The Lived Experience of Female Veterans Deployed to the Gulf War II

PURPOSE: The purpose of this inquiry is to discover the experiences of female veterans in order to understand the impacts of combat on their physical and mental health, and to shed light on directions for future research. The research question for this inquiry is: What is the lived experience of female combat veterans who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan from 2001 through 2013? METHODS: The methodology used in this qualitative inquiry is a descriptive phenomenological approach using Husserl's philosophical framework. Colaizzi's method was used for data analysis. FINDINGS: Analysis revealed seven themes: living in constant fear while deployed, combat has different meanings, bringing the war home, fear of being forever changed, disrespect from fellow military members, physical health-for better or worse, and combat has rewarding experiences. CONCLUSION: Early detection and assessment is crucial to providing interventions to military veterans to reduce the invisible wound of war, posttraumatic stress disorder, and ultimately increase the quality of life.