Aleha is working to create a safe culture at work through her company Work Culture Works. She grew up an Army brat and swore she would never join the military. Then after high school graduation her mom said it was time to move out. And the military was the best option and led her to the Air Force. She worked in both Ammunitions and Finance. She shared about her experience in the Air Force and how being sexual assaulted on a deployment and not having support after the assault led to mental health challenges and has fueled her passion for the work she is doing today!
Building a safe culture at work
After boot camp and tech school she went to Tyndal AFB located in the panhandle of Florida. There she started to do more hands on training for her job. She had been doing that training work for a few months before September 11th happened. With the events of September 11th, 2001, she got pulled from training and spent the rest of her time at Tyndal on patrol duty. She was happy in Florida and ready to settle in but had gone in and updated her preferences and inadvertently had volunteered for a short tour to Guam. So off to Guam she went.
Out in the middle of the ocean
At Guam she did have the opportunity to do her job in ammunitions. It was hard work and she became one of the guys. But also faced a number of injuries and a few close calls. She knew that she needed to find a new job or leave the Air Force. So when she got back to Florida, now at Elgin AFB she cross trained in the Finance. After completing tech school she went back to Elgin only to learn she was being reassigned to South Dakota for a new centralized headquarters for finance. It was quite a culture shock to go from ammunitions to finance.
Deploying oversea
She deployed twice. The first time was to Al Udeid and the second time was to Honduras. Her job overseas was very different the job she did in the states. Taking her from out behind her desk and working the local population to make payments and track all the information. It was in Honduras she was sexually assaulted and it became a turning point. She didn’t report it because fear of how she would be treated and her mental health continued to decline. It wasn’t until she missed work for three days and a friend came to find her and took her to the ER. After that she was able to start getting help and begin the path toward healing. As she began to heal she knew she wanted to get out of the military. She took one more assignment and retired at 19 years.
Today she the owner of Work Culture Works. Aleha has an unshakable belief in creating better workplaces, a
belief that grew from her own struggles. Work Culture Works isn’t just a consulting agency; it’s a manifestation of
Aleha’s journey—a journey that showcases her resilience and dedication to reshaping workplace cultures for the better.
