U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs CWV - News Update

Get the Recruitment & Retention, Employment & Integration, Well Being & Treatment, Servicwomen in the News, Women Veterans, and Upcoming Events DACOWITS news from May 2021. [From DACOWITS]

On this #LiveWholeHealth exercise, we talk about playing and moving our bodies for fun. Think back to when you were a kid and you spent your days bike riding, climbing trees, playing tag, and simply running around the neighborhood with friends. [From VAntage Point]

Five years after the Defense Department lifted its ban on women in ground combat roles, the Air Force hasn’t made much progress on getting women into the all-male career fields. The Air Force says a lack of interest is to blame for the holdup in getting women into those jobs. [From Air Force Times]

I am the Marine! Woman Veteran tells her story. [From The Long Island Advance]

Read LNC Lorrie McNeal Saylor's (RET) story on StoryCorps’ Military Voices Initiative. Wisconsin woman Veteran tells her story. [From Wisconsin Life]

Woman Veteran of the Week #LOCWVW recognized by The Library of Congress. Like many 18-year-old “plebes,” Sergeant Cristina Frisby was overwhelmed by the challenges of her first year at the Naval Academy. Falling ill and behind in her coursework, she resigned—only to be confronted with an inquiry into her sexual orientation. Leaving the Academy, she felt the agony of being denied her lifelong dream of military service because of who she was, and because of her honesty in speaking about it. Her dedication to military service was so strong that she persevered, joining the California National Guard after the terrorist attacks of September 11, in the hopes that she could be of some help to her country. Deploying to Iraq in 2005, she served as a recovery driver, a tow truck driver who aided disabled vehicles (many of which had been hit by IEDs). Her oral history interview is supplemented by over 300 photographs and a handful of home movies, which offer a fascinating glimpse into her day-to-day life in Iraq. [From The Library of Contress Veteran History Project]

Vietnam Women’s Memorial founder, Diane Carlson-Evans shares her story. [From Montana Public Radio]

The Utah National Guard Chaplain Corps inducted first woman chaplain candidate in the organization. In a Ceremony on May 12th they inducted the 1st woman candidate. [From Defense Visual Information Distribution Service]

Gratitude is a quality, attitude, or expression of thankful appreciation, and it’s a positive emotion that can serve a biological purpose: Scientists have measured positive effects on the body and mind from a gratitude practice. Often, the negative situations in our daily lives get most of our attention and lead to increased worry, stress and anxiety, distracting us from the positive or good things in our lives. [From VAntage Point]

During Caribbean-American Heritage Month, today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Hilda I. Ortiz Clayton, who served as a photographer in Afghanistan. Hilda I. Ortiz Clayton was born in May 1991 and grew up in Augusta, Georgia. In 2009, she graduated from Westside High School. She then attended technical college before graduating from the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, Maryland. [From VAntage Point]

We honor her service.