While women have played critical roles in the military since the American Revolution, they were not offered veteran status until the last few decades. The concept of a female veteran is relatively new, and one that many female service members have not recognized themselves. The current study examined the factors impacting female service members' ability to construct a veteran identity following their separation from the military. The study also investigated whether the female service members' veteran identity influenced their preference and use of Veteran Health Administration (VA) hospitals and clinics, and how well they reintegrated back into civilian society after their service. This study used a mixed-method design that included a descriptive statistical survey and a correlational analysis of 128 women veteran participants. The study found a positive correlation between women's veteran identity and preference of VA health care services. However, the findings did not support the hypothesis that women's veteran identity is negatively correlated with reintegration. Further ancillary analyses were conducted in order to gain additional information on variables that may influence women's veteran identity, use of VA services, and reintegration.

This book analyzes and discusses the U.S. Military Veteran identity. Throughout seven chapters spanning narrative, literature, theory and analysis, the book combines the author’s own personal story of joining, serving in, and separating from the U.S. military with corresponding research about military transitions, reintegration, Veteran suicides, and psychosocial adjustment challenges. The purpose of the book is to help readers understand Veteran identity in a way that centers the social implications of belonging to and serving in the military institution. In the final chapters of the book, existing theories and models related to military transitions are dissected before a new Model of Veteran Identity Hierarchy as well as a reconceptualization of Veteran identity are presented.

Women who fight in wars also have to fight for their right to do so. But what are the obstacles impeding their progress in achieving equal status as both active service members and as veterans? This book, written by a team of female veterans and military scholars, demonstrates the ways in which women service members and veterans experience a unique set of challenges when attempting to both honorably serve their country and reintegrate into civilian society following military service. These challenges include – but are not limited to – discrimination, staggering rates of suicide, and barriers to obtaining treatment for military sexual trauma and other critical benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Women Veterans: Lifting the Veil of Invisibility examines current service-related policies and gender in the military’s hierarchical power structure. Here, a confluence of white male privilege and entitlement, the culture of domination, and the effeminization of the enemy manifest themselves as a backlash against women, calling into question a woman’s agency and her very status as a citizen. Special attention in the book is paid to the civil-military divide, representative bureaucracy, and the function of the military and civilian justice systems. Moreover, the need for appropriate healthcare policies and structures is examined within a ‘wicked problems’ framework. The authors conclude that the responsibility for women veterans, and all veterans for that matter, must become a matter of compelling government interest. This ground-breaking book is required reading for practitioners of public policy and administration with an interest in military and veterans affairs, public health, NGOs and activist groups, as well as scholars of gender and public service, public personnel management, and nonprofit management.