BISMARCK, ND (KXNET) – Women are the fastest-growing group in the veteran community, though they only make up 11% of all veterans in the United States. As this community evolves, women veterans are stepping forward, each with a story and a mission to support those who follow in their footsteps. We go inside a movement in Minot, highlighting the women who continue to serve—through a unique sisterhood, even after military service.
Inside the Vets for Vets Hall in Minot, a group of women gather—not as military spouses, but as veterans themselves. They’ve worn the nation’s uniform, navigated the challenges of service, and now, work together to make sure women veterans are recognized and supported.
April Schaubroek is one of those women. She joined the Army determined to change her life after time spent in foster care and independent living homes. During her service, Schaubroek took on convoy security missions out of Kuwait during the withdrawal from Iraq. She overcame childhood trauma and the mental toll of deployments, crediting her recovery to the support found in veteran and community resources after serving.
“Being sent back early from deployment because of everything that I went through in that year, and it caused a lot of embarrassingly homicidal and suicidal ideations, and they were formulating into plans,” she said. “But just having ladies that you can relate to and that you can be appreciative of and be appreciated by is a huge blessing.”
Women veterans can face unique challenges—higher rates of depression and anxiety, barriers to health care and childcare, and struggles with being recognized as veterans at all. Women veterans have a suicide rate 92% higher than non-veteran women. 28% percent of women veterans are single parents and only 45% use VA health services, even as their need for specialized care, from reproductive health to PTSD, is rising.
Just like Army veteran Sue Spade. She operated heavy equipment and served as a mail clerk during her deployment to Iraq. After leaving the military, Spade struggled with PTSD and the challenge of adjusting to civilian life as a single parent, finding her greatest support in her Minot women veterans’ group.
“I mean because when I got back from Iraq there was like, it was like six months I couldn’t sleep and then because I was transitioning from one unit to another, I didn’t get the help I needed then,” Spade recalled. “I think I’ve opened up more since I’ve came here. Instead of just pretty much trying to deal with everything by myself, which I was so used to. I got all my friends here to say that, hey knucklehead, we’re here so you don’t have to do this by yourself anymore.”
More than 2.1 million women have served, and their numbers continue to grow rapidly. The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs estimates that by 2040, nearly one in every five veterans will be a woman. These local trailblazers are coming together to fight for benefits, support, and recognition that is too often tailored for men.
That’s what Jessica Cox says she experienced after serving as a dental technician at Minot Air Force Base, then deploying to Qatar with a force protection unit in 2019. She notes her biggest challenge came after her return, navigating mental health support when on-base services fell short—but ultimately finding help through the Vet Center.
“When I deployed, I realized how little of women there are compared to men. So, then it was more male dominated. I got to work with some guys that were very, I don’t even know how to say it appropriately, but they were interesting. I experienced some things that I get counseling for now,” explained Cox. “Mental health on base wasn’t, they kept canceling my appointments, trying to reschedule and being in a patient care job, you can’t really reschedule. Like you need that certain time off and then I’m like okay, well I can’t because I’m in patient care. So where mental health kind of filled me on base, I was able to get the services and help I needed off base at the Vet Center.”
Despite these obstacles, these women are building solutions—testing new programs, collecting data, and forging networks where no one’s service is invisible. One highlight is a new research project spearheaded by a local member, aiming to capture the voices, challenges, and successes of women veterans in Minot and beyond.
Maria Molenhauer was a Marine Corps logistics and supplies specialist at MCAS New River, North Carolina, originally joining as a musician. Medically retired, she turned her struggle with reintegration into a mission, now pursuing a PhD focused on women veterans’ experiences and leading research to shape the future of veteran support.
“Woman Veterans have a unique experience and story and a lot of times we think like, oh this could be captured on a survey, but that’s not true,” said Molenhauer. “What my part of my research shows is that people can have varying different experiences and motivations that help them navigate choices in life after military service or even while they’re still serving. Because all I’ve come across over the last, I would say 11 months since I’ve been doing this study is that there’s not enough attention on the individual experiences and how they’ve affected everybody.”
As more women veterans find their voices, spaces like the Minot DAV become lifelines, bridging the gap between service and home, and making North Dakota a place where every veteran belongs.
If you’re a woman veteran looking to connect or find support, the Minot Vet’s for Vets women’s group holds their meetings on the second and fourth Tuesday every month at 6:30 p.m.
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