Army Veteran Forms Organization to Assist Women in the United States Armed Forces

 
ARLINGTON, Texas - Nov. 19, 2016 - PRLog -- Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Sergeant Kericia E. Smith first felt the call to serve her country in 1981, when she was a medical student at California State University Northridge (CSUN) in Northridge, CA. She told her mother she wanted to enlist in the military, at just 18 years old, her mother signed paper work and she left college to join the United States Army. She completed Basic Training (BT) at Fort Dix, NJ, then went on to Fort Jackson, SC to finish Advanced Individual Training (AIT) as an administrative clerk.

She started her Army career working with the recruiting office in Los Angeles, CA. This involved visiting local schools to discuss career options in the Army. She then went on to serve as the administrative clerk for a 3-Star Lieutenant General and his staff in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

In October 1983, a group of Marines were sent into Beirut, Lebanon on a peacekeeping mission, where they unfortunately found themselves the victims of a suicide bombing in the middle of the night. A total of 239 Marines were killed in the attack. When the bodies were shipped to a mortuary in Frankfurt, Germany, the morticians found themselves unable to handle the workload with their on-site staff, so Sergeant Smith was deployed to assist them with typing up the 239 death certificates.

Following this assignment, Sergeant Smith was overcome with mental illness, attempting suicide before being admitted to the Psychiatric Unit at the Landsthul Regional Medical Center in Germany. In September 1984, she was honorably discharged. Upon returning to the United States, Sergeant Smith sought assistance from the Dallas VA Hospital in Dallas, TX for her disability benefits; they were denied, and she is still waiting for her full VA disability benefits from 1984.

Much to her dismay, her benefits were denied after the VA doctor diagnosed her with histrionic personality disorder, a condition characterized by excessive need for approval, inappropriate sexually provocative behavior, and exaggerated behaviors and emotions. However, Sergeant Smith was admitted as a patient at the Dallas VA Hospital's Psychiatric Unit, she had conversations with Vietnam veteran patients and they suspected that she was more likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition common among veterans.

Despite her illness, Sergeant Smith still served in the Army Reserves in Dallas. She also had a stint as an extra in the Tom Cruise movie, "Born on the Fourth of July," which centered around a disabled veteran. Inspired by the film and by Oprah Winfrey's Big Give, Sergeant Smith endeavored to continue to fight for her VA benefits and to help other veteran women to do the same.

In September 2004, the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, DC invited her to speak on the Panel for Issues and Concerns with a theme of "Honoring African-American Women Veterans." This was her first public speaking engagement, and she received a standing ovation, giving her the encouragement she needed to continue to speak out on veteran women's issues. Shoshana Johnson, an African-American veteran and former Prisoner of War (POW) , was a special guest at the event. Exclaiming to her mother, "I met Mary Wilson from the Supremes, and she autographed my purse! I was invited on stage with Mary Wilson along with other veteran women, and we sang, "Stop in the Name of Love!"

Throughout her military career, Sergeant Smith noticed a troubling trend of women's voices not being heard and of them lacking adequate support from others who understood what they were going through. Sergeant Smith realized they are a "Sisterhood of The Traveling Combat Boots" with that in mind, on October 11, 2005, she started the Association Of Veteran Women, Inc. (AOVW, Inc.) with the goal of providing healing, hope and support for active duty, veteran and disabled veteran women from all branches of the United States military.

The organization strives to serve as a platform for military women to speak out on issues specific to women in the armed forces, regardless of age, race, religion or disability. Sergeant Smith believes that these issues should be at the forefront of American consciousness always, not just on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

Women in the military sacrifice so much to serve our country, yet often find themselves overlooked by politicians and society at large. AOVW, Inc.'s vision is to support these women and raise awareness about issues facing military women, including PTSD, Military Sexual Trauma (MST), veterans' benefits and homelessness, among many others. Conversely, doctors, at the VA hospital in Dallas, TX told Sergeant Smith to get a service dog for her PTSD. Therefore, Kloe, was God sent answering the call for service, and, has done an outstanding job and been a tremendous help in comforting Sergeant Smith whenever she has night sweats, nightmares, panic attacks, hives and other symptoms of PTSD --- Kloe is a Yorkie.

Military women are not there just to serve as an inspirational backdrop for politicians or a bumper sticker on citizens' cars. They are strong, capable women who deserve to be recognized for their contribution in protecting our country. AOVW, Inc. strives to convey that message to Americans and let these phenomenal women's voices be heard on a larger scale.


Visit us at http://www.aovwinc.org

Media Contact
Sergeant Kericia E. Smith
***@aol.com
(817) 461-5116
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Tags:Military Women, Veteran Women, PTSD / MST
Industry:Non-profit
Location:Arlington - Texas - United States
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Page Updated Last on: Nov 22, 2016



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