Supporting Kentucky Veterans Act Forum.

It's a town hall style conversation with a panel of military and state officials discussing issues related to today's veterans.

After the program, audience members were given a chance to engage with the panelists that include Kentucky's 2022 female Veteran of the year.

Joanne or.

I went in the military in 7525.

Army retired.

Retired.

January 1st, 2000.

My new millennium.

I love it.

Okay.

But I got out with some issues.

I was there as part of the quartermaster NCO for the 24th Infantry Division.

I brought in 90,000 soldiers, go to Desert Storm, Desert Shield, and had a really hard time when my hard time started, cause I think a lot of people didn't want to really believe we were there.

And if we were, there was just a few of us.

And that wasn't the case.

Okay.

But said that to say there was really nothing here for women veterans, you know, as was giving birth.

My other Joanne with a date.

That's what tells us Apart said we were kind of left on the back burner right and all that.

Slowly but surely is starting to fade away.

That's terrific.

There's a story also, and I'm going to plug a show here on CNET that means a lot to me.

Kentucky life that we got to tell last year.

We're actually going to retell it again this year on our Veterans Day episode about that women's honor flight that you all got to take from Bluegrass Airport here.

Yes.

What's that mean to you?

Is after that day when you came back to that airport and all those people were there to cheer you on and welcome you home?

I can't imagine what that felt like.

Yeah, I thought about the gentleman, two brothers.

As a matter of fact, they had served in Vietnam, because I know when they came back, they were sort of thrown at them and spit at and called baby killers and all that sort of thing.

But for us, it was our first.

It was a first.

It was just something that had never happened before for women veterans.

Right.

Yeah.

And I don't think again, people expected to see so many of them.

Sure.

And we were a little section this big of the 27,000 women that now reside in the state of Kentucky, they have served this country.

Well, we thank her and others for their service to our country.

Supporting Kentucky Veterans Forum, hosted by Chip Holston airs tonight at eight storms seven Central right here on KCET.