The death of Corporal Sarah Bryant in Afghanistan is tragic and my heartfelt sympathy goes out to her family. But we must not forget that three other soldiers died in the same incident, and that is just as much of a tragedy. Is it more upsetting that one was female? To me, as a serving female soldier, it isn't.

I joined the Army to be part of the action and prepared for operations in exactly the same way as all soldiers, male and female. I never expected any special treatment. When I served in Afghanistan I was one of a team and it made no difference that I was a woman. As an artillery officer in a mobile troop, I regularly drove across demanding terrain, always at severe risk of mines planted by the Taleban. If any of my soldiers had been killed, it would have affected morale hugely. But it wouldn't have had more - or any different impact - if it had been a woman.

I'm often asked what it's like being a woman in a male-dominated environment. But I am no different - I have done the same training, the same fitness tests, the same exercises as every guy. There really is no difference between male and female.

Women still do not fight on the front line. But as we are no longer fighting conventional warfare, there is no clearly defined front line. When the enemy is everywhere, the front line is everywhere. In Afghanistan, women regularly did the same job as men in the same areas. It is more common than most people think.

Since the first Gulf War, or Bosnia, the role of women has changed because the nature of warfare has changed and the rule that women should not fight on the front line has become obsolete and should be scrapped. You're in the Army to be part of the action. That's what I want and I think it is unfair that my opportunities are limited.

If people don't pass the tests, they will not be deployed, but if women pass and they want to be deployed, they should have the right to be.

The public possibly doesn't see the death of Corporal Bryant the same way that I do. Women out in operations risk their lives every day but, because there are more men serving, sadly more men are killed. When a woman dies, of course it is a bigger shock. But I want the public to know what women in the forces do.

Every day they do work that puts them at risk. Where I was based in Afghanistan, we had soldiers injured and killed, and they could have been women. There were women in vehicles behind them, in the troops near them. The public may not think that women are on the front line, but they are. If you asked the lads who fought alongside me, they would say that I was just one of the lads as well.

Captain Kirstie Main is serving with the 4th Regiment, Royal Artillery

Times Recommends

• In the real world, the public sector must pay
• Playing politics in a land of double Dutch
• Be like the plinth people: not set in stone