This week my guest is Riley Tejcek. She is currently serving in the Marine Corps and she is part of USA’s Bobsled Team. Recently she competed in her first two women World Championship. She also competed and won in the Ms. Military Pageant. Currently, she is about to complete her first assignment as the S4 (Logistics) in Southern California and is moving to her next assignment in Quantico, Virginia.

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Serving in the Marine Corps while on USA’s Bobsled Team

Riley doesn’t have a military background and didn’t consider joining the military until she met a recruiter at college. She was going to school while on a Division I Softball scholarship and felt drawn to serve in the Marine Corps. As an athlete her time was limited and instead of going through the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program she decided to go through a different route. Her military training requirement were split over two summers. First between her freshman and sophomore year and then her final stage between her junior and senior year.

When she graduated she was commission and at the end of the summer headed to Basic course. She didn’t get her first job choice and instead ended up in the field of logistics. After completing Basic course she headed off to her career school training and then her first assignment was in Southern California. She moved during summer of 2020 and was looking for other opportunities and learned that the USA Bobsled Team was looking for people to join. That seemed like a great opportunity for her. So, she trained and submitted a video. Then she had the opportunity to go out to final selection. She was also able to work remotely throughout the whole process.

Being picked for Team USA

She was selected for Team USA Bobsled. And recently had the opportunity to compete at the World Championships.She was also named USMC Athlete of the Year – Bobsled. And continues to serve in the Marine Corps. She is excited about the future. When I asked what advice she would give to women, she tells women they don’t have to prove themselves. Women just need to be themselves. The military has a place for everyone. And if you need someone to talk to about military life be it joining, a hard situation or considering transition sign up to be connected with a mentor through the Women of the Military mentorship program.

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