Women Veterans Excel in War Zones but Must 'Prove Themselves' Back Home

The NYTimes reports that women are emerging as equal to men, in managing the horrors and stress of serving in Iraq and other military combat zones.

“Female soldiers are actually handling and dealing with the stress of combat as well as male soldiers are,” said Col. Carl Castro, director of the Military Operational Research Program at the Department of Defense. “When I look at the data, I see nothing to counter that point.” via NYTimes

That’s the good news for women … we’re tough. Perhaps too tough, in terms of life after the homecoming.

For a variety of reasons — including not wanting to be perceived as “weak females”, women wait years to seek therapy for post-traumatic stress.

Society, too, is not kind to returning women soldiers. Indeed, at home, after completing important jobs in war, women with the disorder often smack up against old-fashioned ignorance: male veterans and friends who do not recognize them as “real soldiers”; husbands who have little patience with their avoidance of intimacy; and a society that expects them to be feminine nurturers, not the nurtured. via NYTimes

I recommend that all women read this article: A Combat Role, and Anguish, Too. Honestly, I don’t know what to say.

I find this article very stressful, even though I have no rose-colored glasses, when it comes to matters of war. For years I “walked on water” to help Vietnam vets publish a newspaper, so I have experience talking long and hard on these subjects.

How our Vietnam vets were received back home has always troubled me deeply. My sense today is that we have much more respect for our current returning soldiers, so I regret reading the details of this excellent article.

One cannot magic-wand away the price that our women veterans are paying for their military service. But we can convey our gratefulness and also our support, in creating an environment where they don’t have to “prove themselves” as victims equal to men in communities, their families or in America at large. That is nonsense.

Do not hesitate to contact me, if you wish to write about your experience. I am so sorry. Anne

Update on Sun, November 1, 2009 by Anne

The Boston Globe ran its own story yesterday about the challenges of women veterans. Read For these women veterans, a home to call their own.

Comments

[Aimee]

Thank you for writing this. :o) Please don't feel like you need to apologize for other people's ignorance or stupidity when it comes to how they view female veterans or those with PTSD. I didn't fight for them. I really didn't. I'm not the person who says, "I fought for your right to say that."

I went to ground zero on veteran's day. I looked at a wall on the side of the fire station at ground zero. I looked at the disheartening amount of names of the fallen firefighters. That is why I am okay with carrying PTSD. I didn't go to Iraq so some jackass could belittle me or that he would have the right to. I went because those were my brother and sister Americans who deserved a voice.

[Anne]

Thank you Aimee for writing. I live at Ground Zero and understand your sentiments. Nevertheless, the jack guy you refer to -- and all like him -- continue to aggravate the heck out of me, given the extreme sacrifices made by our tropps. I'd like to drop him and his friends (male and female) into Taliban country for about 24 hours and then see what he has to say. Sort of a modern-day "Deliverance" movie -- and this statement is coming from a liberal. Anne