So yeah, I was shot twice in Afghanistan, and it turns out that if that happens, occasionally they'll give you a dog instead of proper medical care.

I was in the First Gulf, attached to a Marine unit.

On the front lines, trained as a dental technician.

People ask me, "Were you in the war?"

"Yeah, the war on plaque!"

Now look, uh, I know what everybody's thinking: President of the United States, uh, he looks a lot different in real life.

I was hand-picked to train the Iraqi army in vehicle maintenance.

The most work I have ever done on a car is change a flat tire.

And I did that by pulling over on the side of the road, and flashing my boobs.

Which did not go over well with the women in the Iraqi village.

But I did win the men's hearts and minds.

For the civilians, I don't expect you to care about this as much as we do, 'cause we lived it.

But I want you to feel it, I want you to feel it.

The veteran community - and when I watch I always get choked up, you know I cry like a little *bleep*.

Though you should see the end of my one-man show, it's like waaaah!

Girls walk out, "What a *bleep*!"

When you're in the military, you feel like you're part of something bigger.

And it's hard to find that outside of the military.

You know, like I deployed to Iraq, like, how am I gonna top that, you know?

So being able to get here on stage, be here in New York City, performing in English -- it's... What made you realize that comedy was your thing?

I got out of the military, and my husband saw a flyer for Comedy Bootcamp, and he thought I was funny.

And he's like, "Yeah, you should really try stand up comedy."

Alright so, we're back at a Comedy Bootcamp class.

This class is geared towards not necessarily making stand up comedians; it's helping you deal with and break out what's in the inside of you.

Now we're starting to get into finalizing our sets for graduation.

Who wants to go first?

If you noticed, I use mobility aids to get around, also known as crutches.

And I do appreciate it when people help me out by holding doors.

But if you're twenty feet behind me, you don't really need to run over me to get the door for me.

I do on occasion use a wheelchair.

People are under a misconception that you have to be paralyzed to use a wheelchair.

So when I'm standing up out of my wheelchair people always give me this dirty look like I'm cheating.

But I have the solution for that: I just go, "It's a miracle!"

Shuts 'em right up.

That's kinda my story.

I think it was great.

But the reason why people are so engaged is because we're actually learning with you.

We've never been -- we're not in your shoes -- well, okay, so that's how he feels when we go and do the stupid things, and we run around to the door.

That's from his perspective.

So I like that, I really like that, 'cause I try to do that also, in my set so I think it's really good.

I have a lot of, you know, resentment for things that happened or mean things that people have said to me.

The Comedy Bootcamp really has helped me gain that skill where now I can turn, you know, my anger and frustration into something positive.

I'm almost kind of like, looking forward to it, like, please say something to me, I need new material!

I wanna take this one.

Um, a toy?

So do you feel there's a difference between military humor and civilian humor?

The military humor I have experienced is a little offensive, and not so feminist.

And then, you know, in the military, I really felt like I had to be very strong, and as a female you have to work harder than a male to be at the same level.

So a lot of people that were in the military with me, they're amazed that I'm doing comedy.

They're like, "She actually has a sense of humor?"

Because when people will make those type of jokes that to me were offensive, I'm not going to laugh.

Even though actually that was a little funny, but it's not okay, I'm not going to laugh.

I can enjoy a, you know, "blue" comedy, what they call it, 'cause it's funny.

I just feel like there's a time and place for that; you know, if we're at a comedy club.

But while you're in uniform, when you allow that, you create a culture in your unit or your organization that it is okay, it is okay to see females in that way.

I was sexually harassed in the military from day one until the day I left.

So, it's not over.

Would I recommend that to my daughter, to go in the military?

Absolutely not.

Never.

I don't think it's a good place for women.

But again, I don't regret.

I'm proud of my service.

You know with veterans, you're supposed to love the military, right?

Or you're supposed to be against the military, right?

And this group is against it, and this group is for it.

But these are people, at the end of the day, who have very nuanced experiences of something that's very confusing, to do service over there.

So this is translating something into comedy.

When it's time to do that, 'cause it can be sort of half-baked and still traumatizing, it's too early then, but later, when it's ready, that's magic!

I really don't think I'm ever going to get used to being here up on stage without dollar bills coming at me.

I'm just kidding.

I'm not a stripper.

Anymore.

Not ever since I got that VA claim approved.