Center for Women Veterans (CWV)

11/09/2016 - For this week’s State of Women Veterans blog, I interviewed Ginger Miller, founder and CEO of Women Veterans Interactive, a nonprofit dedicated to serving women Veterans that partnered with VA on this campaign.  Read the full blog article »

11/02/2016 - Like many people, I had educational goals that I wanted to accomplish in pursuit of my life’s mission.  And like many people who come from humble beginnings, I had to figure out how I would pay for it.  The lure of being able to further my education was one of the factors that drove me to serve in the military.  Read the full blog article »

10/26/2016 - For this week’s State of Women Veterans blog, I interviewed Dr. Nancy A. Glowacki, who serves as the women Veteran program manager with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS).  In this role, she is responsible for continuously monitoring the overlapping considerations of working Veterans and working women to ensure that DOL’s employment services are meeting the needs of women Veterans.  Read the full blog article »

10/19/2016 - When I was a little girl, hiding in the hall watching my mom cry with worry that we would get evicted during tough financial times made a huge impression on me.  That sense of insecurity was one of many things that drove me to serve in the military:  I swore that my own children would never experience the same anxiety.  Read the full blog article »

10/12/2016 - When I left active duty in 2005 and walked into a VA Medical Center for the first time, I wasn’t sure I belonged.  I saw few other women, and it didn’t feel terribly welcoming.  For the next decade or so, I stuck with private sector providers covered by insurance.  Last year, I came back into the VA system — and am incredibly glad.  Read the full blog article »

10/05/2016 - While women Veterans are accessing benefits through the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) at roughly similar rates to men and make up about 7.5 percent of patients in VA’s health care system, we are significantly underrepresented in VA cemeteries.  Read the full blog article »

09/28/2016 - VA is engaged in a major initiative, the MyVA transformation, to rebuild trust with Veterans, their families and survivors, and the American people by leveraging VA’s scope and scale to give every Veteran an exceptional experience that is easy, consistent and memorable.”  Read the full blog article »

09/21/2016 - “When I walked in there, everything changed for me,” one woman Veteran who requested to remain anonymous said about her experience using her local Vet Center.  “I had individual sessions with a female therapist, and 12 weeks of cognitive processing therapy to specifically address my PTSD.  I also completed a 12-week trauma group that was designed for women Veterans.  I had always felt alone in my trauma, but being surrounded by supportive women who understood what I was going through was comforting.  It helped me a lot.”  Read the full blog article »

09/14/2016 - When I came home from Iraq in 2004, I struggled to control intrusive memories about awful things I’d seen in the war   and the intense emotions those memories triggered.  At the same time, I felt overwhelmed by the pressure of trying to help my then-boyfriend recover from the traumatic brain injury he sustained during the deployment.  One night, it seemed as if the only thing I would be able to control was how my life ended, and I sat staring a gun for what felt like an eternity.  Luckily, I got help, and today I’m thriving.  Read the full blog article »

09/07/2016 - During my Army service, I developed a medical condition that required foot surgery while I was deployed to Iraq (stubbornly, I insisted it would be better to be operated on in a tent than leave my team during the deployment).  When I left the military in 2005, a Veterans service officer (VSO) walked me through the process of applying for disability compensation for the lingering problems I was experiencing (and had me document exposure to burn pits in case I developed additional problems later on).  I was lucky:  my exam was not difficult and my claim was decided swiftly.  Read the full blog article »

08/31/2016 - “What was it like to be a woman in the Army — and how are you doing now?,” people often ask me, the look on their faces hovering between curiosity and pity.  It’s hard to blame them for assuming that being a Soldier must have been a bad experience for me and that I continue to struggle today.  From headlines alone, one could come away thinking that my experience comprised only of facing elevated risk of sexual assault in the military, that the experience of women as Veterans is one of unemployment, homelessness, and suicide, and that VA is unable to serve us.  Although some women Veterans undoubtedly faced these challenges in their service to our country, and many are under the impression that VA is ill equipped to handle women Veterans’ evolving needs, the reality is far more nuanced.  Read the full blog article »