Female served in Iraq..any less of a Vet?

Question

I served 355 days in Iraq..my jobs included badging NCO at front gate(screened all Iraqis coming aboard the FOB and ran the Gate for a inept staff NCO). Did the Public relations for our company(was published),wrote awards, and at the same time conducted gun truck missions providing convoy security (was a gun truck commander)...Oh yeah and carried a 20 pound SAW which landed me in guard towers as a NCO. After all of this why do I still feel like I have to explain myself to be a Vet of the WAR and not just a service member that served during war time. I ALOMST GOT KILLED !!! MORE THAN 1 TIME! and possibly by my decisions saved many lives...why do I feel like I am not deserving of Veterans accolades?? PLEASE NO NASTY COMMENTS. For anyone who has questions..the gate was the first 4 months and the missions were the last 8 months.

I just want to know how other people see female Vets. I struggle to adapt to "normal life" but everyone expects me to be Ok because they don't think women go through the same as men in war and we are. How do you explain to a husband/boyfriend/whatever that you almost got shot/blown up/killed...dealt with seeing dead Iraqis and poverty and starving children. People do not expect us to have PSTD amd we do...

I know I served but people seem to want to sugar coat it..its so hard to explain. I tell people I am a Iraq war vet and they want a explanation of what I did...should it matter.. I think not. Anyway..I will live with it..Next itme they ask vets to stand up somewhere I will.

Wow..see I am getting it..not from everyone and thank you for the supporters. Once again I have to explain my service and that just proves the question....am I any less. I don't wan't hand claps and ribbons I just want to be able to hold my head high without having to explain to MOST but not all why I proclaim myself a VET..maybe beign killed while doing my job would of made it easier for some of you to swallow. God bless all of the unrecognized vets...you all know how I feel.

I appreciate all veterans..war service or not but there is a difference metally that I did not go through until Iraq. I served over 8 yrs "peacetime" If you served 20 yrs in the US u are still Veterans in my eyes but I am speaking in others opinions now. This is not really an important question but on veterans day I felst odd..like I should be standing up for accolades or not to be humble....I give up..this has gone so far past what I was aking thank you for the support but also the questions...I give up

SGT D.. I hope your read this. I know great people like you who sacrificed to serve who are not considered "vet"..you are one! My mentor MSGT Mossberg is one of them. I consider you a vet but I am speaking about the more RAW sense of the word.

Answer 1

FIRST....By definition anyone who serves in the military is a veteran. You do not even have to go to Iraq. So there is no question you are a "veteran".
SECOND I do not know of any grading system for veterans. You are a "First Class Vet if.....??" We are ALL part of the team. We all deserve respect for our service

I am a two time combat veteran.....I was in the mud and the blood..... I had good men die in my arms...... Do I deserve more respect than the mess hall cook who gave me the food that kept me alive....... I do not think so.....
Was I in more danger?..... Tell that to the company clerk who died in that rocket attack......Tell that to the supply truck driver killed by the IED......Tell that to the radio relay operator who died in his jockey shorts fighting off VC killers with a 2X4 during TET....
Just because you are not a grunt does not mean you run no risks... or that you do not suffer stress.... or get PTSD. ALL veterans deserve the benefits they earned by doing their duty. ALL veterans deserve respect

Answer 2

So who's making you explain? What are you trying to say? Is it that anyone who dos'nt go to a combat zone is not a Veteran? Don't YOU know that you served in Iraq? It sounds like you served your time with honor and distinction and you should be proud of that. I will say one thing though, I will caution you that just because someone served in the military during a time when there was not a war on, it does not make them less of a Veteran. I served for over 20 years without being "deployed" to a "war zone", but as an MP I was in a "War Zone" everyday. I got no bonuses, No send off parade and not a damn soul was waiting at the airport when I came home. There were no such thing as a "Soldiers Discount" and I don't even get the GI bill now for education benefits, just some chicken **** thing called VEAP that unless you gave a pile of money into it'll be worth zero, but I don't care because I didn't join for any of those things, the one thing I do care about and I did get was that I am a Veteran. Uncle had 20 years to do with me what he will, and he did too! Boy did he ever! I have the scars and a steel ankle to prove it too! Isn't that what its all about? That you stuck in there and did what he wanted you to do, no matter what and you saw it through to the end? I think it is. A Combat Veteran is a cut above, theres no question about it and they have a combat patch to prove it. They did what they had to do. They saw it through to the end. Does that make them different than me or you? No they saw the job through to the end. They're no different, only the circumstances are different. So What exactly do you mean when you say "Not JUST a service member that served during war time"? Hell, I was in during peace time and I was shot at, stabbed, mortared once and was even strafed by a "Warthog" on a hot range. All that and I don't have a "Combat Patch". So What? I've been retired and out for over 7 years now and I still feel I don't belong out here. Are you saying I'm less of a Veteran than you because you did your time in a "War Zone?" I don't think so. I'm not trying to be nasty, honestly, but In the coming years all the war hoopla is going to wear away (don't believe me? talk to a Vietnam Vet. sometime) and then It's going to be YOU and you alone that will know if you served and served well over there and its you that should be damn proud of your time in the military. I know I am.

Answer 3

You walked the walk, you can talk the talk.

I when the Vietnam War was going full swing we used to say Been there done that got the t-shirt to prove it.

Lady you are a Veteran and can hold your head up high. I am a retired officer in the Air Force and I salute you. I never had to carry a 20 pound saw (don't know what that is, but I am a propeller head) but I did fly a B52 and saw Platoon.

Salutes to you SGT.

EDIT: Seriously, I just read your addition to your question. I am a sufferer of PTSD and a regular down at the Mental Health Department at the VA Hospital in Atlanta. I see and talk to a lot of the women vets with PTSD and all those other problems we have to deal with day by day. You are as much a veteran as anyone else who has ever worn the uniform of the United States Military. You also have it worse than some of the men, because you "cannot" serve in combat. Yea, right. I am very serious when I say you are as much a veteran as us old timers for the Vietnam Era as to the kid getting out today. I do salute you. I do wish you the best with your upcoming fight with the VA for 100% disability. You deserve it. Welcome back soldier.

Answer 4

Like others have said before me, THANK YOU! As a country, we are very fortunate to have such fine young people willing to put their lives in danger to do a job for us. I for one, truly appreciate it.
There are many vets and all the stories are different. I served during the Vietnam war and was, I think, entitled to war a ribbon for service during that war. I never saw combat nor was I ever assigned to that theater, so I never would wear a ribbon such as that. Vet is a wide descriptive term and the role of women in combat areas serve in a way that is not clearly understood by many people. I fear that most people will assume that you had a cushy job far from the shooting.
But you certainly have every right to consider yourself to be a combat vet even though you never served in a unit which was tasked with aggressively digging out the bad guys. I know that I consider you to be one.
Oh, I am glad you are home safe!

Answer 5

Old World War II veterans would tell me to work as long as possible and to always keep my civilian health insurance. It was 20 years too late that I understood just what they meant.

Since you were in the military you obviously know how to fight (and thank you for that). Now it is time for you to respectfully fight for yourself, please start with the service available here; www.GiveanHour.org . When dealing with the VA you must realize you have the right to NOT be 100% disabled. 100% disabled is the same whether it is mental, physical or both; it means you do not and will not have a life or a future. For decades it always was and always will be much, much cheaper to overmedicate a veteran than to provide proper medical treatment.

Now to answer your question as another female veteran (and I say this with much respect); I think what you feel as an innate obsession to explain yourself, is in part that you feel you have to prove you can do any thing that men can do, and that much of it you can do even better.

The military provides transition help from war time to peace, and from military life to civilian life. There are also a few women returning to civilian life that were really affected by being looked down upon for being a woman in the military, some even endured sexual trauma, and need help to find their feminine female identity that has been hidden away.

Answer 6

No matter what anyone else here says remember this " You and I both chewed the same nasty a** dirt in Iraq! "
I am a male disabled Vet. People have no right to question you. Period. If your in the army then you got a combat patch and to stripes plus what ever other medals and awards that were bestowed upon you for your service there. If you are out now and are a civilian then my suggestion is to wait till someone else brings it up then answer them emphatically that you ARE a vet.
No matter what branch you were or are in at this moment. You have done your duty. ALOT more than some people who frequent this site. SO I say to you as a sister in arms

THANK YOU FOR A JOB WELL DONE.
Don't let the bastards wear you down!!

Answer 7

YES you are a Vet and no doubt about it. Your record speaks for itself.

However, you are about to join the ranks of thousands of us veterans. We are popular when needed, but in the end we are soon forgotten by most and the new generations. Vietnam vets never got recognition, not until much later when the US decided to hold a "home coming" parade in Washington. A parade I feel was far too late!!

You do have to realize, this is the first time for women to serve in combat. This is a new era, and you as well as your fellow female vets will have to make sure you are not forgotten also.

We Vietnam vets fought for years for recognition, for proper treatment by the VA and to build a monument to our war, to not be forgotten and also the most important issue:
We shall never forget our fallen brothers in arms and those POW's and others still unaccounted for.

Be proud of your service and as for the "accolades" they will be short and soon forgotten. But you yourself know what it's like.
Remember the old saying "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away"

Answer 8

Our stripes and bars didn't come in Pink and Blue...We bleed red like the men we served with, and were Prisoners of War. You are a TRUE VETERAN, and you are a hero among many. Many still don't think that women may be able to do what men do in the military, but not only are we able to do it (minus combat), we can do it pregnant! Make sure that you check in with the VA for counseling if you needed it and that Sgt Empress Jan USMC is here for you...

also, do an internet search for CaptBarb and see what else females did in the military throughout time...you're in great company!

Answer 9

A vet is a vet; I know of more then one infantry man who sat the entire tour at some bse and never left the perimeter. Some one says you aren't a vet tell them to shove it. My niece was a combat medic with her Natonal Guard unit and went out on patrol and convoy duty more then 80% of the males did; this is not from her but from some of te guys in her unit who wrote after she was wounded to my brother (her dad), she's fine and made it but in a war without front lines who says who is a front line troop and who isn't. I am a Vietnam vet, started infantry and was moved to perimeter defense at a helo base then flew some and was closer to get killed more often there then in the field. You don't explain yourself to anyone; from 20 years in service I will tell experience shows that the ones who talk the most about their combat experiences are typically the ones who did the least.

Answer 10

13,000,000 idividuals declared themselves to be Vietnam Veterns.
Problem is that there were only 9,000,000 of us to begin with (Vietnam Era) and 2,500,000 in country combat veterans.
So you can see the problem.
Hold yourself accountable.
There is a movement to start a new veterans organization, the Veterans of Modern Warfare. Get involved.
Just remember, the Stolen Valor Acct of 2006 protects those who are bonified, and prosecutes those who are "wanabe's".

I took a lot of photos, and have my DD-214 to show my authotized ribbons, and tours in Vietnam.

PSTD can effect you in many ways. Mine came from a quilt trip from spending 13 months in a comabt zone, and not having a purple heart. Many purple hearts are "Kerry Hearts".
The medal has been, and always will be abused. You don't have to have one to be a combat veteran, or a veteran period. Medals don't make the veteran, service in the U.S. military does.
For those who quesstion your sincerity, they are ignorant...
I suguest that you got into a dark room, and use a tape recorder to talk to yourseld. Put everything you remember on a tape, and then play it back to yourself.
Write a book. I'd like to hear your story, get some of your friends to co-author it.
People out there want to know. I do!

Merry Christmas...GOD is love,
remember...there are 25,ooo,ooo veterans out here, you are one of us, no matter what!