Lt Col (Join to see) great read and share will pass on to Female Vets I know!

Good input, given that not enough has been done.

In terms of isolation, when men get out, they are encouraged to join clubs and groups, and go on outings with these clubs and groups, have guys night where they drink and talk about days gone by. They are encouraged to wear hats, pins, and t-shirts showing their affiliation, making it easier for them to spot each other. Us women, we are not encouraged to do any of that, we seem to be encouraged to simply fade into the background, take care of our families, have a conventional career, and let our service be "an interesting fact about us". This make it difficult for us to find each other. I would love to have a group of women veterans to connect with to keep me from being isolated, as I currently feel isolated.

In terms to other parts of this article, I feel fortunate I was not a victim of military sexual trauma. I was only subject to the standard sexual harassment most female service members are subjected to. Unfortunately, I don't have enough fingers to count the number of my female veteran friends who have been raped or molested. Another unfortunate aspect of that, many of our male counterparts downplay it as: "whatever, she wanted it" or "she's crying rape because the wife found out" or "she's crying rape because she didn't get what she wanted out of it" or the worst I've heard "whatever, that's what women are in the military for". It is going to take years for the stigma of MST to improve.