The Increase in Women Soldiers, and the Visibility of Their Service, Led to Policy Changes Over the Next 20 Years. Originally published by The 19th They’re answering the “how” and “why” of military news. Subscribe to their daily newsletter. Christina Schauer deployed to Baghdad in March 2003 during her sophomore year in college. At age 20, Schauer was part of an 800-member reserve battalion that consisted mainly of engineers, truck drivers, mechanics and a handful of medics like herself, tasked with building up the military bases that are there now. About 10 percent were women, she said. “I joined the…