Commentary
The enemy you know
by Trista MatascastilloWomen make up 16 percent of the armed services and serve in all levels of leadership. We bring extraordinary value to the service of our country. But I'm quickly discovering that many women who have served do not recognize themselves as veterans.
There has long been a kind of unwritten rule, perpetuated by our male counterparts, that if you didn't serve in combat you weren't really a veteran, but were simply fulfilling "support" or "service" roles. Women veterans do not have the same experiences as their male counterparts. Women have to fight harder, work harder, complain less and sacrifice more just to be considered equal. We fight the same wars, have the same mission and defend the same country. We mourn the loss of our friends and suffer injuries from the enemy.
Those are the things understood by all veterans, things we agreed to endure in service to our country. But we also have unseen wounds that we did not agree to. They need to be addressed.
We are trained to identify the enemy, but what if the enemy is wearing the same uniform and eating in the same mess hall? While it's not all men, or even the majority, there are predators and deviants among our ranks who prey on women the moment we let our guard down. We are easy targets; we trust our fellow service members, we are a family and we're supposed to look out for each other. The stories are far too frequent. I can't tell you how often in my 15 years of serving I have heard about a woman who has been assaulted.
Often when it happens we are afraid to report it. We are demoralized and ashamed. We are afraid because of the stigma. We are afraid because we stand to lose everything we have worked so hard for. We are afraid because it feels as though we let the country down. We worry that if America hears about how frequently it happens, we will be told that we shouldn't be serving, and all we have worked so hard for will be lost.
So we stay silent. We can't ever let down our guard, we can never decompress, and it's unsafe for us as long as we are serving. Incest, rape and assault happen every day in the civilian population. It's horrible and disgusting. The military is making headway with rules and regulations about punishments and victim's rights, but it isn't enough.
We must change the way women are viewed and the stigma they feel when they report an assault. We are not weak women; we are dedicated, strong service members who are victims of a crime.
Women's services at our VA hospitals need to be improved. We have what is known as the best VA hospital in the system right here in Minneapolis. We even have what is considered a dedicated women's clinic -- one of but a handful in the national VA system. But even the best in the system needs improvement.
At the VA, women must share a service counter with a general practice that sees men. We have the option of walking down a long hall to a women-only waiting room, but in the end will likely see a male gynecologist. I recently went to the VA for my own compensation and pension physical after leaving the military, and what I experienced was traumatizing in itself. I waited nervously as the male gynecologist entered the room with the door and curtain wide open -- exposing me to anyone in the hallway or reception area. The nurse gently reminded him that he needed to enter the curtain from the other side. I couldn't get out of the room quickly enough.
Such experiences are common for women veterans. It's not surprising that, in Minnesota, less than 7 percent of them seek any of their benefits from the VA system.
We need to ensure that women are being seen by other women in the VA system. We need to make sure that women can make a claim safely without being re-traumatized. We need them to see female gynecologists and female intake counselors. We need them to feel safe when going to appointments at the VA hospitals. I think it's time to offer a 1-800 number for them to call for outreach and services. And the voice on the other end of the line should be a woman's.
Trista Matascastillo, St. Paul, leads the Minnesota Women Veterans Initiative Working Group. She is a veteran with 16 years of service in the Navy, Marine Corps Reserve and Minnesota Army National Guard. She is on a leave of absence from the military.
Comments (7)
My experience at the Minneapolis VA Womens' Clinic was with a female gynecologist as a service provider, and she is professional. The male gynecologist does the exams for disability claims, and I think he is the same one that did my MEPS exam in 1980. He was old and grouchy then, and it appears the United States government still has him under contract; and that he is traumatizing women veterans a generation later! It's past time he be retired.
"Women have to fight harder, work harder, complain less and sacrifice more just to be considered equal."
__________
I spent 7 years in the Army and eight months in Iraq. Please don't insult my intelligence by suggesting female soldiers much work harder and sacrifice more. The fact that I have only 9 fingers is proof positive I've done my share of sacrificing. Let me put this debate to rest, serving in combat is MUCH different then combat support roles.
Frank - think maybe you missed the point of the article. Read it again with an open mind and maybe you'll see that we dropped the ball on taking care of our own. BTW - 18 years for me - Ranger Battalion to Conventional Infantry. Multiple, multiple deployments. Sorry about your fingers. I think that I'd rather lose fingers than to be sexually assaulted. How bout you?
Hector Matascastillo:
Not only am I missing the point of the article, but I need to "open my mind"?
Everything is based on interpretation and suggesting otherwise is the very definition of a close minded individual. As for military sexual assaults? Be very careful of victim groups demonizing our fellow soldiers with 'cherry picked' statistics. Military rapes are reprehensible, but very rare. The true test of a soldier is their ability to assimilate to a combat environment. Anyone in a non combat position deserves respect, but it will never compare to bullet fire. That's my point. The author is feminizing the military by incorporating victimization into the combat dynamic. Ever here the phrase -- "There's no crying in baseball"? Well that goes for the armed services.
As for your service as an Army Ranger? I tip my cap...And I mean that with respect. By the way, I lost my pinkie, which I consider a useless appendage. I recieved a metal which I feel I didn't deserve.
Actually, sexual assaults are twice as common in the military as in civilian life, and they're pretty common there. This article is not about one person's service being held above another, it is about one group's service being valued less. Frank, being a combat veteran, you should know that the ability to rely on your comrades is vital in a war zone. When a woman is raped by another soldier, which is just as bad if not worse than being shot in the back by them, it is a betrayal. How can you ask women to assimilate into a combat environment when they cannot trust the soldiers around them to respect them or the higher ups to help them if they are harassed? Unit cohesion is not about acting tough; it's about trust.
As for combat roles, women serving in Iraq have encountered bullet fire and plenty have died. One even received a silver star for her heroic action. It's the generals and policy makers (most of whom are male) who have decided that women should not be in combat, and as a result female soldiers are not given the combat training they need to participate in unavoidable skirmishes. It's hard to keep women off the front lines when there are none.
As a Viet Nam veteran in a rear support position dodging rockets and snipers I knew the importance of depending on my fellow soldiers. When you're in a war zone whether front line combat or rear support you still have to live with the thought that you could die at any moment. Whether a bullet on the front line or a rocket into your cubicle, the stress of war is the same.
I cannot imagine the stress of having to worry if your fellow soldiers are going to attack at a time when you thought you could trust them and look to them for safety and comradeship in a dangerous place.
Sexual assault in the military is definitely an area that the U.S. military must do more to address. Soldiers that have survived sexual assaults must receive appropriate Veteran's Administration benefits and services to heal.
I commend Trista for being the voice of women veterans and for her courage by laying it out there with her commentary. I have never served in the military, but if I did, I would want the peace of mind to know that our U.S. military would protect me from sexual assaults. Trista, please keep advocating because you are the type of person that will get things done for yourself, for women of the military, and for our Country! Glod bless you.
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