Army veteran Lindsey Schmidt says she was told, “You don’t belong here,” when she pushed to deploy to Iraq. She later earned the nickname “Xena” and is now featured in the 2027 Pin-Ups For Vets calendar, a fundraiser that spotlights female veterans in vintage, World War II-style portraits, according to Fox News Digital and the California-based nonprofit.
From “You Don’t Belong Here” to “Xena”
Schmidt served nine years in the Army and deployed to Iraq as an Arabic linguist and interrogator, she told Fox News Digital. A Virginia resident, she said she joined after 9/11 to serve in what she called “the war of my generation.”
“Initially, I wasn’t even supposed to go on deployment. They told me no many, many times,” Schmidt said, adding that she persisted and “found a way to get myself onto the deployment.” She recalled that some soldiers “told me to my face, ‘You don’t belong here. We don’t want any females.’”
Schmidt said she was the only woman in her battalion. After she began accompanying Green Berets on missions, a soldier who had opposed her presence returned her helmet with “Xena” painted across the back—a nickname that spread among troops, according to her account to Fox News Digital.
On Mission With Green Berets
Schmidt said she accompanied ODA teams of Green Berets on missions while others remained at the forward operating base. She described a role shaped by cultural dynamics: separating women and children from men and speaking with Iraqi women in Arabic to gather information male soldiers would not access.
She told Fox News Digital that many Iraqi women were surprised to meet an armed American soldier who spoke fluent Arabic. “There was a lot of curiosity, a lot of hesitance,” Schmidt said, adding that cooperation could improve outcomes for families.
One interrogation stands out to her. After witnessing a detainee’s capture in full combat gear, she later questioned him in civilian clothes. When he gave a story she knew was false, she said she pulled back her hair and told him to imagine her in uniform: “I was there.” According to Schmidt, “the rest of the questioning went a little bit different after that.”
Why a Pin-Up Calendar
Pin-Ups For Vets was founded in 2006 by Gina Elise, who has said she drew inspiration from Betty Grable’s World War II-era pin-up. The 2027 calendar features 13 female veterans from across the country, the nonprofit says.
For Schmidt, the retro portraits offered a “full-circle” nod to the World War II era that inspired her to serve. “The whole reason I even joined the military was because of ‘Saving Private Ryan,’” she told Fox News Digital. She added that highlighting femininity matters for women who “don’t feel super feminine when we’re in uniform.”
What the Nonprofit Supports
Pin-Ups For Vets says calendar proceeds help fund hospital visits, care packages for deployed troops, rehabilitation equipment for VA hospitals, and support for homeless veterans and those transitioning into housing. The organization says it has donated nearly $140,000 in rehabilitation equipment and visited more than 25,000 veterans across over 135 hospitals and state veterans’ homes.
Freedom, Not Taken for Granted
Asked what Americans take for granted, Schmidt answered, “Everything.” After serving in the Middle East, she cited the ability—“especially for women”—to drive, vote, work, and build credit. “We can be anyone we want to be,” she told Fox News Digital.
