Terry Greenfield introduced Staff Sergeant (SSG) Bambi Bullard, USMC, retired. In the Marines she served two tours as a Drill Instructor, one tour as a Recruiter, served in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy at the Pentagon and served as a White House Liaison during the Reagan administration. SSG Bullard was medically retired from active military service due to a severe injury.
SSG Bambi Bullard told her story of receiving less than decent quality medical treatment in the VA system after a serious accident that shattered the bones in one of her legs. It was a three-year journey to walk again, that included multiple surgeries. She eventually had to leave the VA system to get quality medical care and that led
to her eventual recovery. As she was recovering, she kept a card at her bedside and looked at it every day for motivation. It had on it a 1785 poem by the pirate Andrew Barton, and it read: “ a little I am hurt, but not yet slain. I will lie here and bleed awhile, and then I will rise and fight again.”
Since her recovery, Bambi has dedicated her life to identifying and resolving the problems women veterans face, particularly getting good medical care, and motivating them to seek the benefits to which they are entitled. She hears that many women veterans do not want to identify themselves as having been in the military service. For example, she has identified 31 members of the DAR in SC whose chapters did not know they were veterans. One stunning statistic that she shared is 77% of women in the military report being assaulted or have been a victim of sexual trauma. These are the ones that have come forward or admitted to it. Another startling statistic is that across the United States it is known that there are 55,000 women veterans who are homeless. The problem is many women veterans do not know that they qualify for the same VA benefits that men veterans do if they have served honorably on active duty for a minimum of 180 days. Another problem is many women do not feel safe coming forward as veterans. All of this has prompted Bambi to start her own organization to help veteran women called Women Veteran Resources and Retreats. It operates under the business title: SAFE HARBOR RETREATS, Inc. She is also a trained Pathfinder, which is a program founded by the SC’s Governor’s office to identify and assist veterans in danger of committing suicide. Bambi closed her presentation
mentioning an excellent SCETV series called “After Action.” It is a program that reveals the experiences of 21 diverse veterans from across the country. Her experiences are presented in one of the episodes and she has been invited back for the second season. Terry presented our guest speaker a Star Fort MOAA challenge coin.