An Aberdeen woman who is a U.S. Army vet has recently launched the first chapter of the United Female Veterans of America. The group?s mission is to provide female military veterans with the help and information they need to survive the battles they face during military service and after ? from getting the medical services to which they?re entitled to and coping with the trauma of rape.
She said that when she retired from the military on disability in 1988, after serving as an administration clerk and field medic, Veterans Affairs medical centers were not equipped to handle women patients. Story said that while she was serving, she was found to have a cancerous tumor on one of her ovaries, a condition that resulted in her having to get a hysterectomy. Since then, for reasons unknown to doctors, she has battled debilitating migraine headaches. Story said that since 1988, she has lived life with a constant headache.
“When I first went to the VA hospital in Perryville [Cecil County] in 1991, they didn?t even have rooms for women. I had to share a bathroom with a man, and guards had to be posted outside my door so men would not enter my room,” Story said.
With 23 members of the Aberdeen chapter, Story said she has been contacted by female veterans in other states and expects that chapters will soon be formed in Oklahoma, Tennessee and Illinois.
“We?re second-class citizens … and until women veterans start taking care of women veterans, I don?t think that is going to change,” Story said.
But R. David Edwards, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said his agency “has made significant strides to recognize the needs of women veterans” in the past 20 years, especially in health care.
“Wanda has been a great resource for us. She has been a champion … [and she] has done a wonderful job in helping women … veterans,” he said.
Story said the UFVA was also formed to help women who have endured rape during their service. Story described the military as an “old boys club,” and when a servicewoman comes forward with allegations of rape, the case often turns on a “he said, she said” argument, which usually favors the man.
Although she downplays it as something she has come to terms with, aside from occasional nightmares, Story said she has first-hand knowledge on this front ? having been raped twice while in the Army. She said that in each case, nothing became of the incident ? the first time, she didn?t report it; the second time, she was transferred but nothing happened to the man ? a reality that must be changed for future servicewomen.
U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who often campaigns as an advocate of veterans? rights, said she was not aware of Story?s new group.
“This group has not been in contact with my office,” Mikulski said via e-mail this week, “but I would welcome the opportunity to ensure that our female veterans are getting all the benefits they deserve.”
