Stone-Cold Heart

Behind the Scenes

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Bonus Information: Background Research

(Warning: Potential Spoilers Below…)

Most details were based on real facts, and the major research and story inspiration involved with Raquel’s military experience can be found on the Military Info tab at the top of this section.

Other extensive research focused on PTSD symptoms/complications and treatment (such as Raquel’s reference to psychomotor therapy), burn scars and skin grafts, and Puerto Rican culture (including the recipe for mofongo).

Like Garrett, many stone gargoyles call New York City home. But he’s unique in many ways, the least of which is his collection of different forms of gold and gemstones.

Speaking of gemstones, ever wonder what an uncut diamond looks like?

And check out this inspiration of an abandoned offshore oil drilling platform…

Want more “Behind the Scenes” for Stone-Cold Heart?
Check out Jami’s writing-focused blog posts tagged with “Stone-Cold Heart”

Background Military Information about
the U.S. Army’s Cultural Support Teams

Some readers may wonder whether Raquel’s military experience—serving on the front lines of combat alongside a special operations team—is realistic. After all, until recent policy changes, the United States military didn’t allow servicewomen into combat situations.

However, female soldiers with special combat training were attached to those special operations units, skirting the letter of the law. From 2011 through 2014, approximately 200 female soldiers completed the rigorous Cultural Support Team training and embedded with U.S. special operation forces.

These women served, risked their lives, and—yes, in some cases—died. Yet even most in the U.S. Army have never heard of the CST program, so to learn more, here’s some of my research sources:

Women in Combat, in Their Own Words

Cultural Support Teams in Afghanistan Video

• Women on the Afghan frontline – combat soldiers with an extra dimension

  Includes additional video:
  “The most dangerous work the female soldiers do is at night on Special Operations strike force raids to capture Taliban fighters.”
  
  

• The Women of the Army Rangers’ Cultural Support Teams

  Legality of the CST program and coordination with the special operations teams:
  “These soldiers…could be there, legally, despite the ban on women in ground combat because they were “attached” to special operations teams, just not “assigned” to them. … “Those guys are your brothers…””
  
  

• In new elite Army unit, women serve alongside Special Forces, but first they must make the cut

  Learn more about the CST evaluation process:
  “The selection process borrows…the same problem-solving and physical tests used to weed out Special Forces candidates. … It’s as much a mental test as it is a physical one.”
  
  

• The Army’s all-women special ops teams show us how we’ll win tomorrow’s wars

  “CSTs weren’t only out there winning “hearts and minds” in the traditional sense. They were on nighttime combat operations, learning what Afghan women knew about what was happening in their communities and keeping them separated from the work Rangers were charged with doing nearby.”
  
  

• Blurred Lines: Cultural Support Teams in Afghanistan

  Detailed history and evolution of the CST program
  
  

• The Story Of The Incredible Women Who Served With Special Ops Units In Afghanistan

  Introduction to CST member 1st Lt. Ashley White with video:

• Inside the military program that put women in combat

  Focus on CST member 1st Lt. Ashley White:
  “White was among her own. These were women who did CrossFit twice a day; whose favorite movies were “G.I. Jane” and “Black Hawk Down”; whose highest compliment was to regard a fellow female competitor as “a beast.””
  
  

• Rachel Washburn: An American Hero

  The story of this 1st Lt. is how I first heard about the CST program:
  “Eagles cheerleader Rachel Washburn…traded in her midnight green Vera Wang-designed cheerleader uniform for army fatigues.”