Image credit: CNAS

February 11, 2020

Grappling With the Costs of Combat

By Ilan Goldenberg and Kayla M. Williams

As a woman serving on the front lines in Iraq, Kayla Williams faced not only the perils of combat, but the ordeals of sexism and harassment. Some of her greatest challenges, however, lay at home—learning to care for a spouse with a traumatic brain injury, overcoming PTSD, and fighting for VA reform. Kayla, now Director of the CNAS Military, Veterans, and Society Program, joins Ilan Goldenberg to discuss her time serving as an Arabic linguist in the U.S. Army and the human costs of armed conflict.

Listen to Season 2 of Stories from the Backchannel.

  • Video
    • January 20, 2023
    Christopher Kolenda, "Zero Sum Victory: What we’re Getting Wrong about War"

    Christopher Kolenda (ret.); Adjunct Senior Fellow, the Center for a New American Security; Founder of the Strategic Leaders Academy; Retired Army Colonel presentation on:"Zero...

    By Christopher D. Kolenda

  • Reports
    • November 10, 2022
    Greater San Antonio Military & Veteran Family Needs Assessment

    This needs assessment examines issues facing the Greater San Antonio military community—its military personnel, military families, veterans, and veterans’ families. In additio...

    By Nathalie Grogan, Katherine L. Kuzminski & Celina Pouchet

  • Commentary
    • September 14, 2022
    Sharper: Climate Security

    Climate change is a force multiplier for geopolitical instability and operational readiness, the stressors of which profoundly impact national security priorities and resource...

  • Reports
    • November 9, 2021
    Transitioning to Tech

    Military experience provides service members with a range of technical and soft skills that can prepare them for meaningful employment in the private sector....

    By Dr. Jason Dempsey, Katherine L. Kuzminski, Nathalie Grogan & Cody Kennedy

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia