gender-integrated classes, who recall the highs and lows of their trailblazing experiences.These are only a few of the remarkable women who tell their own inspiring stories. Representative of a widely diverse group of enlisted women and officers from different races and cultures, they have succeeded since the mid-1970s at combating prejudices and aiding change in the military with intelligence, passion, and honor.

Martha Laguardia-Kotite is a captain in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and has served with distinction, earning many personal awards during her twenty-six years of duty. A spokesperson for the Coast Guard, a freelance journalist, and the author of the award winning So Others May Live: Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers Saving Lives, Defying Death, she has written for top-tier publications and newspapers like The Boston Globe.

REVIEWS:

“Changing the Rules of Engagement is an anthology full of journeys that must be shared. I’m so glad that Cmdr. Martha LaGuardia-Kotite has made it her mission to delve into the personal stories of seventeen trailblazers and share them with all of us.”

—From the foreword by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), chairwoman, Democratic National Committee

“Changing the Rules of Engagement helps strengthen my belief that we should honor our service members and veterans every day of the year. LaGuardia-Kotite and the women she interviewed will surely serve to inspire future generations of young women to follow in their footsteps and achieve excellence in our nation’s armed forces.”

—From the foreword by Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), chairman, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

“Most of us from that pioneer generation of women in defense have been too busy to stop and take notice of how far we’ve come in the last thirty years. With Changing the Rules of Engagement, Martha LaGuardia-Kotite has given us the chance to do so, and the journey is indeed wondrous to behold.”

—Kathleen Troia “KT” McFarland, Fox News national security analyst and former national security official in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations

“Martha LaGuardia-Kotite deserves our thanks for sharing the incredible stories of those who paved the way for all of us serving today. I am struck by the courage and humanity of the women she features and by the fact that they are my contemporaries. In a single generation, we’ve witnessed great transformation in our armed forces!”

—Capt. Melissa Bert, USCG