to the Department of Defense ; that 's an estimated 180,000 women in the war zone . The figure dwarfs the 41,000 women deployed during the Persian Gulf War and the 7,500 who served during the Vietnam War , mostly as nurses . Unlike past wars , women are assigned to combat support roles . Many are seeing violence firsthand in an unconventional war . Watch CNN 's Randi Kaye report on female veterans '' As a member of the National Guard , Christensen transported tanks in Iraq . She says she was shot at and was nearly a victim of a roadside bomb when a convoy in front of hers was hit . `` You have this fear , ` Oh , my God , I still have to go through there , ' '' she recalled . '' ` Am I going to make it ? ' '' Christensen says that she was sexually harassed by a superior while serving in Iraq and that the harassment added to the pressure created by just being in a war zone . `` I just know it took a big toll on me because I was trying to deal with it
DENVER , Colorado -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- On a good day , Keri Christensen spends the day watching her children . She prepares their meals , gets them ready for school and helps them with their homework . Keri Christensen was nearly a victim of a roadside bombing in Iraq when the convoy in front of hers was hit . But this housewife and mother of two is far different than most of the women living in her Denver , Colorado , suburb . She 's an Iraqi war veteran , among the first women in the United States to be classified as combat veterans . Even though she 's been home from the war for more than 2 1/2 years , she 's now fighting another battle -- this one with depression , nightmares , sleeplessness and anger . She says all of it is caused by her time in Iraq . `` I start feeling those feelings of ` I 'm not worthy . I ca n't raise my family , ' '' Christensen said . Women have made up about 11 percent of the military force in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past six years , according