In her first tour to Iraq in 2006, Sgt. Mutiara Santiago volunteered to train with 11 other women to search Iraqi women and handle detainees. Right before deployment, her mission changed, and she was among the first women to be in a field artillery unit.
Yet, her life as a soldier in Iraq wasn’t quite as challenging as what she faced at home. This past May, after her professional peak and 11 years of active service, she returned to Washington state a single mother, unemployed and homeless.
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