If I'm strong, I'm not going to apologize for being strong.

I'm 100 percent serious. I've been fighting for equality for women's issues my entire life, in the military included.

[Fighting for equality for women] that's what my mission has been for the last years.

A lot of women were betting on me because there were so few role models and I let them down. They had put me on a pedestal. I maybe enjoyed being in that limelight, but I couldn't reverse what I had done.

When I fell, some people were in such shock that they didn't reach out. They were so mad at me, rather than having compassion for what happened. I lost a lot of friends.

Hopefully women can work with [Ivanka Trump ] to influence up the chain of command. I think it's good for us, for women. It's a glimmer of hope.

The word is a label and I don't like it at all.