When she got to the University of Tennessee, former Army combat medic Linda Hinkle noticed female veterans didn’t hang out together. Though united by experience, they tended to live through the college environment separately. Hinkle wanted to change that.
She created Lady Vets in October 2015, and membership has swelled from single digits to more than 90 people. In this conversation with WUOT’s Brandon Hollingsworth, Hinkle talks about her military career, the importance of social connections for veterans, and what civilians should know about interacting with those who have served.