Picking Up The Pieces

Whanja only thought about joining the military, when her partner ran her deeply into debt. Now she has to learn again routines of civilian life. 

Daniela wanted to break away from her family's poverty. In military she was placed as the only woman in a group of male company and brutally sexually assaulted. 

Linda wanted to see the world in the military, but nursing blown-up bodies of soldiers in the ongoing war ended up turning her into a recluse.

Gwen...

Sue...

Mary-Ann....

They served the United States military at home and abroad in war zones. They
all left the service broken inside. They all work hard to heal themselves and move on with their lives.

One in five new military recruits are women. Well over a quarter of a million
American women have served in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Until
recently, they were not regarded as having been in combat, although in contemporary war zones the front line is everywhere.

Recently, the United States has started to wake up to the fact that many of its warrior women return home shattered, suffering from PTSD and sexual trauma.
This is on top of the shock of returning to worsening economic climate:battling to find a job, housing and adjusting to civilian life. Despite this, you don't yet see many of them living on the streets. They may sleep on a friend's couch or in their car, quietly, privately dealing with their past as a wounded soldier, but with no visible injuries. But there is a danger and fear of a new
Vietnam-like generation that ends up on the streets within a few years, if there is no safety net to catch them if they fall.

In this multimedia story, you can follow women veterans' harrowing journey to war and the sometimes more traumatic return to civilian life. They have all searched hard for ways to get back on their feet again. You can also choose to follow paths to solutions, war experiences, PTSD or other specific issues. As a reader, you can choose how and what you discover and learn in this multimedia report.