Kayla Williams is a national security and defense specialist, whose recent work has examined counterinsurgency, detention operations, intelligence, and issues affecting veterans. Her recent publications include Assessing and Mitigating the Risk Posed by Detainees in Iraq, Evaluation of the MCIA Police Professionalization Program in Al-Anbar, and Invisible Wounds of War. Kayla was an Arabic linguist in the Army and spent a year in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division (AASLT); she wrote Love My Rifle More Than You: Young and Female in the US Army about her experiences. Kayla is on the VA Advisory Committee for Women Veterans. Kayla has an MA in International Relations from American University and a BA in English Literature from Bowling Green State University.