Aimee Sherrod, an Air Force veteran who did three war tours, said years went by when she didn’t tell people she was a veteran. After facing sexual harassment during two tours and mortar attacks in Iraq, the 29-year-old mother of two from Bells, Tenn., was medically discharged in 2005 with post-traumatic stress disorder.
She’s haunted by nightmares and wakes up some nights thinking she’s under attack. She’s moody as a result of PTSD and can’t function enough to work or attend college. Like some other veterans, she felt she improperly received a low disability rating by the Department of Veterans Affairs that left her with a token monthly payment. She was frustrated that her paperwork mentioned she was pregnant, a factor she thought was irrelevant.
“I just gave up on it and I didn’t tell anyone about ever being in the military because I was so ashamed over everything,” Sherrod said.
Female service members have much higher rates of divorce and are more likely to be a single parent. When they do seek help at VA medical centers, they are screening positive at a higher rate for military sexual trauma, meaning they indicated experiencing sexual harassment, assault or rape. Some studies have shown that female veterans are at greater risk for homelessness.
Honor those women with respect.
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