Our Nation’s Best – Women Veterans

by Jodie Mrotek

With Veterans Day just under two weeks away, we felt this month’s newsletter should honor and recognize our nation’s women veterans. We started our curate with the bestselling book “Ashley’s War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield,” by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon which is the story of that unit, anchored by the life and death of 1st Lt. Ashley White. The book is just one source which illustrates the unprecedented number of women comprising the U.S. military and the changing roles they are playing compared to past eras. But our search also produced numerous articles on the harsh realities women face both during and after serving. To date, 345,000 women have deployed since 9/11, representing more than 11 percent of deployed forces. Women currently comprise nearly 20 percent of new recruits and are the fastest growing Veteran group. These numbers are significant and make a meaningful data set for studies in identifying and addressing the unique challenges women face while serving and upon reintegrating into civilian life. Unfortunately, while research is being done, help and resources are needed today. Women veterans play a vital role in our nation’s security and they should recognized for their service, as well as provided the services they need.

See STA WIF September Newsletter here