Fort Bragg , North Carolina ( CNN ) -- There 's plenty of grunting and groaning during the early morning workouts in the gym at the JFK Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg , North Carolina . But suddenly among the young men in special forces units doing pull-ups and lifting weights , there are dozens of young female troops -- running an obstacle course , pushing and pulling hundreds of pounds of kettlebells , running laps . These women are part of a groundbreaking and controversial program that for the first time is selecting , training and assigning women to join up with special forces units in Afghanistan . Their job : to do what the men can not . In the socially conservative Afghan culture where the sexes do not mix , these women are on the front line of dealing directly with Afghan women and children . So-called female engagement teams , or `` cultural support teams , '' have been used increasingly in recent years by the U.S. military . But the difference here is that these women are selected to team up with elite special forces . Afghans deeply resent special forces units ' raids on their homes and villages when they are searching for high-value targets . The military women , it is hoped , will ease some of that resentment . Once a raid has secured an area , the women will move in and be the ones who search Afghan women , something male troops can not do without causing great upset . The women also are living and working with special forces teams in small villages and towns , talking to women and helping with medical care and social needs . Maj. Patrick McCarthy evaluates candidates applying to join the program and decides who will be selected for the rigorous six-week training course at Fort Bragg . About half of those who apply do n't get selected . McCarthy says he is looking for both brain and brawn . And he wants troops who can make quick decisions in the murky circumstances troops often find themselves in on the front lines of Afghanistan . `` These women are a cut above the rest of the Army , '' says McCarthy , pointing to a group in a morning training class . If this calls to mind the Demi Moore film `` GI Jane , '' it is a comparison that Capt . Annie Kleiman , a team member , rejects . `` We 're not going to be shaving our heads anytime soon , '' she says . But she is firm on one point : `` We 've got a bunch of strong , capable , awesome women who can take any challenge that 's thrown at us . '' The women know they still must prove themselves once they are in Afghanistan . `` This is the first time women have formally worked with special operations forces . '' says Staff Sgt Danielle Bayer , also part of the training course . `` It 's being acknowledged women can operate at this level . '' It 's a politically delicate issue . Women are not allowed to serve in front-line combat units . So these women -- heavily armed -- will only go into compounds after they are secured by assault teams . `` The women that are on raids , they 're not deliberately part of the direct-action raid . They are there to help mitigate following the raid , '' says McCarthy . But in a war with no true front line , these women will face risks being so far from larger , more secure military bases . Just last month , 1st Lt. Ashley White , who was a team member , and two male soldiers were killed during what the Army described as `` combat operations '' in Afghanistan . The first death of a team member has made the program so sensitive that no senior Army special operations commander would talk to CNN on camera . But the women did . `` This is a program that is going to keep going on , '' said Sgt . Christine Baldwin , who is just back from Afghanistan . `` It 's a need that needs to be met over there right now . ''
Women are on the front line of dealing directly with Afghan women and children . They will search Afghan women , something men ca n't do without causing great upset . Women are not allowed in front-line combat units , but the risks are still great . Last month a unit member was killed , along with two male soldiers , in combat .