Millions of Veteran Women struggle while transitioning back into Civilian Life.

Women currently comprise 15 percent of active military personnel, 17 percent of Reserve and National Guard forces, and 20 percent of new military recruits (Bean-Mayberry et al. 2010). Many will return to rural areas to support their families and to seek employment. Several factors may motivate a woman veteran to reenter the civilian workforce, such as the inability to gain military promotion and the lack of desire for a long term military career(DACOWITS2008). Some of these factors also include continuing education, marital status, presence of dependents, caregiver role, social identity, and propensity to join a professional women’s network (Calhoun, Beckham, and Bosworth 2002).

Women veterans seeking employment in rural areas often face challenges that differ from their urban counterparts such as geographical barriers, limited available positions, and a lack of childcare resources within their communities (Calhoun et al. 2002). These challenges may be further exacerbated by a complex set of issues, including untreated physical and psychological disorders such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resulting from combat, Military Sexual Trauma (MST), or other traumas associated with military service, which can often delay the transition process (Marinaccio 2008; RAND Corporation 2008). Complex issues such as these must be addressed by transition programs that provide both practical and psychological support. While there is a growing body of research on active-duty servicewomen and women veterans, very little has been published on the transition experiences of rural women veterans reentering the civilian workforce (Bean- Mayberry et al. 2010; DACOWITS 2007, 2008, 2009).