April is the month of the Military Child and I wanted to highlight some stories from women who have served in the military who also were military kids. This week my guest Molly Denham. She joined the Air Force after high school and became an admin. She ended up serving in the Air Force for 22 years. Her career started right after the Gulf War and spanned past 9/11. We talked about how much the military changed after 9/11 and her experience of being both a military child and member.
Military Child to Military Member
In this episode we highlight how the generations of service effected Molly’s choice to serve in the military. Specifically the Air Force. She talked about growing up as a military child and how that experience shaped her world view. It had challenges but she also got to see and explore so much. She talked about how her own children also got to experience the world from her time in the military.
Pre/Post 9/11
We also spent a lot of time talking about how the military changed after 9/11. The deployments and ops tempo were much lower before 9/11 and then everything changed. She deployed and was sent to Korea for a year. Her husband also deployed and was sent to Korea for a year. They worked are to stay connected even while separated with limited options for talking. But they found a way to make it work. She said she was also lucky because she was stationed close to her parents and was able to rely on their support during the challenging ops tempo.
She left the military because her husband had retired and her son was in high school. These two factors, especially the fact that her husband would have to find a new career led to her deciding it was time to say good bye to the military. She started working as a virtual assistant and slowly has grown her business to support clients and has a team working with her.
Advice for the next generation
She recommends young women considering military service do research along with reaching out and talk to women who have served. I created the Women of the Military mentorship program to help connect young women with women veterans, you can sign up here. You can also check out my new book A Girl’s Guide to Military Service, it is an all encompassing guide to help you answer your questions about military life. It can help you decide if the military is right for you and help you decide what career field, branch and way to serve is right for you. It also provides guidance to help you have a strong foundation before you begin your career in the military. And of course, you can hear more stories of women who have served on Women of the Military podcast.
