U.S. Army veteran Rebecca Martinez-Johnson has been named an ex-officio member of the North Carolina Military Affairs Commission. The commission meets quarterly and serves as an advisory body to the governor, general assembly, and state agencies, offering recommendations to support and enhance the role of North Carolina’s military installations, National Guard and Reserve forces in the nation’s defense. This is a non-voting role where she serves as a designee for Interim Secretary San Hoekstra.
Martinez-Johnson is a bilingual victim advocate/investigator with the Office of Victim Compensation Services. She has been with the department for over two years and assists victims with their compensation applications and participates in outreach events for the program.
“I am honored to be selected for this committee,” she said. “I feel so incredibly blessed for this opportunity to continue to serve and am excited and ready to hit the ground running and get to work.”
Martinez-Johnson joined the Army in 2000 and served until 2008. From 2003-04, she was deployed to Ar Ramadi, Iraq, as a logistician. During her time in Iraq, she became part of a select group of women referred to as Team Lioness. Taylor Sheridan’s series Lioness on Paramount+ is loosely based on Martinez-Johnson’s group.
At the time of her deployment, the Combat Exclusion Policy (lifted in 2013) did not allow women to have combat roles. The decision was made to send female soldiers out with patrols, aiming to stop insurgents from using women to smuggle material because it was difficult for U.S. male soldiers to search Muslim women.
Team Lioness was created from there. They were some of the first female engagement teams involved in ground combat. A pair of women would accompany infantry battalions, field artillery battalions, engineer battalions and marine bon missions to support traffic control points, cordon searches, raids, etc. They also started gathering foreign intelligence and engaging in combat operations.
Books, podcasts and movies have been made about Martinez-Johnson and the Lionesses. They also perform speaking engagements on their ground-breaking combat service. A complete documentary of Team Lioness is currently available on Amazon Prime.
“Rebecca is an inspiring person and team member,” said VCS Director Diane Barber. “Her contributions and commitment to the work of the VCS and to our country reflect her willingness to face difficult challenges, her innate ability to be that helpful, smiling face in dark times and her consistent recognition of our shared humanity and value. I am delighted about Rebecca’s appointment to the NC Military Affairs Commission – as a reflection of her outstanding military service and for the unique voice and perspective that she will bring in her service to the commission.”