I will attach the following instructions below. I will also attach my research paper proposal to use to guide aid in this discussion board.
VA women’s health services
“As a woman Veteran, you’re part of the fastest-growing group within our Veteran population. And we’re dedicated to meeting your health care needs. If you qualify for VA health care, you can get access to high-quality women’s health services as part of your benefits.”
Women’s Health Care Needs | Veterans Affairs (va.gov)
Considering the Female Veteran: Women’s Health care is the fastest growing section of healthcare in the Veterans Affairs (VA) office right now. Us Iraqi and Afghanistan lady vets have been through a lot, and as we age, we discover we need more services, and look to the VA for that just like the men do. Alas, there are missing elements still, and the VA isn’t the only area that needs work.
I want each of you to make a post with a specific piece of knowledge or perhaps new data you discovered during your research that uniquely pertains to female veterans.
Here’s a little bio and a story about me to get your minds pondering about how female veterans play a role in your topic:
Inspired by the events on 9/11, while in College at California State University, Fresno, I joined the U.S. Army R.O.T.C. (reserve officer training corps) and trained for 2.5 years until I graduated in 2004 and was commissioned as a 2LT (second lieutenant) Transportation Officer. I was the only female officer in my unit for two years, and I ran convoy and logistical operations almost the whole time. I was assigned to the most deployed and elite Infantry unit in the 101st Airborne Division, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team known as the “Rakkasans.” I deployed twice in support of (OIF) Operation Iraqi Freedom, the first time of which I was the first female in my Battalion to earn the Combat Action Badge. I made the rank of Captain soon after and deployed a second time to Southwest Baghdad during the “surge” in 2008, where I was awarded the Bronze Star. Since I got out in 2011, I have already seen a lot of female advancement. There were still a lot of training and schools/jobs that were off limits to females during the OIF era while I was active. Looking back, I can really see the inequality, but at the time we had a bigger mission in my mind and I knew what kind of world I was entering. I don’t want to overlook these injustices quite as easily as the military itself has, but at least I see changes being made all the time that we didn’t even know we could ask for. As the first and only female officer assigned to this Field Artillery Battalion, conducting the same mission on the same base, I was forging a path for women after me that I wasn’t even aware of at the time.
Back before I earned these medals, when I first walked into my office building at Fort Campbell, KY on my 24th birthday to take second in command of a forward support company that was being built from the ground up, I found one male labeled bathroom with one toilet and one urinal. There wasn’t even a bathroom in the building for women…women had never served in that building. I’m their leader, I’m supposed to receive more females in my unit…what is this place? Just a first-day impression that has stuck with me for years and always will. I didn’t feel like I belonged, not yet anyway, that would have to come later once I had a chance to prove myself as an equal. Also, as a female, I wasn’t allowed at that time to attend Ranger School or become a part of Field Artillery or Infantry but here I was, being rated against 10 other Field Artillery male Officers, all Lieutenants just like me, right? It’s like we’re all interviewing for the same job, but only the men are allowed to go to the schools and get the patches we all desire (Ranger school, Infantry badges, etc.), so how good could my military resume look in comparison? I had to kick a lot of butt, is what females like myself had to do. It was a rough era but I saw hope, and I know it will continue to get better as long as we’re talking about it and paying attention. There are numerous other examples of sexism that we don’t have time for, but I think you get the gist.
The Mental Health support at VA has gained momentum which is a good sign, and the various therapies and services they offer have greatly widened and from first-hand experience, I can tell you that the mental health staff at the Lexington VA right now have been some of the best I’ve met in my life. I FINALLY feel like I can put some trust in their ability to truly help myself and others. The service is always adapting and changing, what other things are to come for women vets, I wonder!
Please go to the Discussion Board and make your intial post (2 paragraphs) by FRIDAY and your two peer responses by MONDAY:
Tell us how females in particular, in regards to your topic, are either more or less affected by the issues you are studying and why?
What challenges are you seeing for female veterans in your research? Do female veterans still have some disadvantages within your topic, or if the playing field has leveled, please explain.