Siobhan served in the Air Force as a Therapist and faced a challenging situation that she didn’t expect while serving in the military. She faced discrimination in the military and also had toxic leadership that led her to feel like a failure and contemplated suicide. Luckily, she found an anchor in focusing on what she would do once she left the military behind. Today, she is a business owner and is creating spaces for badass ladies who handle being an adult like a boss.
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Facing discrimination in the military
Siobhan is a military brat and did not initially consider military service. Instead, she went to college and got her degree, and became a social worker. She felt stuck in a bad relationship and on the advice of her brother looked into serving in the military as an officer. He suggested the Navy, but she joined the Air Force. She went through the Commissioned Officer Training Program. It is a program for specialized skilled people within the medical career field, JAG, and other specialties. It was very different than what a typical boot camp training was like. She also began her career as a 1st Lieutenant because of her experience and her master’s degree.
Discrimination in the military
Even though she had worked in her career field since college she was often questioned because people looked at her rank and assumed she did not have the experience. This caused her to doubt herself and her abilities in training. Things continued to decline at her first assignment when she felt targeted by a male and female officer. While also not having the support of the commander. She felt that her skin color was one of the reasons she faced these challenges. All the other officers were white.
She felt suicidal and struggled with the structure of the military and the discrimination she faced. She was able to use the tools she learned as a therapist to help her find a new focus point. And eventually the commander left and the two other officers moved to new bases. She ended her career with better leadership but had already decided to leave the military behind.
Civilian to CEO
She tried a few other jobs to work to help veterans but ran into problems with each new job. She eventually decided to start a business to help to create spaces for badass ladies who handle being an adult like a boss. She is working on a number of projects to get her business off the ground. While also filling the role of a new mom.
She says the military isn’t the only way out of a tough situation and while sometimes it might feel enticing it shouldn’t be the why behind you join. Instead, you should look inside yourself and figure out why you want to serve and use that to drive you as you serve.
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Related episodes:
From Military Officer to Culture Expert – Episode 145
Being a Dentist in the military – Episode 103
Finding Healing through Yoga in the Army – Episode 81
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