This week, I’m celebrating 100 podcast episodes with women in the military. I pulled some of the pieces of military advice for young women from my guests. There are pieces of their quotes in the blog post, but take time to listen to their full advice on the podcast. And make sure if you are considering military service to take time to listen to the stories shared on the podcast. Women have been serving for generations and have so much advice to help make service for the next generation even better.

Listen to the full episode here

Cynthia Cline – Episode 3 03:06

The first thing I would say is the military is a great opportunity. I’ve definitely learned a lot and it’s definitely challenged me and I think I’m a better wife, a better mother, a better sister, a better daughter because of it, too. This is probably one of my biggest like pet peeves of women in the military…

Mandy Snell – Episode 6 05:35

I think if anything else, I would say, don’t sign up for anything, without having somebody there with you…

Shakeia Kegler – Episode 9 06:34

Make sure that you’re doing it for the right reasons, your reason for joining is strong enough to keep you to stay, because it’s not easy…

Annette Whittenberger – Episode 11 07:07

I will say you can do it. I’ve heard many people say I don’t know how you did it, there’s no way I could…Don’t feel like you have to prove it to anybody just do it for you. Your time you don’t have to do 20 do as long as you want in. It’s all up to you. It’s for you, not for anybody else.

Suzie Wilcox – Episode 12 07:58

If your heart isn’t it, go for it. But I really do think it’s important to cater your personality to the branch…But overall, I’m all for it…

Katrina Moon – Episode 15 09:20

I think that if you have this calling that it’s a gift, it is going to be hard. It’s going to be challenging, and it’s going to frustrate you. And it’s going to ask a lot of you. But it is still a gift and a privilege, being part of a team, working together, working for something beyond yourself and testing your limit. All of those things are not only going to better the nation as you serve but they’re also going to better you and increase your own self-worth your own resiliency beyond what you thought. So, I think that the United States will be better for your service. But so, will you.

Tammy Bartlet – Episode 21 10:01

I would tell girls to be prepared to serve unselfishly, but the military is a 24/365 type of job. And that you will be held to a higher standard from even when you are active duty serving, when you’re on leave, or Liberty, and I feel you have to search yourself deeply if you’re able to serve that way, not everyone can, not everyone does. But I feel to do the military due diligence that you would have to consider serving in that direction.

Lacy Langford – Episode 22 10:30

I would tell them to first and foremost do their research, you definitely want to understand all of the services and the military, what they do, what their mission is, to understand what your quality of life will be in the job you’ll be doing…

Pam Chavez – Episode 23 11:22

Weigh all of your options and if it is the best thing to do, then do it…

Linsey Daley – Episode 26 12:13

I would tell them to go for it. It was a great experience. I mean, yes, I had a very traumatic experience in the military. But it obviously did not, you know, paint the picture for my entire career, I would probably just say, don’t be too naive, because the military does do a good job of telling you that everyone’s your brother and sister and we trust everyone. And you know, and they want that for everyone. But that’s not the case all the time. So, go for it’s a great experience.

Natalie Olivero – Episode 27  12:41

Girl, go to let anybody tell you, you can’t do it. Because if I can do it, anybody can do it. And you have more power and talent and capability than you ever thought possible. And there will be moments where people will push you to your breaking point. But you will not break. You will be stronger and better and smarter than you ever imagined. So, don’t let anybody hold you back. Don’t let anybody ever tell you So, can’t and just go for it.

Kelly Rodriquez – Episode 30 13:20

I think the same thing I would tell anybody let me preface my answer. I was very blessed. We talked about Desert Storm real briefly before I had to Desert Storm veterans as my first two female and NCOs when I got to my unit in Germany and they lived in their track vehicle for however long they were there was at the end of being almost I think two months they taught me your soldier, not a female soldier, your soldier do your job you do it? Well, you do. You know you do everything that you’re capable of doing.

And that’s what I would let anybody know you’re joining the military, it is disciplined. It is rigorous. It’s not easy. And it’s not supposed to be easy, but it is the most rewarding thing I think you’ll ever get. And that’s what I would tell people it is an education you cannot receive anywhere else.

Vanessa King – Episode 31 14:59

I think the biggest thing is just to be true to yourself, you know, obviously, when you go through basic or when you go through field training, they’re going to break you down and then build you back up. But through that process, still, stay true to your personality, you know, learn those leadership skills, learn how to how to be a good leader, and just stick to your guns, because I feel like a lot of people automatically see you as a woman and think you’re weaker…

Kerry Karwan – Episode 36 16:35

And I think just people no matter what service they join, to educate themselves on what it is the service does the pros and cons of it, and just know that when you raise your right hand and give your life to that service, that’s kind of exactly what they think. And you may not end up dying, serving your country, but your life is no longer your own…

Jasmin Hurley – Episode 38 19:20

Do your research…And if anybody has questions, and they hear this. Call me all or get in touch with me over LinkedIn, or whatever. I’ll help you find somebody that you can talk to, or you can ask me questions and questions about it. And we can get you the information that you need to be able to figure out if this is what you want to do. And if it’s not something you want to do, then that’s okay, too.

Honorable Deborah James – Episode 40 21:45

I would say that when I was entering the workforce back in the 1980s, I was standing on the shoulders of the women who had fought the battles in the 1960s and 1970s and had acquired for the rest of us some rights and privileges, and expectations that didn’t perhaps exist before. So, the mantra back then was, you can have it all.

Recently, in more recent years, I think there’s been a bit of a backlash on that. And there’s this other sort of statement that you can’t have it all, you know, you sort of have to choose. And I think both of those statements are wrong. So, my advice to women who are entering the workforce today is you can have it all, but you can’t have it all the time.

Katie Horgan – Episode 51 22:59

For me personally, and if that was probably the best decision, I could have made I don’t think that I ever thought that I was really capable of some of the stuff that I did. And it’s not easy, like, don’t get me wrong, it’s not easy. It’s very hard. But it was worth it to me meant that I proved to myself that I could do something that was difficult in a place where there aren’t that many women…

Angela Tormey – Episode 63 24:10

I get to the military is not for everybody. It’s truly not some great folks have walked away from the military. And I’ve helped people walk away from the military. When it comes to girls considering joining the military. Just ask, What do you have to lose? It’s a great opportunity…

Samantha Glassman – Episode 62 25:17

Study hard, and don’t take any crap and do the job the best you can understand that in the military, even though it is a male-dominated industry that people respect competence more than anything else, if you’re good at your job, it doesn’t matter if you’re male, female, you know, black, white, anything else, if you’re doing your job well, and you can be trusted to do your job at all times, and you do it well, you won’t have any issues at all…

Nicole Terwey – Episode 56 26:42

If someone could have told me what I’m going to say I think it would have made my time so much more enjoyable. And any girl that’s thinking about joining, I would want to ask them, when you think about yourself in the military, how do you want to feel like how do you really want to feel and think about it and think about what you’ll be doing when you’re feeling that way?

Gen Wilma Vaught – Episode 65 28:00

One of the first things that you need to understand that you need to take care of yourself in need to take care of your people. And if you don’t take care of your people, you’re going to be assured they’re going to take care of you. And you may not like it too well when they take care of you because I have known people who didn’t take care of their people and their people got rid of them…

Lesley Lykins – Episode 67 29:35

Absolutely. 100% do it! We need you we need your brain. We need your way of thinking we need your service. There’s just so much opportunity…

Gwendolyn Jules – Episode 85 32:03

If you want to do it, go for it. But just understand what you are getting yourself into joining the military. So, you can get a college degree is probably not the best idea. One of the things that I found out about the military like we were talking about earlier, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into what I initially joined. But what I found out years later about the mission of the army was to go to war right into we’re at war.

Richelle Futch – Episode 86  32:55

One of the things I always like to remember is that meaning and truth evolve over time…So as a mental health counselor, now my advice would be if you’re thinking about joining, you know, take three sessions with a counselor outside of the school outside of the military, and just get to know yourself, get to know your why. And make sure that you’re on track.

Laura Colbert – Episode 87 34:05

As a high school teacher, I would give my presentation my and I would share my experience about Iraq all the time to my students. And it’s not to highlight, you know, the good or the bad or the ugly or to persuade people with literally a sequential order of what happened. And just to give people some insight, because since we’re not in the draft, or I feel like the gap between civilian and military is so huge…

Kim Sciutto-Bailey Episode 90 35:43

So that’s tough because I think a lot of people question me. Would I tell people not to join the military? Now that I know all of these things that have happened to me or that all the experiences that I had. And I wouldn’t tell them not to join. Remember how I mentioned earlier on that I had that really great experience with leadership. There are people that have really good experiences in the military, my best advice would be just to know your resources to liked know yourself to always show up authentically, as yourself to self-advocate, because there are resources out there…

Nicole Malachowski – Episode 93 36:51

I would absolutely say if that’s what your heart is telling you to do, then go for it. These are unprecedented times for women in the military, every single career field is open to you. If you follow your dreams, you’re going to be a trailblazer and a Vanguard. You’re going to see the world you’re going to lead people and be on a team. Something so extraordinary, can’t even imagine part of something bigger than yourself. And along the way, you’re going to be making history, which is pretty darn cool.

Ashleigh Magee – Episode 98  37:31

What I wish I could have told myself at the very beginning that I’ve learned now is you have to learn to be your own self-advocate. There’s going to be so many times in your military career or your life where you think you just you have to do something because someone else is demanding it from you. But the thing is, you have to take care of yourself in order to be the best at your job be the best version of yourself…

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