"Leading Ladies:Women, War and Military Culture Change" presentation given by Ilona Meagher to participants of the second annual Female Faces of War Conference on the Battleship Massachusetts. Fall River, MA. March 28, 2009.

1. Leading Ladies:Women, War and Military Culture Change Female Faces of War: First Do No Harm 03/28/09 - Conference at Battleship Cove By Ilona Meagher, author of Moving a Nation to Care and editor of PTSD Combat: Winning the War Within

2. Veteran Dad: My Hero

3. “Serving” in Uniform 

5. Women Serving: Today Total U.S. military forces ~ 1.5 million Total Active Duty Portion of female service members ~ 35,000 Officers ~ 165,000 Enlisted ~ 200,000 Total Female Active Duty Top-ranked female service members 6 - Lt. Gens/Vice Adms 13 - Maj. Gens/Rear Adms (U) 37 - Brig. Gens/Rear Adms (L) 1,282 - Cols/Capts "If you tried to pull women out of the equation, this country could not fight a war." -- Lory Manning, a retired Navy captain and director of the Women's Research and Education Institute

6. Leading Ladies: Highly Trained

7. Leading Ladies: Highly Skilled

8. Leading Ladies: Drill Instructors

9. Leading Ladies: World Ambassadors

10. Leading Ladies: Silver Stars

11. Leading Ladies: Sacrifice and Service

12. Leading Ladies: Greatest Sacrifices

13. Leading Ladies: Greatest Sacrifices

14. Leading Ladies: First African-American Naval Combat Pilot

15. Leading Ladies: Air Force Crews First all-female combat mission C-130 crew

16. Leading Ladies: First VMI Cadet First female cadet to serve in a US war from Virginia Military Institute

17. Leading Ladies: Four-Star Generals

18. Notable Women: Iraq War How did women impact the Iraq War in its first year? Jessica Lynch Sabrina Harman Tami Silicio

19. Issues Facing Women in Military 15 percent of the force and serve in 91 percent of military specialties. DoD report shows cases of reported military sexual trauma increased 9% from 2007-2008 to 2,932 incidents. October 2008: Veterans Admin study found that 1-of-7 coming in for medical care at the VA suffered from MST. Female veterans 4X likelier to become homeless than civilian women.

20. Returning Home: Storytelling Dr. Edward Tick, War and the Soul: According to author and healer Deena Metzger, a story is a ‘map for the soul.’ It is ‘a living thing. A divine gift.’ When we tell our own stories and listen to those of others, we come in touch with all three: life, divinity, and soul.

21. Returning Home: Storytelling …Telling our story is a way of preserving our individual history and at the same time defining our place in the larger flow of events. It reveals patterns and meaning that we might otherwise miss as we go about the mundane activities of living; it invites us to see the universe working through us. Storytelling also knits the community together. It records or recreates the collective history and transforms actor and listeners alike into communal witnesses.”

22. Veterans: Our Hope “Veterans are the light at the tip of the candle, illuminating the way for the whole nation. If veterans can achieve awareness, transformation, understanding, and peace, they can share with the rest of society the realities of war. And they can teach us how to make peace with ourselves and each other...” -- ThichNhat Hahn, Vietnamese Buddhist monk who worked tirelessly for reconciliation between North and South Vietnam during the Vietnam war

23. Leading Ladies: A Short Clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZxuYjLnxGo