I found this over at Stars & Stripes;
Afghanistan veteran and founder of American Women Veterans, Genevieve Chase, 32, of Alexandria, Va., poses for a portrait in Washington, Monday, Oct. 19, 2009. A staff sergeant in the Army Reserves, Chase said that after her service the same guys she’d been close comrades with in Afghanistan didn’t invite her to get drinks with them later because their significant others wouldn’t approve. “One of the hardest things that I had deal with was, being a woman, was losing my best friends or my comrades to their families,” Chase said. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
The article about women in the military is here.
SSG Chase is a great friend of this blog (even though she won’t admit it in public). If there are some female service members out there who want to connect with other females, I highly recommend you get a hold of SSG Chase.
Actually, I just wanted to post Eve’s picture on the blog to see if it’ll draw traffic.
I got in trouble with my Internet Wife last time I posted about the lovely Eve:
https://www.azuse.cloud/?p=4904
I live in NC and I can tell you most ppl here would buy any veteran (man or woman) a drink(s). My husband came back from A-Stan after 12 mos. and the owner of the bar and patrons got him drunk. He also got lucky that night and had quite a few women all over him.
I met him 2 yrs later. But the point is, she’s got crappy friends if they wouldnt take her out for drinks. Period.
I read this story earlier today but on a different source, it might have been my local news web site.
She certainly raises some valid issues as it relates to women veterans, things that could certainly be overlooked and I am glad to see, even it is only briefly, that some attention be given.
Guys may fear being shot at and blown up but one thing is for sure, when it comes to she who must be obeyed, that is number one on the list.
I think that was our first fight! I think I just didn’t like reading the, my girlfriend is pretty and all but Army Girl KICKS ASS! Ms. Chase is a lovely woman and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to meet her at the last Milblog convention.
Naked Patriot,
It’s not her comrades that are crappy friends, they have crappy wives that will throw a fit if they went out for drinks…..
Having served 12 years in the AF and over 17 in a government job, I’ve witnessed what she describes. Some of the wives try to understand, others just see you as another woman who spends too much time with her man.
I’m sure this particular situation is prevalent for female veterans because it is common to women everywhere who work primarily with men, or find they interact better with men. It would probably the most painful to me, as well.
I wouldn’t care if the locals bought me a beer but I would be devastated when/if my male friends pulled away.
Sometimes the men will even disappear out of respect for a man in the female’s life.
About the full article: IMHO the PTSD portion is a Vet issue not just a female issue, and Eve’s problem is a female issue not just a vet problem.
A
That good soldier got shortchanged by folks who she once depended on. Soldiers she offered her life to defend, if needs be.
My wife learned long ago that there are some folks out there who would take precedence over her if they called. It wasn’t because I didn’t love her, or respect her, but there’s a bond between those who serve together that just cannot be lain aside and forgotten. At least, it shouldn’t be.
Time and distance might separate us, but if they called me, I’d still be there for them, as they would for me.
God Bless them all…….
I don’t know, as a Cav guy whenever I worked with women I made sure to keep them at arms reach and strictly professional so no one could accuse me of a POSH or EO complaint. So, I’m not sure I can really relate to this other then from an academic stand point.
AW1 Tim: LOL, if I told the Hotel 6 that, she’d sign my relief for cause in a heartbeat.
But, does she have any confirmed kills? That is what I want to know…then shw would be both hot, admirable and motivating.
I don’t know about confirmed kills, but she has a PH. And I learned the hard way that she don’t take no shit.
Watching her yell and point at you over a bar table, knowing full well you couldn’t hear a word she was yelling was the highlight of my drinking experience with you. Fricken hilarious.
Throughout my Army career I drank with fellow Soldiers regardless of marital status. It’s called comraderie.
I think it has more to do with whether a female soldier (or colleague of any type) is perceived as a potential threat to a marriage or not. Genevieve Chase is obviously very attractive, so I can see how she would have this problem.
Sounds like some requests for new wives need to be put in.
I’m with Finrod.
I heard Ms. Chase last year at the conference (didn’t formally meet her) and thought then about how complicated the matter is.
However, I’d speculate that the issue has far more to do with the PC Police aspect than the lack of camaraderie?
The threatened wife thing probably has an impact in some cases, but in this environment who knows.
What IS true is that it sucks – whatever to source.
I’d be proud to buy here, or any vet, her a drink… maybe this April.
ponsdorf- what about USO Girls?
Caroline: what about USO Girls?
Might be two possible right answers to this question?
If you show up without ‘that guy’ I’ll buy you a drink or two – dinner – and maybe a car and a house.
And… been married for 35 years. There’s a hint of “Does this make my ass look fat?” as well.
If I say I’ll buy ANY USO Girl a drink am I being harassing?
Wow. I am so completely honored. Thanks for posting this and most of all for understanding. Trust me, the comments on here have been far better than what I’ve been reading around in other places.
Although I’m not 101st Airborne (although being born at Fort Campbell may in some way count), I thought Kimberly Hefling did a great job on this article. Not too shabby for a civy. She did quite a bit of research and hung out/had lunch with a number of female vets before she sat down to write these articles. Truly amazing for a journalist nowadays. Many of them talk to us on the phone for a few minutes and write things how they interpreted it, which isn’t always how we meant it.
At any rate, I appreciate what Boo said however, I’ve also worked in predominately male environments in the civilian world and I can assure you that there is nothing, not one single other experience in professional relationships, that is anything like what I experienced with my buddies down range. I saw a side of them that their significant others will never see (and vice versa)… but with that being said, their s/o’s know a side of them that I will never know. I will never know them as husbands/boyfriends, etc., and I don’t want to! 🙂
I greatly appreciate what AW1 Tim said. You have no idea how spot on you are. Unfortunately, although I know that I own that right with a few of my buddies, out of respect for their relationships, I do not take that liberty. I was extremely fortunate, one dim hour, that someone who understood happened to be on chat.
And TSO, you deserved a butt kicking from the lovely Caroline after that last post. 🙂 Additionally, I am still not convinced John didn’t hear *anything* I was saying because he did comment back a few times… when I let him get a word in edgewise. 😛 Interestingly enough, also, the night we were all out at Murphy’s was the very same night that one of my buddies called me, drunk off his fourth point – depressed. I went outside for a while and talked to him, knowing that I probably should have hung up on him… but what do you do? How do you hang up on your buddy? Just as I feared, I got a phone message the following day from a very angry wife.
As a woman, I understand why she was upset. What do you say in that situation?
I think I’m luckier than most. I extended my family when I was blogging and that’s how I came to know a whole new group of buddies… and blogging has saved me in so many ways. And now, with extending out and meeting other women vets, I have buddies I can call at 3AM if I need to.
Alright, that’s enough out of me… Thanks for posting this guys. -E