Today, I interviewed Dina Farmer. Dina started her career in the Air Force serving on active duty. She left active duty through the Palace Chase program and continued her service from active duty to National Guard.
Active Duty to National Guard
Dina enlisted into the Air Force in 2005. She joined the military when she was faced with a high medical bill and needed a way to pay for college. She started her career in the Air Force in the Communication Squadron. When given the opportunity to switch career fields she did and Biomedical Engineering. While she was working in the National Guard someone from the Public Affairs shopped found out she was majoring in Photography. They recruited her to work in Public Affairs as a photojournalist. She loved her job as a photojournalist. And her advice to girls joining the military is to wait to get the job she wants and not rush into the military.
One of the things we discussed in the interview was the struggle of being a mil to mil couple and having a family while serving in the Air Force. Having to work exercises while her husband was deployed was extremely difficult as the 12-hour shifts were not covered by base childcare. Finding childcare to cover the extra hours was very difficult and she didn’t get sympathy from her leadership.
When she left active duty to serve via the Air National Guard she found a much more supportive leadership. When her husband was deployed they were able to work with her and she felt like it was a family. Later, when her husband was transferred to Hawaii she was unable to find a job at the National Guard unit. She decided to separate from the Air Force instead of retraining into a new job.
Palace Chase in the Air Force – Episode 69
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