Back from combat, women struggle for acceptance

[lewisipso]

WASHINGTON — Nobody wants to buy them a beer.
Even near military bases, female veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan aren't often offered a drink on the house as a welcome home.
More than 230,000 American women have fought in those recent wars and at least 120 have died doing so, yet the public still doesn't completely understand their contributions on the modern battlefield.
For some, it's a lonely transition as they struggle to find their place.
Aimee Sherrod, an Air Force veteran who did three war tours, said years went by when she didn't tell people she was a veteran. After facing sexual harassment during two tours and mortar attacks in Iraq, the 29-year-old mother of two from Bells, Tenn., was medically discharged in 2005 with post-traumatic stress disorder.
She's haunted by nightmares and wakes up some nights thinking she's under attack. She's moody as a result of PTSD and can't function enough to work or attend college. Like some other veterans, she felt she improperly received a low disability rating by the Department of Veterans Affairs that left her with a token monthly payment. She was frustrated that her paperwork mentioned she was pregnant, a factor she thought was irrelevant.
"I just gave up on it and I didn't tell anyone about ever being in the military because I was so ashamed over everything," Sherrod said.


The Associated Press: Back from combat, women struggle for acceptance

BS. Give credit where credit is deserved.

[213th]

That's wrong

[CTR man]

That's wrong

......and it needs to be corrected. Female veterans deserve just as much recognition and respect for serving as their male counterparts. It doesn't matter what their job was over there.

[pgg]

BS. Give credit where credit is deserved.

This

[Wolven]

I'd buy a beer....anytime.

[cwtlady]

That's such a shame.

[Notorious]

I thank every person in uniform without regard to gender, branch of service, or any other factor. If they are wearing our uniform in public, they get thanks from me.

I even thank those who are not in uniform but have other accoutrements like an ARMY backpack or other official items.

Any of them that steps into a bar and wants a beer gets one from me, no questions asked. However, I don't think I've ever seen any uniformed persons in a bar off-base.