Sueann learned about the career field of preventative medicine health career field when she joined the Army. And while she could have went into he military as an officer she didn’t know about that path. But once she arrived at her first assignment the Captain she was working for helped her get her direct commission and switch from preventative medicine to Environmental Science as an Officer. Her work led her to work all over the world with a specific focus in Africa and even though she left the military after 29 years of service is still working with Africa today as the Project Manager, Tactical Combat Casualty Care; Programmatic Lead for Women, Peace, and Security.
Serving in Preventative Medicine as a Career in the Army
She was about to graduate college and the recruiter told her she wouldn’t have to start as an E-1 and could skip to E-4 with her college credits. Little did she know that there were other options. But it all worked out for her and she began her career in the Army and headed off to Basic Training after graduating from college. When her boss an Army Captain learned she had a degree in Biology she worked to help her get a package to direct commission as an officer. 10 months after arriving at her first assignment and with almost two years in the service she drove cross country to Officer Training and pinned on her new rank.
Officer training
She went to training to learn how to become an officer. Three fourths of her class had prior military experience and they were able to help the brand new members. It was a quick overview to learn everything to know about being an officer. Then she headed off to career field training. It was still in Texas. Then her first assignment was to Fort Bliss also located in Texas. Her husband who was enlisted was stationed there and they were able to stay there together.
Next they headed off to Fort Moore (formally known as Fort Benning) in Georgia. There she became a mom and her husband decided to end his military career so he could help take care of their daughter. It worked better for their family for him to leave the service but still required a lot of sacrifice.
Off to Japan
After Georgia they had the opportunity to go to Japan. They loved the assignment. Not only did they get to live in Japan, but she traveled a lot for work and sometimes her family got to come with her. She specifically talked about how nice it was to be able to visit family in Thailand. Her parents immigrated from Thailand. She would work for the time required and then spend an extra week. Her husband struggled to find a job, but since their daughter was still young he was able to stay at home with her and then had the flexibility to travel.
They also had the opportunity to live in Europe. That is where she had the opportunity to work with AFRICOM (Africa Command). She talked about how they worked to help meet the people where they were and try to implement changes. They were often worried about water quality and malaria. Things that the U.S. primarily doesn’t need to focus on. So that was an interesting aspect of her career.
Life after the military
Today she continues to work in preventative medicine. She is working SINCERUS as the Project Manager, Tactical Combat Casualty Care; Programmatic Lead for Women, Peace, and Security.
