1. Dr. Elena Klaw

2.  Approximately 2 million U.S. Military members have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.  As of 2009, vets made up about 4% of all undergraduate students.  80% of vets returning to CA attend community colleges.  1/5 of vet students are disabled:14% major depression, 14% PTSD, and 19% probable Traumatic Brain Injury- all risks for partner violence.  PTSD and depression are estimated to cost from $4.0 to $6.2 billion over the next 2 years.  Vet students are less engaged in college life and report more isolation and less support.

3.  Combat situations in which everyone viewed as a threat.  Constant hypervigilance to maintain safety.  Increased likelihood of repeat deployments without prolonged downtime between tours.  Increased survival rate of injured veterans.  Increased rates of TBI and minor TBI.  Increased role of women in the military.  Increased communication with family when deployed.  Increased financial/employment concerns.  Lack of public awareness of military role.  Need to negotiate a new identity in civilian world.

4.  Traumatic stress as a continuum of reactions not just as a disorder, including acute combat stress reactions, normal adjustment difficulties, and post deployment changes in the self.  Transition/reintegration/and readjustment are a process and predeployment, deployment and postdeployment experiences are unique.

5.  Jan 24, 2013, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the U.S. will remove restrictions preventing women from serving in front-line combat roles, opening as many as 230,000 military jobs to women  The goal is to complete integration by 2016.  Women had already served in non frontline-combat work in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.  14% of the military’s 1.4 million active members are women.  Over 20,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Approximately 130 women have been killed serving in Iraq or Afghanistan and over 800 have been wounded.

6.  Military rules have traditionally prevented women from taking roles deemed too physically demanding, roles that involve direct ground combat, roles that require living alongside men, long-range reconnaissance tasks, and membership in special operations forces such as the NAVY Seals.  Nov 13, 2013: The first 3 women passed the Marine Corps Combat Training course, a 9 week exam involving live fire events and a 20 Kilometer timed hike (jog) with 80-90 lbs. of gear.

7.  Women veterans have distinct mental and physical health concerns and experiences and health care providers are learning how to address them.