Even Now Female Veterans Service Dismissed

When G.I. Jane comes home
LA Times
By GAYLE TZEMACH LEMMON
June 11, 2015

Since 9/11, more than 200,000 women have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and more than 160 women have died in service to their country. Women have fought on the front lines as combat pilots and military police platoon leaders. They have received Silver Stars and Bronze Stars for Valor. Some have even joined special operations forces on combat missions.

Yet when people think of veterans, they rarely think of women.

As the veterans organization the Mission Continues found in a survey out this week of female veterans, a "common theme among our respondents was a perception of invisibility both in the service and at home. While in uniform, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they had to work harder than men to prove themselves. When those women left the military, barely a third (37%) said they felt recognized, respected and valued by society for their contributions as veterans."

One veteran in Minnesota told me recently that when she tried to join a local veterans organization, she was guided to the women's auxiliary rather than the group for service members. Another soldier based at Ft. Bragg told me that she saw a mandatory counselor after her tour in Afghanistan, who said that even though she "did not see combat" and was "mostly on base," she might have some reentry issues. He had no idea that she had served an eight-month tour as part of a special operations team of women and had been on night raids several times a week throughout her deployment.
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