There are a million things. The first thing I'd like to put on the table is to caution every single, solitary one of you from the top of Veterans Affairs down to be careful of who you choose as an elder. Make sure they are truly recognized by their people as elders, not by just anybody. That is very important, because there are a lot of instant elders—“Just add money, and I'll be there.” That's just a warning.
When I was in the service, it was a little bit different from today because we were two separate services. There was the regular army and there was the Women's Army Corps. That doesn't exist any more. It's all one. As for the camaraderie, when you are a soldier in uniform, you are pretty much accepted until certain little aspects in life cause women to stand out a little bit more. If you have an officer who wants something typed up properly, they're not going over to Doug and ask him to type it. They're going to come over to Randi and ask her. Of course, I'm a secretary, and he may be a business education person. What can I say?
Make sure there is a clear understanding that when you're a soldier, you're a soldier. One of the issues about being a soldier is just that—you are a soldier. You're a comrade. You're the same. When you deploy someone, this is the time that the real differences happen, because a simple little thing.... You just have to look at the deployment. Make sure there are things there for the deployed woman soldier, like privacy to pee: a bucket and a blanket.