Joining the military later in life

Suzanne started looking into joining the military later in life. She was 26 when she joined ROTC and then commissioned two years later the age of 28. Because of this she often became the mother hen of the group and was entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of others. She ended up leaving the military after marrying her husband who is a warrant officer in the military. Today, she has found purpose again through her work at Instant Teams.

Joining the military later in life

Suzanne was working at a bank and when offer the opportunity to open a new branch she realized she didn’t want to continue in the same career path. This led her to look into the military. She ended up joining the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. And headed off to Field Training after quickly joining. She enjoyed ROTC and really felt is was the right place for her. Her first assignment was at Robins AFB in Georgia.

She worked as a personnelist at her first assignment. She was an older officer and talked about how she was contacted by different men on the base to date, including Col. It made her uncomfortable and she and her room mate decided to join match.com which is how she met her now husband who was in the Army and stationed two hours away in Savannah.

Friendship in the military

She talked about how being at a small town for her first assignment really allowed her to make great friends. They would spend time together each weekend hosting BBQs or other events. She also had strong friendships built at Field Training that continue today. The people she became friends with in the military are people that she would drop anything for if they needed her.

Leaving the military

She decided to leave the military because as she and her husband decided to start their family they didn’t feel they had a strong family support plan if they both deployed. Because of this they began discussing who would get out of the military. And in the end, because her husband had 5 more years of service she decided she would be the one who got out of the military. She didn’t expect leaving to be so hard. Her first clue was attending job fairs and when people learned she was not only a veteran but a military spouse they would ask her why she was looking for a job. Couldn’t she just stay home with her kids? She lost a piece of herself and didn’t know who she was. It took some time and a few different adventures but she was able to find a job with Instant Teams and it is the right place for her.

Military Sexual Trauma

We also touched on how the trauma she experience from harassment and assault in the military affected her. It took years before she finally told someone. And just in the last few years did she tell her husband. She was worried how he would react. So often in the military things are brushed aside. It can be hard to speak up. Not having support of those around you is one of the reasons I created the Women of the Military Mentorship Program. A place where women joining, serving or veterans can get support. If you have questions or need help. Please sign up.

 

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