How America's top general came to endorse women in combat
By Matt Smith
CNN
January 24, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman says female gunner changed his perspective
The Pentagon is lifting its longstanding ban on women in combat units
Panetta says American women are already fighting and dying overseas
"The time has come for our policies to recognize that reality," he said
(CNN) -- The U.S. military is dropping its longstanding exclusion of women from combat units, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Thursday, calling it a recognition of the reality on the battlefield.
"The fact is, they have become an integral part of our ability to perform our mission, and for more than a decade of war they have demonstrated courage and skill and patriotism," Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon. American servicemen and women are already "fighting and they're dying together, and the time has come for our policies to recognize that reality."
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recounted a foray onto the streets of Baghdad as commander of an armored division in the early days of the war in Iraq.
"I slapped the turret gunner on the leg and I said, 'Who are you?' And she leaned down and said, I'm Amanda.' And I said, 'Ah, OK,' " Dempsey said.
"So, female turret-gunner protecting division commander. It's from that point on that I realized something had changed, and it was time to do something about it."
About 203,000 women are in the active-duty military, including 69 generals and admirals. Despite the official ban on combat, which dates back to 1994, women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan often found themselves engaged in firefights.
read more here
Here's a little history for you from a video I did a couple of years ago.
Former Marine thinks the time is right for women to get combat jobs in the military
FOX31 Denver
January 23, 2013
In 1966, there were about 400,000 troops in Vietnam, almost all of them men. There were only 2,500 women in the Marine Corps.
19-year-old Paula Sarlls was one of them. She was recruited right out of high school.
Sarlls says, “He told me the great opportunities there were and education was one.
And I got an education in more ways than one.”
She says opportunities for women were limited to clerical, accounting, radio operators, traffic controllers and some computer work. And she says some men were openly hostile.
She says she has four pages worth of incidents she had to deal with. She describes working at a control tower where the ceiling was covered with huge spider webs.
“The guys thought it was funny to take the spider webs and pin me down and put them on my face,” she says.
When she tried to report it, she says she was told not to talk about it. “As I left the tower that night I had an eight inch knife put to my throat and told if I told anyone else, they’d kill me.“
“It kept on for two, three weeks and finally stopped. But it was pretty bad,” she says.
The women who take the new combat positions will likely face some opposition, too. “It still happens, people are people.”
read more here
by Julie Hayden
Showing posts with label The Voice Women At War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Voice Women At War. Show all posts
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Monday, March 7, 2011
VA Celebrates Women's History Month
VA Celebrates Women's History MonthHere's one of my videos to help you know how rich the history of women is serving in the military.
WASHINGTON (March 7, 2011) - The Department of Veterans Affairs joins
with the nation to observe Women's History Month in March by recognizing
and honoring women Veterans.
"Duty. Honor. Pride. These words reflect the spirit of generations of
American women who have sought to defend the rights and freedom of
others," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "The
history of women in the armed forces began more than 220 years ago with
women who served during the American Revolution and continues through
the present day. VA is honored to serve these women who have
contributed so much to our Nation."
Women Veterans are one of the fastest growing segments of the Veteran
population. Of the 22.7 million living Veterans, more than 1.8 million
are women. They comprise nearly 8 percent of the total Veteran
population and 6 percent of all Veterans who use VA health care
services.
VA estimates women Veterans will constitute 10 percent of the Veteran
population by 2020 and 9.5 percent of VA patients.
In recent years, VA has undertaken a number of initiatives to create or
enhance services for women Veterans, including the implementation of
comprehensive primary care throughout the nation; staffing every VA
medical center with a women veterans program manager and regional
offices with a designated woman Veterans coordinator; supporting a
multifaceted research program on women's health; improving communication
and outreach to women Veterans; and continuing the operation of offices
like the Center for Women Veterans and the Women Veterans Health
Strategic Healthcare Care Group.
"During this observance of Women's History Month, let's remember the
special contributions of the ever-increasing number of women serving in
the armed forces," said Tammy Duckworth, assistant secretary for public
and intergovernmental affairs. She noted that women currently make up
more than 14 percent of the active-duty military and 18 percent of the
Guard and Reserves.
VA has 43 women's memorials and monuments at its National Cemeteries
across the country. Additionally, several notable women are buried in VA
National Cemeteries, including Chief Specialist Evelyn B. (Ulrich)
Einfeldt, a Navy World War II Veteran who was one of the 67 Navy "WAVES"
involved in Operation Magic. She assisted with the assembly of BOMBE
(Enigma), a machine to decode German and Japanese transmissions. She was
laid to rest at the Fort Sill National Cemetery on April 6, 2006.
Lillian Kinkela Keil, an Air Force flight nurse pioneer, is buried at
the Riverside National Cemetery. She flew 425 combat missions and took
part in 11 major campaigns, including the D-Day invasion and the Battle
of the Bulge in World War II and the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in
Korea. One of the most decorated women in American military history, she
was awarded 19 medals.
For more information about VA programs and services for women Veterans,
please visit: http://www1.va.gov/womenvet and
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/womenshealth.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Women Warriors Wellness Retreat
If you are thinking this is about getting you to become a member of this church, it isn't. I spoke with Major Leslie Haines, Executive Director of Lutheran Military Veterans and Family Ministries. This is all about helping to heal your soul.
This is part of the email I received.
I am the Executive Director of Lutheran Military Veterans and Families Ministries (www.lmvfm.org). I stumbled upon your video and would like to be able to incorporate it in a training program we have for civilian community care providers i.e., therapists, clergy, counselors, and those who are going into a like profession/vocation.
Our minsitry provides at no cost to veterans or their family members short term counseling and assistance, as well as resource assistance. Additionally, we provide a series of courses (Basic Training Seminars) for professionals and students.
We are a small non-profit ministry which I planted during my 2d year of seminary-which came after my second deployment.
She found me because of my videos on Great Americans. We talked for a long time, shared the same views and I feel truly blessed there is a group out there doing this work. The mind-body-spirit connection cannot be dismissed. Trauma is Greek for "wound" and it is a spiritual wound instead of a mental illness. It is caused by an outside force and is regarded as an anxiety disorder.
For women veterans there is more than one kind of trauma they experience during their service and that is sexual trauma. For all these years, women have been the least served even as their numbers increased. Now with talk of allowing women to serve in combat roles, their needs will increase even more. We can do better and this is a good start.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Women in combat? They already are.
Some say they are not brave enough. This says they are.
watch The Voice, Women at War and see how brave they always have been.
The Voice, Women at War
CAMP SALERNO, Afghanistan — A 19-year-old medic from Texas will become the first woman in Afghanistan and only the second woman since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest medal for valor.And so does this
Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers after a roadside bomb tore through a convoy of Humvees in the eastern Paktia province in April 2007, the military said.
After the explosion, which wounded five soldiers in her unit, Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 yards away, the military said.
"I did not really think about anything except for getting the guys to a safer location and getting them taken care of and getting them out of there," Brown said Saturday at a U.S. base in the eastern province of Khost.
Brown, of Lake Jackson, Texas, is scheduled to receive the Silver Star later this month. She was part of a four-vehicle convoy patrolling near Jani Kheil in the eastern province of Paktia on April 25, 2007, when a bomb struck one of the Humvees.
Spc. Monica Lin Brown
By Ann Scott TysonWhen they end up in positions where they have to use weapons anyway, when they are trained to use them, brave enough to serve in a combat zone as it is, then why not treat them equally?
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 17, 2005
Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester fought her way through an enemy ambush south of Baghdad, killing three insurgents with her M-4 rifle to save fellow soldiers' lives -- and yesterday became the first woman since World War II to win the Silver Star medal for valor in combat.
The 23-year-old retail store manager from Bowling Green, Ky., won the award for skillfully leading her team of military police soldiers in a counterattack after about 50 insurgents ambushed a supply convoy they were guarding near Salman Pak on March 20.
Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester
Report: Women should be allowed to serve in combat
From Alison Harding, CNN
January 15, 2011
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A Pentagon commission says the ban should be lifted to create a "level playing field"
More than 200,000 women have served in the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan
The commission will send its findings to Congress and President Barack Obama
Washington (CNN) -- A Pentagon commission on diversity is recommending the U.S. military end its ban on women serving in direct combat roles -- a restriction the group says is discriminatory and out of touch with the demands of modern warfare.
In its draft report, the Military Leadership Diversity Commission said the military should gradually eliminate the ban in order to create a "level playing field for all qualified service members."
The commission, comprised of senior military officers, businessmen and academics, must now release a final report. Its findings would then need to be sent to Congress and President Obama before any changes to policy would be implemented.
The draft report said the military's "combat exclusion policies" do not reflect the realities of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and create institutional barriers to women, who are prevented from getting key assignments that could lead to career advancement.
"Service policies that bar women from gaining entry to certain combat-related career fields, specialties, units, and assignments are based on standards of conventional warfare, with well-defined, linear battlefields," the report said. "However, the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have been anything but conventional."
More than 200,000 women have served in the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since those wars began, 132 female service members have been killed, and 721 have been wounded.
Proponents of the commission's recommendations agree that technology and circumstance have drastically altered modern warfare. They say it is difficult to distinguish between combat and non-combat roles on the front lines of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
read more here
Women should be allowed to serve in combat
watch The Voice, Women at War and see how brave they always have been.
The Voice, Women at War
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Veteran’s Reflections: Following in Her Family’s Footsteps to Serve
Veteran’s Reflections: Following in Her Family’s Footsteps to Serve
By Ian Graham
Veteran’s Reflections is a collection of stories of men and women who served their country in World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Shield and Desert Storm and present-day conflicts. They will be posted throughout November in honor of Veteran’s Day.
Marie Peckham is a small woman. While it wouldn’t technically be inaccurate to assume she wears military-themed pins and jewelry because her husband served in the military, it would be an underestimation of Peckham’s devotion to her country. Because even though she stands somewhere between four and five-feet tall, she herself was a U.S. Marine staff sergeant, following in her father and brothers’ footsteps.
“It was only natural I became a Marine, and thank God I did,” she said.
It was as a result of her service and subsequent involvement in the U.S. Marine Corps League that Peckham met her husband, a fellow Marine who survived five major campaigns in the Pacific and went into Nagasaki mere weeks after it had been bombed.
read more here
Following in Her Family Footsteps to Serve
Honoring Women for Veterans Day and everyday.
By Ian Graham
Veteran’s Reflections is a collection of stories of men and women who served their country in World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Shield and Desert Storm and present-day conflicts. They will be posted throughout November in honor of Veteran’s Day.
Marie Peckham is a small woman. While it wouldn’t technically be inaccurate to assume she wears military-themed pins and jewelry because her husband served in the military, it would be an underestimation of Peckham’s devotion to her country. Because even though she stands somewhere between four and five-feet tall, she herself was a U.S. Marine staff sergeant, following in her father and brothers’ footsteps.
“It was only natural I became a Marine, and thank God I did,” she said.
It was as a result of her service and subsequent involvement in the U.S. Marine Corps League that Peckham met her husband, a fellow Marine who survived five major campaigns in the Pacific and went into Nagasaki mere weeks after it had been bombed.
read more here
Following in Her Family Footsteps to Serve
Honoring Women for Veterans Day and everyday.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Old news about women at war never dies
I finally have some time today to collect pictures for a new video I'm working on. While searching I came across some really great stories on our "sisters" in the military. Feeling very nostalgic, thinking about my friend Capt. "Irish" Bresnahan, who passed away March 2009 and missing her deeply, it seemed like a good time to work on another video for female veterans. That's why you're seeing some older stories all of a sudden on this blog today.
The stories may be old to us, but the truth is, for them, for the men and women going into combat, the stories never get old and more often than not, are never told enough.
Irish didn't stop fighting for this country. She never stopped fighting for women veterans as well as male veterans, but her heart knew the additional burden women carried after war. Irish was wounded by PTSD and Agent Orange. To her, anyone fighting for their claim to be approved or trying to be taken care of, was personal to her because she knew it first hand. Irish never saw justice for herself.
In March she was in Washington for another hearing on her claim. No stranger to Washington since she had testified about the burdens veterans carry trying to open up the eyes and hearts of congress, this was nothing new for her. She was excited to have some time to go to see the monuments this time, but her health had her pretty weak. While there, she became very ill and passed away in the hospital far from New Hampshire where she lived, but she passed away where she loved and dedicated her life to.
She would call me all the time and I can still hear her laugh and I know the female veterans in this country have a real angel watching over them.
Here's a couple of videos on female veterans.
In March she was in Washington for another hearing on her claim. No stranger to Washington since she had testified about the burdens veterans carry trying to open up the eyes and hearts of congress, this was nothing new for her. She was excited to have some time to go to see the monuments this time, but her health had her pretty weak. While there, she became very ill and passed away in the hospital far from New Hampshire where she lived, but she passed away where she loved and dedicated her life to.
She would call me all the time and I can still hear her laugh and I know the female veterans in this country have a real angel watching over them.
Here's a couple of videos on female veterans.
Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 10, 2009
Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 10, 2009
Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 10, 2009
Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 10, 2009
Think of it this way. Old news never really dies even though they do. I miss you Irish!
Monday, March 2, 2009
U.S. Army honors service of women for military and civilian service
Women’s History Month: U.S. Army honors service of women for military and civilian service
SENIOR LEADERS ARE SAYING
"I have never considered myself anything but a Soldier. I recognize that with this selection, some will view me as a trailblazer, but it’s important that we remember the generations of women, whose dedication, commitment and quality of service helped open the doors of opportunity for us today. There are so many talented women in our Army today … you would be impressed."- Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, then Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, who became the first female four-star general in U.S. Military historyDunwoody confirmed as first female four-star
TODAY'S FOCUS
Women’s History Month: U.S. Army honors service of women for military and civilian service
What is it? March is Women’s History Month, a time during which we honor the many invaluable contributions and accomplishments made to our country by women.
Women play a vital role in the Army of today; they are leaders, officers, non-commissioned officers and outstanding enlisted Soldiers who contribute to our Army’s and nation’s rich history. They are valuable civilian employees, administrators, analysts, managers, scientists and technicians. They are doctors, pilots, mechanics, military police officers and engineers. We honor all women for their military and civil service, for their strength and for their willingness to sacrifice everything for the freedom and liberty cherished by all Americans.
Why is it important this to the Army?
Throughout our history, from the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts, women have made sacrifices for our nation: our females in uniform and civilian service – mothers, sisters, daughters and wives- have placed the needs of our nation above their own. Women, uniform and civilian service, in today’s Army experience a level of equality and opportunities that exceed those available in the larger civilian community.
Opportunities for career advancement are plentiful for women in the Army family.In celebrating Women’s History Month, we emphasize the value the Army places on diversity. We know there is strength in diversity. We are “Army Strong” because we embrace the strengths of diverse people in an inclusive environment.What is the Army doing? During the period from Mar.1 through Mar. 31, the Army will highlight and honor Women, military and civil service, at all levels by telling their story in command information products at all levels.
Public affairs guidance is available at Army Public Affairs Portal (AKO registration required). Installations and Forces Command Public Affairs Officers are asked to highlight these stories and share them with Army.Mil in print and video via the web. Resources:
Army Heritage and History Web site
Army G-1 Women in the Army Web site
Army Women’s Museum Web site
U.S Army Center for Military History/Women in Army History Web site
POC: For more information or to submit stories Mr. Philip Jones
SENIOR LEADERS ARE SAYING
"I have never considered myself anything but a Soldier. I recognize that with this selection, some will view me as a trailblazer, but it’s important that we remember the generations of women, whose dedication, commitment and quality of service helped open the doors of opportunity for us today. There are so many talented women in our Army today … you would be impressed."- Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, then Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, who became the first female four-star general in U.S. Military historyDunwoody confirmed as first female four-star
TODAY'S FOCUS
Women’s History Month: U.S. Army honors service of women for military and civilian service
What is it? March is Women’s History Month, a time during which we honor the many invaluable contributions and accomplishments made to our country by women.
Women play a vital role in the Army of today; they are leaders, officers, non-commissioned officers and outstanding enlisted Soldiers who contribute to our Army’s and nation’s rich history. They are valuable civilian employees, administrators, analysts, managers, scientists and technicians. They are doctors, pilots, mechanics, military police officers and engineers. We honor all women for their military and civil service, for their strength and for their willingness to sacrifice everything for the freedom and liberty cherished by all Americans.
Why is it important this to the Army?
Throughout our history, from the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts, women have made sacrifices for our nation: our females in uniform and civilian service – mothers, sisters, daughters and wives- have placed the needs of our nation above their own. Women, uniform and civilian service, in today’s Army experience a level of equality and opportunities that exceed those available in the larger civilian community.
Opportunities for career advancement are plentiful for women in the Army family.In celebrating Women’s History Month, we emphasize the value the Army places on diversity. We know there is strength in diversity. We are “Army Strong” because we embrace the strengths of diverse people in an inclusive environment.What is the Army doing? During the period from Mar.1 through Mar. 31, the Army will highlight and honor Women, military and civil service, at all levels by telling their story in command information products at all levels.
Public affairs guidance is available at Army Public Affairs Portal (AKO registration required). Installations and Forces Command Public Affairs Officers are asked to highlight these stories and share them with Army.Mil in print and video via the web. Resources:
Army Heritage and History Web site
Army G-1 Women in the Army Web site
Army Women’s Museum Web site
U.S Army Center for Military History/Women in Army History Web site
POC: For more information or to submit stories Mr. Philip Jones
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Words from a Woman Warrior on The Voice, Women at War
The following is an email I received about my video The Voice, Women at War. It is beautiful and powerful.
Not often do these eyes of mine “leak.”
This video did it. PLEASE pass it on far and wide.
It is an excellent video-
http://www.greatamericans.com/videos/818f0a2250/the-voice-women-at-war-from-chaplain-kathie
Kathie’s website- http://www.namguardianangel.com/
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Every 2 minutes, a woman in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. By the end of the video 18 women will have been sexually assaulted!!!
I am the voice that is calling you “To Arms!” (Was the Army OD color missed by anyone?)
If you do not think women are at War, then you need to change your definition of “war.”
Now is the time to pick up your {Sword, Pen, Gun, Voice, or Torch} and “Fight the Fight.”
You KNOW a woman who has been touched by war, assault or rape. Do you care? Are you part of the solution?
Do something… And, Do it NOW!
Namaste’
Susan
Retired, Disabled, Combat Veteran
Earned the Bronze Star w/ V Device, Desert Storm Veteran, former victim of rape
Women’s Self Defense Instructor
"The Voice"
I hear your voice on the wind
And I hear you call out my name
"Listen, my child," you say to me"
I am the voice of your history
Be not afraid, come follow me
Answer my call, and I'll set you free"
I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice, I will remain
I am the voice in the fields when the summer's gone
The dance of the leaves when the autumn winds blow
Ne'er do I sleep thoughout all the cold winter long
I am the force that in springtime will grow
I am the voice of the past that will always be
Filled with my sorrow and blood in my fields
I am the voice of the future, bring me your peace
Bring me your peace, and my wounds, they will heal
I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice
I am the voice of the past that will always be
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice of the futureI am the voice,
I am the voice
I am the voice, I am the voice
Carly Simon Touched By The Sun Lyrics
If you want to be brave
And reach for the top of the sky
And the farthest point on the horizon
Do you know who you'll meet there
Great soldiers and seafarers, Artists and dreamers
Who need to be close, close to the light
They need to be in danger of burning by fire
And I, I want to get there I,
I want to be one One who is touched by the sun,
One who is touched by the sun
Often I want to walk The safe side of the street
And lull myself to sleep
And dull my pain
But deep down inside I know
I've got to learn from the greats,
Earn my right to be living,
Let my wings of desire Soar over the night
I need to let them say "She must have been mad"
And I, I want to get there I,
I want to be one One who is touched by the sun,
One who is touched by the sun
I've got to learn from the greats,
Earn my right to be living,
With every breath that I take,
Every heartbeat And I, I want to get there I,
I want to be one,
One who is touched by the sun,
One who is touched by the sun.
Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep
- Mary Frye (1932)
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow;
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain;
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush;
I am in the graceful rush.
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.
In 2007, there were 248,300 victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.1 (These figures do not include victims 12 years old or younger.)
Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. By the end of the video 18 women will have been sexually assaulted!!!
Victims of sexual assault are:7
3 times more likely to suffer from depression.
6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
13 times more likely to abuse alcohol.
26 times more likely to abuse drugs.
4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.
1 out of every 6 American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime
17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape. DO THE MATH!!!
15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.
Warlords gang-rape 12-year-old girl, her family threatens to commit mass suicide if justice is not done
Man, Friend Raped Girls, Police Say
china girl was raped on street ,nobody help her - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbX-XzPsC2o&feature=related
7 year old girl raped on school bus by teenager - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR0FRHd62GU&feature=related
http://www.rainn.org/ (Rape, Abuse, & Incest national Network)
You can always reach your local rape crisis center directly by calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Grace After Fire, online group for women after war
Grace After Fire
Grace After Fire is a resource solely for women veterans to support their need to connect with each other and share yet remain anonymous. These women can reach out to others who have experienced the same concerns of re-entry, alcoholism, drug addiction, or prescription addiction due to chronic pain, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), incidents of service time rape, depression, unwarranted anger or traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to wartime trauma.
Go to http://www.graceafterfire.org/
NOONIE FORTIN
1SG, USAR (Ret)
Author and Speaker
Researcher and Consultant
http://www.nooniefortin.com/
http://www.colonelmaggie.com/
http://www.talesandwhalespublishing.com/
www.myspace.com/nooniefortin
My video Women at War
My video, The Voice, Women At War
This video shows the rich history of women in the military. I used some of Noonie's information in this video.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Women at War:When the enemy is one of your own
In response to my post on When the enemy is one of your own
Subject: Fw: [Wounded Times] Women at War: When the enemy is one of your ownTRIGGER
KATHIE IS A VERY DEAR FRIEND OF MINE AND ALL VETERANS.. 8 YEARS AGO WHEN I BEGAN TO CONTACT OTHERS WHO WERE IN MY WAC COMPANY AT FORT RITCHIE AND FORT MCCLELLAN TO INFORM THEM ABOUT THE CHEMICAL EXPOSURE THERE... SOMETHING UNEXPECTED OCCURRED... THE DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY MY EMPLOYER (IRS POD IN ANDOVER MASSACHUSETTS)..WAS UNDERGOING A REDUCTION IN FORCE (RIF) NATIONALLY. OUR JOBS WERE BEING OUTSOURCED ( I WAS A GS12/9 COMPUTER SYSTEM ANALYST WITH OVER 29 YEARS OF SERVICE INCLUDING 7 YEARS ON ACTIVE DUTY).
AND ONCE AGAIN I WAS IN A HOSTILE WORK PLACE BEING STALKED AND HARRASSED BY A LOWER GRADE EMPLOYEE (HE ALSO STALKED OTHER WOMEN AND MEN ON THE SHIFT). MANAGEMENT DID NOTHING EVEN THOUGH MANY FILED EEO,TIGTA, AND GRIEVANCES AGAINST MANAGEMENT. THEY NOT ONLY FAILED TO STOP THIS BUT THEY CONDUCTED A DAILY ROUTINE OF HARRASSING THOSE WHO FILED AGAINST THEM MAKING ME A PRIME TARGET.
THESE SAME MANAGERS WERE THE ONES WHO DISMISSED THESE ACTIONS AS UNTIMELY FILED... GEE ALLOWING THOSE, WHO THESE CHARGES WERE FILED AGAINST, TO HEAR THE CASE FOR THEIR DISMISSAL ?????? I DO NOT THINK THAT IS WHAT THE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS INTENDED WHEN PASSING THE LAWS PROTECTING WHISTLEBLOWERS AND A PROTECTION AGAINST A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT....
AS I WAS PRESENTING DOCUMENTS UPON DOCUMENTS TO PROVE ALL MY ACTIVE DUTY TIME AND ONCE AGAIN PROVING MY DISABLED SERVICE CONNECTED FOR CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DISABILITY.. AND MY PRIORITY ONE CLASSIFICATION VET STATUS.. THE DAILY HARRASSMENT TOOK ME BACK TO A TIME AND PLACE WHEN I WAS RAPED AND ASSUALTED ON ACTIVE DUTY PLUS MANY OTHER EVENTS... AND MY PTSD WENT INTO FULL RAGE. I INFORMED ALL AGENCIES THAT I COULD NOT BE IN THAT ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE I FEARED FOR MY LIFE AND COULD NOT PROTECT MYSELF AGAINST THIS MAN WHO THREATEND TO KILL ME AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE SECOND SHIFT. I, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, SPOKE OF THIS TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY. THEY NEVER KNEW. THEN I WENT THROUGH "WASTING", LOSS OF WEIGHT FROM 145 LBS TO 98 LBS... THE POISONS STAYED IN MY BODY FAT AND ONCE AGAIN ENTERED INTO MY BLOOD STREAM.
IT WAS DURING THAT TIME I WAS TRYING TO HELP OTHER VETERANS GET BACK THERE ACTIVE DUTY TIME THAT WAS REMOVED BY PERSONEL.... INCLUDING SOME OF MY OWN. THEN THE NIGHTMARES CAME BACK. THE PAIN, INABILITY TO SLEEP OR SLEEPING TOO MUCH. MY PAIN MEDICATION HAD TO BE INCREASED AND I SPENT A LOT OF TIME CRYING... FACES, NAMES, SMELLS .. FEAR...
I THOUGHT, OH MY GOD, IF THIS WAS HAPPENING TO ME THEN WHAT ABOUT ALL THE REST??? SLOWLY AT FIRST I WAS CONTACTED BY OTHER VETERANS FROM ALL ERAS AND BRANCHES OF THE SERVICE... MANY HAD THE SAME SYMTOMS THAT I HAD FROM CHEMICAL EXPOSURE AND MANY, MANY WERE ALSO ASSAULTED ON ACTIVE DUTY . I CALLED MY FAMILY TOGETHER ( 4 BROTHERS, SEVEN SISTERS AND MY 80 YEAR OLD MOTHER). I TOLD THEM WHAT I HAD TO DO WAS GO TO WASHINGTON AND APPEAR BEFORE THE VA DISABILITY COMMISSION AND WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY AND WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO HEAR. PRIOR TO THE WASTING NO ONE KNEW HOW SICK I WAS. NOW IT IS VERY VISUAL...
AND OVER 200 MEN AND WOMEN HAVE CONTACTED ME. NO, YOU ARE NOT ALONE...
AND THERE ARE MANY LIKE KATHIE, JANICE, SARAH, PAUL, CARL AND THOUSANDS MORE WHO STAND BY US IN THIS BATTLE. YOU ARE AMONG FRIENDS...
I HAVE CONTACTED MANY ELECTED OFFICIALS ABOUT THESE TOPICS... BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I WAS TOLD
HE/SHE CAN NOT HELP YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT IN THE RIGHT DISTRICT... LAST WEEK I WAS INVITED TO ATTEND A ROUNTABLE MEETING FOR SOMEONE RUNNING FOR THE SENATE.. I TOOK A BOX FULL OF STATEMENTS AND OTHER MATERIALS... WELL THE MEETING WAS OVER AN HOUR LATE GETTING STARTED.. THE SPEECH WAS ABOUT 20 MINUTES AND MOST FOLKS LEFT. I SAT THERE WITH MY PORTABLE DVD PLAYING "THE VOICE WOMAN AT WAR". THE STAFF CLEARED THE ROOM OF TABLES AND CHAIRS AND I WAITED FOR ABOUT AN HOUR. A CAMPAIGN STAFFER CAME OVER AND SAID THERE IS NO TIME FOR YOU!! I ONLY NEED 5 TO TEN MINUTES" NO TIME FOR YOU.. THAN WHY WAS I ASKED TO BE THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE??????????????? (PHOTO OP)
HAVE YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY CALL THE FOLLOWING ELECTED OFFICALS. IF THEY HAVE NO TIME FOR US OR WILL NOT EVEN SPEAK TO A DISABLED VETERAN..THAN WE HAVE NO TIME FOR THEM...
WE ARE WARRIORS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND WE DEFEND THE COUNTRY REGARDLESS OF WHAT DISTRICT THEY ARE IN.
THE FOLLOWING ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE PROMISED TO GIVE THE VETERANS OF OUR COUNTRY WHAT WE ARE ENTITLED TO AND CORRECT THE WRONGS THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS DONE TO US... I SPOKE TO JOHN TIERNEY ON THE PHONE WHEN I WAS IN D.C. AND SPENT OVER 50 MINTUES TALKING TO HIS AIDE GOING OVER ALL THE STATEMENTS I BROUGHT TO D.C. .... PLEASE CONTACT THEM AND TELL THEM WE NEED JUSTICE NOW AND WE CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL JANUARY... NOT ONLY TO CORRECT THE SPIN CODES USED TO REMOVE WARRIORS FROM HONORABLE DISCHARGES BUT TO REINSTATE THE RANK WHICH WE WOULD OF RECEIVED AND THE SERVICE CONNECTED DISABILITY RATING FOR THESE CONDITIONS:
JOHN TIERNEY 1-978-531-1669 1-202-225-8020
JANE HARMAN 1-310-549-8282 1-202-225-8220
HILLARY CLINTON 1-518-431-0120 1-202-224-4451
CAROL SHEA PORTER 1-603-397-3190
JOHN HALL 1-202-225-9756
SEMPER FI DUTY HONOR COUNTRY
IRISH BRESNAHAN
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PASS THIS ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Women at War: When the enemy is one of your own
There is a quality within the foundation of their souls. It nags at them until they surrender their own desires to live a selfish life of only looking out for themselves to becoming part of something bigger, stronger, noble. They are willing to lay down their lives for the sake of others, compelled by what is within them to fulfill the need to be of service. Some say they only want to serve so they can go to college in order to dismiss this unique characteristic within all who enter the military. Surface reason may vary but at the core is this call to serve and they answer it.
When it comes to women in the military, some will want to dismiss them, saying they should not be in the military, they are only in support roles, they are of lesser value, anything and everything enters into the minds of some of the males who have little respect for women in general. These are also the males who not only attack them, but refuse to defend them.
Sexual assaults in the military are not new and have not been in the news enough. If we are ever going to stop the rapes and abuse in the military, it will require the decent males in the military to stand up and say those who commit these acts are traitors to the service. Women warriors should not have to worry about the enemy among them. Rape is a crime and those who commit it are criminals. Having a criminal in the ranks removes the trust and unit cohesion the military prides itself on. Gone are the days when women were in safe atmospheres far from danger. Gone are the days when they did not participate with males risking their lives.
While some refuse to acknowledge the contribution women have made to the defense of this nation, they have served with courage and honor since the Revolutionary war. If you want to know more of the history of women warriors, I suggest you watch my video The Voice, Women at War and see exactly what part of history you have forgotten as proof of their answering the call to serve.
These women are part of the military family and when a family does not hold members accountable for what they do, it destroys the family. The lowlifes who choose to view females as targets of sexual attacks need to be held accountable. They need to think about what they would do if their own sister was raped and assaulted because that is exactly what these women are. They are sisters among the brotherhood of warriors. They would not let someone get away with raping their own sister.
We cannot eliminate rapes in the military until worthy men of honor begin to honor their military sisters and treat them as they would their own blood sister. These men of honor watch over the women when danger arises from the enemy just as they do anyone else in their unit but they turn deaf, dumb and blind when the danger comes from within the unit itself. Once the honorable men stand up and turn in the perpetrator traitor then they can finally say they are honoring the code.
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington
This was sent from
OCTOBER 3, 2008
Rate of Sexual Assault in Army Prompts an Effort at Prevention
By YOCHI J. DREAZEN
WASHINGTON -- The Army is launching a new war against an old foe: the lingering problem of sexual violence within the military.
Last month, 80 high-ranking generals gathered at a hotel in Alexandria, Va., for a mandatory, weeklong summit devoted to combating the crime. In a Sept. 22 essay in Army Times, Army Secretary Pete Geren and Gen. George Casey, the service's chief of staff, said it was "repugnant to everything a soldier stands for" and promised a "zero tolerance" policy for harassment or assault.
The approach comes in direct response to a batch of new Pentagon data indicating that 2.6 soldiers per 1,000 reported a sexual assault last year. In the Marine Corps and Navy, it was 1.1 per 1,000; in the Air Force, 1.6 per 1,000. The Army began tracking the numbers only in 2006, and officials say they don't have enough comparable data to determine whether the problem is getting worse over time.
Army leaders hope a major change in their strategy for combating these acts of violence can bring the numbers down. The service has long focused on dealing with the aftermath of an assault. Now it will try to prevent the crime from occurring in the first place.
The centerpiece of the new effort -- known as "I AM Strong," with the I AM standing for "intervene, act, motivate" -- is a call for soldiers to confront peers who are abusing alcohol or exhibiting other possible harbingers of an assault, such as making suggestive comments. The Army also wants soldiers to alert higher-ranking personnel if their colleagues' behavior doesn't improve.
"We're trying to change the culture," said Carolyn Collins, the program manager for the Army's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program. "We want soldiers to look for red flags and take steps to address them before they turn into something serious."
When it comes to women in the military, some will want to dismiss them, saying they should not be in the military, they are only in support roles, they are of lesser value, anything and everything enters into the minds of some of the males who have little respect for women in general. These are also the males who not only attack them, but refuse to defend them.
Sexual assaults in the military are not new and have not been in the news enough. If we are ever going to stop the rapes and abuse in the military, it will require the decent males in the military to stand up and say those who commit these acts are traitors to the service. Women warriors should not have to worry about the enemy among them. Rape is a crime and those who commit it are criminals. Having a criminal in the ranks removes the trust and unit cohesion the military prides itself on. Gone are the days when women were in safe atmospheres far from danger. Gone are the days when they did not participate with males risking their lives.
While some refuse to acknowledge the contribution women have made to the defense of this nation, they have served with courage and honor since the Revolutionary war. If you want to know more of the history of women warriors, I suggest you watch my video The Voice, Women at War and see exactly what part of history you have forgotten as proof of their answering the call to serve.
These women are part of the military family and when a family does not hold members accountable for what they do, it destroys the family. The lowlifes who choose to view females as targets of sexual attacks need to be held accountable. They need to think about what they would do if their own sister was raped and assaulted because that is exactly what these women are. They are sisters among the brotherhood of warriors. They would not let someone get away with raping their own sister.
We cannot eliminate rapes in the military until worthy men of honor begin to honor their military sisters and treat them as they would their own blood sister. These men of honor watch over the women when danger arises from the enemy just as they do anyone else in their unit but they turn deaf, dumb and blind when the danger comes from within the unit itself. Once the honorable men stand up and turn in the perpetrator traitor then they can finally say they are honoring the code.
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington
This was sent from
Noonie Fortin1SG, USAR (Ret)Author and SpeakerResearcher and Consultant
http://www.nooniefortin.com/
http://www.colonelmaggie.com/
http://www.talesandwhalespublishing.com/
OCTOBER 3, 2008
Rate of Sexual Assault in Army Prompts an Effort at Prevention
By YOCHI J. DREAZEN
WASHINGTON -- The Army is launching a new war against an old foe: the lingering problem of sexual violence within the military.
Ellen Waignwright
Ellen Wainwright, at right, in Iraq
Last month, 80 high-ranking generals gathered at a hotel in Alexandria, Va., for a mandatory, weeklong summit devoted to combating the crime. In a Sept. 22 essay in Army Times, Army Secretary Pete Geren and Gen. George Casey, the service's chief of staff, said it was "repugnant to everything a soldier stands for" and promised a "zero tolerance" policy for harassment or assault.
The approach comes in direct response to a batch of new Pentagon data indicating that 2.6 soldiers per 1,000 reported a sexual assault last year. In the Marine Corps and Navy, it was 1.1 per 1,000; in the Air Force, 1.6 per 1,000. The Army began tracking the numbers only in 2006, and officials say they don't have enough comparable data to determine whether the problem is getting worse over time.
Army leaders hope a major change in their strategy for combating these acts of violence can bring the numbers down. The service has long focused on dealing with the aftermath of an assault. Now it will try to prevent the crime from occurring in the first place.
The centerpiece of the new effort -- known as "I AM Strong," with the I AM standing for "intervene, act, motivate" -- is a call for soldiers to confront peers who are abusing alcohol or exhibiting other possible harbingers of an assault, such as making suggestive comments. The Army also wants soldiers to alert higher-ranking personnel if their colleagues' behavior doesn't improve.
"We're trying to change the culture," said Carolyn Collins, the program manager for the Army's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program. "We want soldiers to look for red flags and take steps to address them before they turn into something serious."
An August 2008 Government Accountability Report found that the military's efforts to combat sexual violence had been hampered by a lack of support from some senior commanders and by a shortage of qualified mental-health professionals.
The survey found that 103 service members at 14 military installations said they had been assaulted within the preceding 12 months. But only 51 of the victims reported the crime to the authorities, with the remainder worrying that coming forward would hurt their careers, according to the report.
"Most people keep quiet because they don't want to believe it happened to them or because they're scared of what will happen if they speak up," said Susan Avila-Smith, an Army veteran who runs Women Organizing Women, an advocacy group.
Ellen Wainwright, a former medic, says a higher-ranking enlisted soldier forced her into his room on a large U.S. base near Baghdad in early 2006 and raped her. Afterward, he warned her not to tell anyone. Ms. Wainwright kept quiet for two months and says he raped and sodomized her repeatedly before she finally chose to speak out.
In April 2006, she gave a sworn affidavit to agents from the Army's Criminal Investigation Command. She was sent back to the U.S. on emergency leave. A few days later, Army officials told her she was being involuntarily discharged for psychological reasons. Ms. Wainwright says it was retribution for speaking up.
go here for more
http://wsj.com/article/SB122298757937200069.html
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Twice Betrayed: Women Veterans and Military Sexual Trauma
I started a group over on YouTube
Speaking out on PTSD
Videos: 16 Members: 6 0 Discussions
PTSD is a wound. No one would be ashamed of a bullet wound. Why be ashamed of this wound? End the silence and break the stigma.
The videos in this group are about PTSD with the bulk of them, PTSD from combat.
Two of the videos on this group are about women at war and afterwards.
The Voice Women At War09:49
From:NamGuardianAngelViews: 709
Women At War08:02
From:NamGuardianAngelViews: 8,838
I am what people call empathic because I can get into the pain others feel.
This annoyed the hell out of my husband until he finally got used to it. It came out one day early in our relationship. He got really angry "How dare you get into my world? You weren't there! I was!" I told him that he's the one who opened the door to let me in. I didn't ask to get into his world, into the pain, into the sadness any more than I asked for the rest of what came with entering.
For the following post from Lily over at Healing Combat Trauma to really sink in, just for this moment, try to be empathic. Close your eyes for a second and then pretend you were willing to die for the sake of your country. You trained to do the job you would need to do in Vietnam, in Kuwait, in Afghanistan or in Iraq. You live, eat, train with the men who were also willing to lay down their lives for the same country. The warrior ethos reverberates in your ears. You know you can trust those you serve with, with your life, but what you can't do is to trust them with your honor. You cannot trust them to not view you as an object. You know you can trust most of them but things have gotten so out of control, you wonder who is sizing you up next to other women so they can attack you and rape you.
This has been a problem in the military for a very long time. It's not just the attacks or the harassment a few in the military inflict, because of what is not reported in the media enough. Women stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, in over 100 degrees of heat, stop drinking fluids early in the day. This damages their body as they dehydrate. Why are they doing this? To avoid having to go to the latrine in the middle of the night. They are that fearful of attacks. It's one thing to have to fear being attacked by the enemy or a roadside bomb. It's another to have to fear the others who have your life in their hands as well as weapons to use against you. This is a very serious problem and needs serious attention. Rape is a crime and should be treated like it but rape in the military should be treated as more severe than in civilian life. If you have any empathy in you at all, can picture yourself in the same position then pick up the phone and contact your congressman or congresswoman. They are all home now and need to hear from you.
Speaking out on PTSD
Videos: 16 Members: 6 0 Discussions
PTSD is a wound. No one would be ashamed of a bullet wound. Why be ashamed of this wound? End the silence and break the stigma.
The videos in this group are about PTSD with the bulk of them, PTSD from combat.
Two of the videos on this group are about women at war and afterwards.
The Voice Women At War09:49
From:NamGuardianAngelViews: 709
Women At War08:02
From:NamGuardianAngelViews: 8,838
I am what people call empathic because I can get into the pain others feel.
Main Entry: em·pa·thy
Function: noun
Pronunciation: 'em-p&-the
Etymology: Greek empatheia, literally, passion, from empathes emotional, from em- + pathos feelings, emotion -- more at PATHOS
1 : the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it
2 : the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner ; also : the capacity for this
This annoyed the hell out of my husband until he finally got used to it. It came out one day early in our relationship. He got really angry "How dare you get into my world? You weren't there! I was!" I told him that he's the one who opened the door to let me in. I didn't ask to get into his world, into the pain, into the sadness any more than I asked for the rest of what came with entering.
For the following post from Lily over at Healing Combat Trauma to really sink in, just for this moment, try to be empathic. Close your eyes for a second and then pretend you were willing to die for the sake of your country. You trained to do the job you would need to do in Vietnam, in Kuwait, in Afghanistan or in Iraq. You live, eat, train with the men who were also willing to lay down their lives for the same country. The warrior ethos reverberates in your ears. You know you can trust those you serve with, with your life, but what you can't do is to trust them with your honor. You cannot trust them to not view you as an object. You know you can trust most of them but things have gotten so out of control, you wonder who is sizing you up next to other women so they can attack you and rape you.
This has been a problem in the military for a very long time. It's not just the attacks or the harassment a few in the military inflict, because of what is not reported in the media enough. Women stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, in over 100 degrees of heat, stop drinking fluids early in the day. This damages their body as they dehydrate. Why are they doing this? To avoid having to go to the latrine in the middle of the night. They are that fearful of attacks. It's one thing to have to fear being attacked by the enemy or a roadside bomb. It's another to have to fear the others who have your life in their hands as well as weapons to use against you. This is a very serious problem and needs serious attention. Rape is a crime and should be treated like it but rape in the military should be treated as more severe than in civilian life. If you have any empathy in you at all, can picture yourself in the same position then pick up the phone and contact your congressman or congresswoman. They are all home now and need to hear from you.
August 07, 2008
Twice Betrayed: Women Veterans and Military Sexual Trauma
It's my deep-seated belief that women veterans who suffer military sexual trauma risk being twice betrayed: once by their perpetrator in uniform, once by the system itself, which should be doing a much better job of protecting them from a problem that's too apparent, widespread, and part of the actual culture to pretend that it doesn't exist.
See Jeff Benedict on this:
"But an occupation that thrives on a unique capacity for aggression among participants runs the risk of being a home for troubled men who cannot contain their rage against the opposite sex." -- Jeff Benedict, author of "Public Heroes, Private Felons"
Preventing Psychological Injury, Betrayal and Trauma: The Real “Costs” and “Treatment” of Military Sexual Trauma
Sometimes I think I miss the point on some of these blog posts: I’m too busy trying to set the stage and establish the “milieu” so that a thoughtful person can absorb it all and come away with a new outlook or two on a “same old” problem. But maybe I’m failing to come right out and say what I’m really thinking, and God knows enough people are floundering around on this topic who shouldn’t be, so maybe I just will. Here goes the suddenly editorial portion of our program:
We heard Jonathan Shay, M.D., Ph.D., pretty much the foremost expert nationally on veterans and PTSD, talk the other day about the “psychological injury” that troops are exposed to from lack of sleep, before and after combat, and how that sets them up for significant problems. True; agreed; understood. What we’re talking about here with women in the military and military sexual trauma is a similar thing: preventing and treating what is a grievous psychological injury – and one like what Shay talks about, something where the proverbial “ounce of prevention” is worth the “pound of cure.” Shay is remarkable: he’s one of a kind. There’s probably no better advocate for veterans in the country, although anyone who works with veterans from the heart is worthy of great honor. It’s a pretty much unsung, undervalued calling.
go here for more
http://www.healingcombattrauma.com/2008/08/twice-
betrayed-women-veterans-and-military-sexual-trauma-1.html
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
McCain Clueless On Women In The Military
Women's combat roles are likely to be on next president's agenda
John McCain, after his release as a POW, said only men belong in battle. He stands by his record.
By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 27, 2008
Soon after the Gulf War in 1991, a group of military women pressed Congress to allow female pilots to fly combat missions. But a Vietnam War hero in the Senate, John McCain, pushed back hard.
"The purpose of the military is first to defend this nation's vital security interests throughout the globe and only second to ensure equality," the Arizona Republican argued on the Senate floor, framing the issue in a way that infuriated feminists.
McCain lost that legislative battle, and women pilots started moving into combat roles in the mid-1990s. In the last five years in Iraq, women have flown hundreds of combat missions. And though they remain barred from ground combat units, women -- who make up about 15% of the military -- are playing a bigger fighting role than ever. About 100 have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The drive to eliminate gender distinctions in the military appears to be entering a new phase, with debate likely to come to a head within a few years. The next president, whether presumptive GOP nominee McCain or a Democrat, almost certainly will face the question of women in combat.
Policymakers would need to confront societal taboos against putting women in jeopardy, including the risk of rape that captured female soldiers commonly face. They also would have to tackle such issues as whether women could be involuntarily assigned to the infantry or required to register for the draft.
Democratic presidential contenders Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York -- neither of whom has a track record on the issue -- declined to comment on their positions.
McCain's aides said only that he stood by his past positions, suggesting that he would resist pressures for change.
In the 1991 debate over women pilots, McCain took a traditionalist stance. "This nation has existed for over 215 years," McCain said. "At no time in the history of our nation have women been in combat roles."
go here for more
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-militarywomen27-2008may27,0,5521290.story
Oh really?
Sybil Ludington
A profile of Sybil Ludington highlighting her heroic 1777 ride to raise militia troops to stop the British advance.
Margaret Cochran Corbin
She fought in the American Revolution alongside her husband, continued fighting when her husband was killed, and was awarded a half-pension for her injuries and service.
Deborah Samson
Canton, Massachusetts, Historical Society on the official heroine of the state of Massachusetts.
Who was Deborah Samson? Why was she designated the Official State Heroine? And why, in 1985 did the prestigious United States Capitol Historical Society issue a commemorative medal in her honor?
Schoolmarm Deborah Samson was never mentioned among the beauties of her day when the topic of female pulchritude arose in the decorous social circles of Plympton and Middleborough, Massachusetts in the 1770's; but Private Robert Shurtliff was always mentioned in glowing terms as being one of the toughest, strongest, and most patriotic soldiers in the Massachusetts Fourth Regiment at the 1782 and 1783 campfires and taprooms of what is now known as West Point, New York. Shurtliff's physical endurance was legendary.
What no one suspected for quite a while, except possibly a tactful clergyman in Bellingham, Massachusetts, was that Deborah and Robert were one and the same person. And what a gal she was!
More Women of the Revolution from "Daughters of America",1849 and"Women of the Revolution" 1882:
There is the little known story of Rachel and Grace Martin who disguised themselves as men and assailed a British courier and his guards. They took his important dispatches, which they speedily forwarded to General Greene. Then they released the two officers who didn't even know that they were women.
Then there is Anna Warner, wife of Captain Elijah Bailey, who earned the title of "The Heroine of Groton" because of her fearless efforts to aid the wounded on the occasion of the terrible massacre at Fort Griswald in Connecticut.
Anna Bailey went from house to house collecting material for bandages for the soldiers. Incidentally she denied ever having used the coarse and profane expressions ever attributed to her.
Margaret Corbin stepped up to the artillery during the attack on Fort Washington when her husband fell by her side and unhesitatingly took his place and performed his duties. In July of 1779 the Congress awarded her a pension for her heroism - and a suit of clothes. (see above)
Angelica Vrooman, during the heat of battle, sat calmly in a tent with a bullet mould, some lead and an iron spoon, moulding bullets for the rangers.
Mary Hagidorn, upon hearing the order by a Captain Hager, for the women and children to retire to the long cellar, said: "Captain, I shall not go to that cellar should the enemy come. I will take a spear which I can use as well as any man and help defend the fort." The captain seeing her determination answered "then take a spear,Mary, and be ready at the pickets to repel an attack." She cheerfully obeyed and held the spear at the pickets till hurrahs for the American flag burst on her ear and told that all was safe.
Did you know that women were torpedoed off the coast of Africa during WWII? Did you know that when Gen MacArthur returned to the Phillipines, Navy nurses were waiting for him on shore and were cut out of the press photos? Did you know that there were women prisoners of war? These pages will continue to light more candles that reflect the deeds and accomplishments of military women...in hopes that future generations will remember that during every conflict Women Were There !!!
Pre Revolutionary Days - 1600s
During King Philip's War in 1675 women leaders of Native American tribes helped the colonists defend their settlements. One was Awashonka, squaw sachem of the Saconnet in Rhode Island.
In 1697 a Massachusetts settler, Hannah Duston, from the town of Haverhill, was captured by Abnaki Indians who were fighting for Canada. After an arduous hundred mile trek, while resting on an island in New Hampshire, Hannah decided that she was not going to be tortured or killed in Canada. With the help of a young boy who had been captured earlier, and Mary Neff who had been captured with her, she stole the Indians tomahawks and in a daring nighttime attack the three prisoners managed to kill ten of their captors. They stole a canoe, scuttled the rest, and escaped taking with them the scalps of their victims as proof of their story. The first monument, commemorating the fame of a woman, to be erected in the United States was one to Hannah Duston, dedicated on June 1, 1861, in Haverhill
The War of 1812
The USS CONSTITUTION met and defeated HMS GUERRIERE, the first in a grand succession of victories in the War of 1812. It was during this ferocious battle that the seamen, astonished at the way the British cannonballs were bouncing off the Constitution's hull, cried out - "Her sides are made of iron!"; Thus, her nickname, "Old Ironsides." What was not known at the time was the fact that a U.S. Marine, serving aboard Old Ironsides, as George Baker, was actually Lucy Brewer. Eventually the Marine Corps reluctantly acknowledged that Lucy Brewer was in fact the very first woman marine. It would be over one hundred years before the Marine Corps seriously began to recruit women - August 1918 - to be specific.
Mexican American War - 1846
Sarah Borginis The Mrs' Borginis and Foley enlisted with their husbands into the 8th calvary at the Jefferson Barracks, Mo. Sarah became the principal cook at Fort Brown (Fort Texas) and stayed on the job when General Taylor moved most of his troops to the mouth of the Rio Grande. However, when the Mexicans began bombarding Fort Texas, (Fort Brown) from their positions at Matamoros, she was isssued a musket. It's said she took an active part in the ensuing fray, never missing a target or preparing a meal. Gen. Zachary Taylor breveted her to colonel, making her the first female colonel of the U.S.Army. She moved to El Paso and opened a hotel. For years it was a favorite stop of '49ers heading for the California gold fields. She later moved to Arizona and ran a Yuma saloon until her death in 1866. Col. Borginis was buried at Fort Yuma with full Military Honors - the first woman to be a ranking U.S.Army officer.
The Civil War - 1860s
Many stories have been written about unique Civil War women, including Sarah Emma Edmonds, alias Franklin Thompson. In Nurse and Spy in the Union Army, 1865, Historians have verified that Emma Edmonds, as Franklin Thompson, did serve in the units she mentioned at the times she said.
Another fairly well known story is that of Jennie Hodgers who served and fought for three years as Albert Cashier. Her identity wasn't revealed until 1913.
The trials and tribulations of Lt Harry T. Buford, Confederate Officer,later found to be Madam Loreta Velazquez, have also been recorded. And historical records verify the fact that over sixty women were either wounded or killed at various battles during the Civil War.
Perhaps the most poignant story about women in the Civil War is one told in the book Women in War , 1866, by Frank Moore. In 1863, at age 19, a woman known only as Emily, ran away from home and joined the drum corps of a Michigan Regiment. The regiment was sent to Tennessee and during the struggle for Chatanooga a minie ball pierced the side of the young soldier. Her wound was fatal and her sex was disclosed. At first she refused to disclose her real name but as she lay dying she consented to dictate a telegram to her father in Brooklyn. Forgive your dying daughter. I have but a few moments to live. My native soil drinks my blood. I expected to deliver my country but the fates would not have it so. I am content to die. Pray forgive me...... Emily.
Did you know that a woman was awarded the congressional Medal of Honor?
Dr Mary Walker, a surgeon in the Civil War, was awarded the nation's highest honor by President Andrew Johnson. The citation reads, in part, Whereas it appears from official reports that Dr. Mary E. Walker, a graduate of medicine, has rendered valuable service to the government, and her efforts have been earnest and untiring in a variety of ways, and that she was assigned to duty and served as an assistant surgeon in charge of female prisoners at Louisville, KY., under the recommendation of Major-Generals Sherman and Thomas, and faithfully served as contract surgeon in the service of the United states, and has devoted herself with much patriotic zeal to the sick and wounded soldiers, both in the field and hospitals, to the detriment of her own health, and has endured hardships as a prisoner of war four months in a southern prison while acting as contract surgeon....Dr. Walker was an early suffragette, one of the earliest women physicians, a champion for more comfortable clothing for women and a pioneer for women in many areas that we take for granted today.
The Spanish American War - 1898
In 1898 when Teddy went charging up San Juan Hill, after the Battleship Maine blew up in Havana Harbor, sanitary conditions for the wounded soldiers were deplorable. There were typhoid fever epidemics in the camps and few qualified medical personnel. Congress quickly authorized the U.S. Army to procure female nurses but not with military status. They were hired as civilians under contract and over one thousand women were recruited to serve - for thirty dollars a month.
From 1898 to 1901 more than 1500 women served in the states, overseas, and on a U.S. Hospital ship. Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee was instrumental in the recruiting of these women and continued to argue for nurses as a permanent part of the military. When Dr. McGee became Acting Assistant Surgeon General in charge of a new Nurse Corps Division she drafted the necessary legislation to begin the process of giving nurses some sort of military status. Yet they had no rank, equal pay, or benefits. Women in the miltary still had a long way to go.
World War One - 1914-1918
In 1901 and 1908 the establishment of the Army and Navy Nurse Corps opened the door for women in the military but ever so slightly. It wasn't until the United States got involved in World War One that some parts of the government got serious about using woman power. As the Army stumbled around bureaucratic red tape trying to figure out how to enlist women the Navy simply ignored the War Department dissenters and quickly recruited women. Nearly 13,000 women enlisted in the Navy and the Marine Corps on the same status as men and wore a uniform blouse with insignia.
These were the first women in the U.S to be officially admitted to full military rank and status. Nurses who served were in Belgium, Italy, England and on troop trains and transport ships. Army and Navy Nurse Corps women served valiantly throughout the war, many received decorations for their service.
At least three Army nurses were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nations' second highest military honor. Several received the Distinguished Service Medal, our highest noncombat award, and over twenty were awarded the French Croix de Guerre. Nurses were wounded, and several died overseas and are buried in military cemeteries far from home.
Thirty thousand women served their country in the Army and Navy Nurse Corps, the Navy as Yeoman (F), the Marines, and the Coast Guard in WWI.
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/collections/military/timeline1.html
Oh yes but then there were even more but McCain would know that if he really wanted to have a clue about what he's talking about. It's not like it would be hard. All he has to do is watch my video The Voice, Women At War and know what a rich history they have had.
John McCain, after his release as a POW, said only men belong in battle. He stands by his record.
By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 27, 2008
Soon after the Gulf War in 1991, a group of military women pressed Congress to allow female pilots to fly combat missions. But a Vietnam War hero in the Senate, John McCain, pushed back hard.
"The purpose of the military is first to defend this nation's vital security interests throughout the globe and only second to ensure equality," the Arizona Republican argued on the Senate floor, framing the issue in a way that infuriated feminists.
McCain lost that legislative battle, and women pilots started moving into combat roles in the mid-1990s. In the last five years in Iraq, women have flown hundreds of combat missions. And though they remain barred from ground combat units, women -- who make up about 15% of the military -- are playing a bigger fighting role than ever. About 100 have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The drive to eliminate gender distinctions in the military appears to be entering a new phase, with debate likely to come to a head within a few years. The next president, whether presumptive GOP nominee McCain or a Democrat, almost certainly will face the question of women in combat.
Policymakers would need to confront societal taboos against putting women in jeopardy, including the risk of rape that captured female soldiers commonly face. They also would have to tackle such issues as whether women could be involuntarily assigned to the infantry or required to register for the draft.
Democratic presidential contenders Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York -- neither of whom has a track record on the issue -- declined to comment on their positions.
McCain's aides said only that he stood by his past positions, suggesting that he would resist pressures for change.
In the 1991 debate over women pilots, McCain took a traditionalist stance. "This nation has existed for over 215 years," McCain said. "At no time in the history of our nation have women been in combat roles."
go here for more
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-militarywomen27-2008may27,0,5521290.story
Oh really?
Sybil Ludington
A profile of Sybil Ludington highlighting her heroic 1777 ride to raise militia troops to stop the British advance.
Margaret Cochran Corbin
She fought in the American Revolution alongside her husband, continued fighting when her husband was killed, and was awarded a half-pension for her injuries and service.
Deborah Samson
Canton, Massachusetts, Historical Society on the official heroine of the state of Massachusetts.
Who was Deborah Samson? Why was she designated the Official State Heroine? And why, in 1985 did the prestigious United States Capitol Historical Society issue a commemorative medal in her honor?
Schoolmarm Deborah Samson was never mentioned among the beauties of her day when the topic of female pulchritude arose in the decorous social circles of Plympton and Middleborough, Massachusetts in the 1770's; but Private Robert Shurtliff was always mentioned in glowing terms as being one of the toughest, strongest, and most patriotic soldiers in the Massachusetts Fourth Regiment at the 1782 and 1783 campfires and taprooms of what is now known as West Point, New York. Shurtliff's physical endurance was legendary.
What no one suspected for quite a while, except possibly a tactful clergyman in Bellingham, Massachusetts, was that Deborah and Robert were one and the same person. And what a gal she was!
More Women of the Revolution from "Daughters of America",1849 and"Women of the Revolution" 1882:
There is the little known story of Rachel and Grace Martin who disguised themselves as men and assailed a British courier and his guards. They took his important dispatches, which they speedily forwarded to General Greene. Then they released the two officers who didn't even know that they were women.
Then there is Anna Warner, wife of Captain Elijah Bailey, who earned the title of "The Heroine of Groton" because of her fearless efforts to aid the wounded on the occasion of the terrible massacre at Fort Griswald in Connecticut.
Anna Bailey went from house to house collecting material for bandages for the soldiers. Incidentally she denied ever having used the coarse and profane expressions ever attributed to her.
Margaret Corbin stepped up to the artillery during the attack on Fort Washington when her husband fell by her side and unhesitatingly took his place and performed his duties. In July of 1779 the Congress awarded her a pension for her heroism - and a suit of clothes. (see above)
Angelica Vrooman, during the heat of battle, sat calmly in a tent with a bullet mould, some lead and an iron spoon, moulding bullets for the rangers.
Mary Hagidorn, upon hearing the order by a Captain Hager, for the women and children to retire to the long cellar, said: "Captain, I shall not go to that cellar should the enemy come. I will take a spear which I can use as well as any man and help defend the fort." The captain seeing her determination answered "then take a spear,Mary, and be ready at the pickets to repel an attack." She cheerfully obeyed and held the spear at the pickets till hurrahs for the American flag burst on her ear and told that all was safe.
Did you know that women were torpedoed off the coast of Africa during WWII? Did you know that when Gen MacArthur returned to the Phillipines, Navy nurses were waiting for him on shore and were cut out of the press photos? Did you know that there were women prisoners of war? These pages will continue to light more candles that reflect the deeds and accomplishments of military women...in hopes that future generations will remember that during every conflict Women Were There !!!
Pre Revolutionary Days - 1600s
During King Philip's War in 1675 women leaders of Native American tribes helped the colonists defend their settlements. One was Awashonka, squaw sachem of the Saconnet in Rhode Island.
In 1697 a Massachusetts settler, Hannah Duston, from the town of Haverhill, was captured by Abnaki Indians who were fighting for Canada. After an arduous hundred mile trek, while resting on an island in New Hampshire, Hannah decided that she was not going to be tortured or killed in Canada. With the help of a young boy who had been captured earlier, and Mary Neff who had been captured with her, she stole the Indians tomahawks and in a daring nighttime attack the three prisoners managed to kill ten of their captors. They stole a canoe, scuttled the rest, and escaped taking with them the scalps of their victims as proof of their story. The first monument, commemorating the fame of a woman, to be erected in the United States was one to Hannah Duston, dedicated on June 1, 1861, in Haverhill
The War of 1812
The USS CONSTITUTION met and defeated HMS GUERRIERE, the first in a grand succession of victories in the War of 1812. It was during this ferocious battle that the seamen, astonished at the way the British cannonballs were bouncing off the Constitution's hull, cried out - "Her sides are made of iron!"; Thus, her nickname, "Old Ironsides." What was not known at the time was the fact that a U.S. Marine, serving aboard Old Ironsides, as George Baker, was actually Lucy Brewer. Eventually the Marine Corps reluctantly acknowledged that Lucy Brewer was in fact the very first woman marine. It would be over one hundred years before the Marine Corps seriously began to recruit women - August 1918 - to be specific.
Mexican American War - 1846
Sarah Borginis The Mrs' Borginis and Foley enlisted with their husbands into the 8th calvary at the Jefferson Barracks, Mo. Sarah became the principal cook at Fort Brown (Fort Texas) and stayed on the job when General Taylor moved most of his troops to the mouth of the Rio Grande. However, when the Mexicans began bombarding Fort Texas, (Fort Brown) from their positions at Matamoros, she was isssued a musket. It's said she took an active part in the ensuing fray, never missing a target or preparing a meal. Gen. Zachary Taylor breveted her to colonel, making her the first female colonel of the U.S.Army. She moved to El Paso and opened a hotel. For years it was a favorite stop of '49ers heading for the California gold fields. She later moved to Arizona and ran a Yuma saloon until her death in 1866. Col. Borginis was buried at Fort Yuma with full Military Honors - the first woman to be a ranking U.S.Army officer.
The Civil War - 1860s
Many stories have been written about unique Civil War women, including Sarah Emma Edmonds, alias Franklin Thompson. In Nurse and Spy in the Union Army, 1865, Historians have verified that Emma Edmonds, as Franklin Thompson, did serve in the units she mentioned at the times she said.
Another fairly well known story is that of Jennie Hodgers who served and fought for three years as Albert Cashier. Her identity wasn't revealed until 1913.
The trials and tribulations of Lt Harry T. Buford, Confederate Officer,later found to be Madam Loreta Velazquez, have also been recorded. And historical records verify the fact that over sixty women were either wounded or killed at various battles during the Civil War.
Perhaps the most poignant story about women in the Civil War is one told in the book Women in War , 1866, by Frank Moore. In 1863, at age 19, a woman known only as Emily, ran away from home and joined the drum corps of a Michigan Regiment. The regiment was sent to Tennessee and during the struggle for Chatanooga a minie ball pierced the side of the young soldier. Her wound was fatal and her sex was disclosed. At first she refused to disclose her real name but as she lay dying she consented to dictate a telegram to her father in Brooklyn. Forgive your dying daughter. I have but a few moments to live. My native soil drinks my blood. I expected to deliver my country but the fates would not have it so. I am content to die. Pray forgive me...... Emily.
Did you know that a woman was awarded the congressional Medal of Honor?
Dr Mary Walker, a surgeon in the Civil War, was awarded the nation's highest honor by President Andrew Johnson. The citation reads, in part, Whereas it appears from official reports that Dr. Mary E. Walker, a graduate of medicine, has rendered valuable service to the government, and her efforts have been earnest and untiring in a variety of ways, and that she was assigned to duty and served as an assistant surgeon in charge of female prisoners at Louisville, KY., under the recommendation of Major-Generals Sherman and Thomas, and faithfully served as contract surgeon in the service of the United states, and has devoted herself with much patriotic zeal to the sick and wounded soldiers, both in the field and hospitals, to the detriment of her own health, and has endured hardships as a prisoner of war four months in a southern prison while acting as contract surgeon....Dr. Walker was an early suffragette, one of the earliest women physicians, a champion for more comfortable clothing for women and a pioneer for women in many areas that we take for granted today.
The Spanish American War - 1898
In 1898 when Teddy went charging up San Juan Hill, after the Battleship Maine blew up in Havana Harbor, sanitary conditions for the wounded soldiers were deplorable. There were typhoid fever epidemics in the camps and few qualified medical personnel. Congress quickly authorized the U.S. Army to procure female nurses but not with military status. They were hired as civilians under contract and over one thousand women were recruited to serve - for thirty dollars a month.
From 1898 to 1901 more than 1500 women served in the states, overseas, and on a U.S. Hospital ship. Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee was instrumental in the recruiting of these women and continued to argue for nurses as a permanent part of the military. When Dr. McGee became Acting Assistant Surgeon General in charge of a new Nurse Corps Division she drafted the necessary legislation to begin the process of giving nurses some sort of military status. Yet they had no rank, equal pay, or benefits. Women in the miltary still had a long way to go.
World War One - 1914-1918
In 1901 and 1908 the establishment of the Army and Navy Nurse Corps opened the door for women in the military but ever so slightly. It wasn't until the United States got involved in World War One that some parts of the government got serious about using woman power. As the Army stumbled around bureaucratic red tape trying to figure out how to enlist women the Navy simply ignored the War Department dissenters and quickly recruited women. Nearly 13,000 women enlisted in the Navy and the Marine Corps on the same status as men and wore a uniform blouse with insignia.
These were the first women in the U.S to be officially admitted to full military rank and status. Nurses who served were in Belgium, Italy, England and on troop trains and transport ships. Army and Navy Nurse Corps women served valiantly throughout the war, many received decorations for their service.
At least three Army nurses were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nations' second highest military honor. Several received the Distinguished Service Medal, our highest noncombat award, and over twenty were awarded the French Croix de Guerre. Nurses were wounded, and several died overseas and are buried in military cemeteries far from home.
Thirty thousand women served their country in the Army and Navy Nurse Corps, the Navy as Yeoman (F), the Marines, and the Coast Guard in WWI.
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/collections/military/timeline1.html
Oh yes but then there were even more but McCain would know that if he really wanted to have a clue about what he's talking about. It's not like it would be hard. All he has to do is watch my video The Voice, Women At War and know what a rich history they have had.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Invisible Scars Affect 7,000 Birmingham Vets
Invisible Scars Affect 7,000 Birmingham Vets
by Mike McClanahan
CBS 42 News
2008-04-22 23:43:36.0
"We had quite a few Marines that committed suicide or killed their wives,"said Al Murphy. The Veterans Service Advocate knows how memories can bubble to the surface years after an incident and send someones life into a tail spin. He served during the Vietnam War, but was also part of 14 Cold War combat patrols in a submarine.
"Here I sit now and I was in that situation some years ago, that I was able to cock the pistol and pull the trigger, but due to actually to the doctors here at this Birmingham VA hospital are what really saved my life," said Al Murphy.
Medication and group therapy helped Murphy cope with his crisis. Now, he wants to encourage other veterans to seek help.
Dr. Bill Beidleman with the Birmingham VA Medical Center says advances in medical science have dramatically increased a soldier's odds of surviving physical wounds, but they have also increased the number of veterans living with psychological trauma.
"A lot people forget that this is a war where because of medical care and evacuation we're taking horribly injured people with just unbelievably severe injuries to their limbs, to their head, to their necks, to their torsos and they're living. They're going to be in Germany in 24 hours, they can be in the United States in 48 hours, they can be in surgery in a few hours, and they can be stabilized in minutes," said Dr. Beidleman.
Dr. Beidleman is the Assistant Chief of Mental Health at the VA and also Professor of Psychology at UAB. He said PTSD has had many names in its poorly understood past. "It was called war stress, combat neurosis, shell shock, anxiety disorder now it's called post traumatic stress disorder,"said Dr. Beidleman.
And he said for the first time many of the warriors returning from combat with PTSD are women.
(see below on this part)
"Female warriors, these are women who are in combat roles and they are firing weapons every day," said Dr. Bill Beidleman.
On top of that, doctors are also seeing an increase in veterans of other wars.
"They may be exposed to a lot of those stressors.They may see their best friends blown up, but yet they may come out of the service go right to work work for 30 years, some work for 40 years, retire, and at that point we see their PTSD symptoms get dramatically worse. And it's because they have time on their hands," said Dr. Beidleman.
But the good news is more veterans are seeking help.
"I think their is less stigma now. I think people are more likely to come forward and say not only have I been physically damaged by my service in Iraq or Afghanistan, but I've been psychologically damaged," said Dr. Bill Beidleman.
The number of new post traumatic stress disorder cases is expected to keep rising.In response the Birmingham VA Medical Center has tripled its mental health staff from 30 to 90 people. And construction is underway on a new building dedicated solely to mental rehabilitation.
Beidleman adds that today there are off-the-record resources for veterans seeking mental health treatment.
"We do have places called veterans' readjustment centers which are not affiliated with the hospital. Nobody will ever see you walk in the hospital doors. Yet, you can go to these vet centers and you can be treated for PTSD, for depression, for mental health problems without having to officially sign up at this hospital for treatment," said Dr. Beidleman.
http://www.cbs42.com/news/local/18036194.html
Ok, I'm really wondering if Dr. Beidleman is aware of how many females came back from Vietnam with PTSD considering they did.
Am J Public Health. 1997 February; 87(2): 169–175.
Posttraumatic stress disorder among female Vietnam veterans: a causal model of etiology.
A Fontana, L S Schwartz, and R Rosenheck
Veterans Affairs Northeast Program Evaluation Center, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, Conn 06516, USA.
This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.
AbstractOBJECTIVES: The Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars have awakened people to the realization that military service can be traumatizing for women as well as men. This study investigated the etiological roles of both war and sexual trauma in the development of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder among female Vietnam veterans. METHODS: Data from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study for 396 Vietnam theater women and 250 Vietnam era women were analyzed with structural equation modeling. RESULTS: An etiological model with highly satisfactory fit and parsimony was developed. Exposure to war trauma contributed to the probability of posttraumatic stress disorder in theater women, as did sexual trauma in both theater and era women. Lack of social support at the time of homecoming acted as a powerful mediator of trauma for both groups of women. CONCLUSIONS: Within the constraints and assumptions of causal modeling, there is evidence that both war trauma and sexual trauma are powerful contributors to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder among female Vietnam veterans.
Full text
Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (1.5M), or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Links to PubMed are also available for Selected References.
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
Furey JA. Post-traumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans. For some the war rages on. Am J Nurs. 1982 Nov;82(11):1694–1696. [PubMed]
Norman EM. Post-traumatic stress disorder in military nurses who served in Vietnam during the war years 1965-1973. Mil Med. 1988 May;153(5):238–242. [PubMed]
Fontana A, Rosenheck R. Posttraumatic stress disorder among Vietnam Theater Veterans. A causal model of etiology in a community sample. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1994 Dec;182(12):677–684. [PubMed]
Kessler RC, Sonnega A, Bromet E, Hughes M, Nelson CB. Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1995 Dec;52(12):1048–1060. [PubMed]
Bentler PM. Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychol Bull. 1990 Mar;107(2):238–246. [PubMed]
Lebowitz L, Roth S. "I felt like a slut": the cultural context and women's response to being raped. J Trauma Stress. 1994 Jul;7(3):363–390. [PubMed]
True WR, Rice J, Eisen SA, Heath AC, Goldberg J, Lyons MJ, Nowak J. A twin study of genetic and environmental contributions to liability for posttraumatic stress symptoms. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1993 Apr;50(4):257–264. [PubMed]
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1380789
PTSD in female veterans is not new. It has not changed much since the first days women went to war and if you watched my video The Voice, Women At War, you know what I'm taling about. Is it harder on today's female warriors? No and it is one more reason the "experts" should have been paying attention to all of them! The only difference now is there are a lot more of them serving today. In other words, more to need help but less help for them to receive.
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