Woman in fighting force initially acquiring weaving material (6)
I believe the answer is:
raffia
'weaving material' is the definition.
'raffia' can be an answer for 'material' (raffia is a kind of material). I am unsure of the 'weaving' bit.
'woman in fighting force initially' is the wordplay.
'woman in fighting' becomes 'fia' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'force' becomes 'RAF' (Royal Air Force).
'initially' says to put letters next to each other (some letters go before others).
'fia' after 'raf' is 'RAFFIA'.
'acquiring' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for raffia that I've seen before include "Tropical palm leaf fibres used to make mats etc" , "Palm leaves used in weaving" , "Fibre for tying and weaving" , "Basket material; affair (anag.)" , "Fibre used for weaving mats, baskets, etc" .)