Monday, September 29, 2014

Many Female Veterans Feel Left Behind

When Devon Reyes returned from her first deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, she withdrew from family and friends.
"No amount of pamphlets or brochures would have enticed me to come out of my shell," said the Army veteran and mother of two, now 29 years old. She said she longed for camaraderie, but there was little opportunity to meet other female soldiers with similar experiences.
West Point graduate Devon Reyes says she felt 
isolated after returning from Army duty in 
Afghanistan. Lexey Swall for The Wall Street Journal
That isolation and lack of support is shared by many other women vets, even as their numbers have surged, according to a report released Wednesday by the Disabled American Veterans, a veterans-service organization. The report highlights ways that military women differ from male counterparts both during and after their service.
"As we watch our membership change from predominantly male to now having many females, we realize it's important to bring their stories to light" and push for changes to serve them better, said Garry Augustine, executive director of Disabled American Veterans.
As of March, women made up about 210,000 of the 1.79 million veterans who have served since 2001, according to the report. About 14% of active-duty service forces today are female, vs. 8% in 1980.
And never before has the Department of Veterans Affairs faced so many women who served in combat roles as they have in recent conflicts.
Still, Defense Department and VA programs tend to lag behind in serving women, according to the report.
A third of VA medical centers lack a gynecologist on staff, the report says. About one in five women veterans report having experienced military sexual trauma, including rape, yet 31% of VA clinics lack staff to provide adequate treatment, according to the Institute of Medicine, an independent nonprofit.
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