She Served on the Frontlines — Now She’s Helping Female Veterans Feel Seen and Celebrated
Army vet Brooke Jackson Kahn felt defeated when people always assumed her husband was the former soldier
Brooke Jackson Kahn and her husband were at the checkout at their local hardware store. “Do you offer a military discount?” Brooke asked the cashier. “Of course, we love our military,” the woman replied, then turned to her husband, “Thank you for your service!” Brooke’s husband raised a hand and pointed toward Brooke. “She’s the veteran,” he said, and not for the first time.
The men in Brooke’s family had all served in the military and the women were nurses—but she decided to do both. After joining the Army Reserves and training to be a physician assistant, Brooke went on active duty, serving in Iraq as a combat medic.
After her discharge, Brooke moved to Charleston, South Carolina, and worked as a physician’s assistant at a hospital. She married and had two children, but she remained in the Reserves, ready, at a moment’s notice, to serve her country.
When Brooke returned home from active duty, she’d hoped for a little recognition, but she received very little. Men wore service caps, dog tags and jackets emblazoned with the unit logos, and women returned to their pre-military lives, resuming responsibility for their homes and families—invisible.
“A store owner came out and started yelling at me for parking in the space reserved for veterans,” a female friend, who was also a veteran, told Brooke one day. “He said, ‘That’s for your husband—not you!’”
“It’s time for this to change,” Brooke decided, so she began laying out a program where women vets could share experiences and offer support. “I’m calling it ‘She’s the Veteran,’” Brooke told her husband.
Inspired to help, Brooke began by researching the problems faced by women veterans. She learned that women deal with PTSD and stress differently than men. Men often get angry, while women tend to withdraw into themselves, rarely speaking about their service.
As Brooke spread the word, she was encouraged by how many jumped at the chance to meet other women vets. She started monthly She’s the Veteran (ShesTheVeteran.org) meetings, a safe space for women to speak freely. Brooke also arranges for every-other-month group excursions—swimming, surfing, fishing, horseback riding and art therapy. “We like to have fun, learn or try something new,” Brooke told new members.
The group’s membership has grown to over 800 members locally and another 1,500 across the country. To accommodate remote members, many events and meetings are held virtually.
“Every time we go to our local VA, they assume my husband served and I’m the dependent,” says Shanette Coad, who served in Air Force security in Pakistan. “It’s nice that She’s a Veteran gives us a place where women can listen and truly empathize with you.”
“We want every female veteran to know they are not alone,” says Brooke. “We’re here to support them and to make sure that their voices are heard. Together, we can create a future where no woman veteran feels invisible.”
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