Personal Narrative: A Career As An Army National Guard

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As an Army National Guard I was determined to do things that would set me apart from others. I started out my career as a Quartermaster Chemical Equipment Repairer and then converting over to a Light Wheel Vehicle Mechanic. I was the only female mechanic in my company. My older brother was a Sergeant First Class in my Company and he always pushed me to do different things. He knew how much I hated the stigma of “Females are not equal to Males’, in the Army. So one day I was talking to my grandfather and he said to me, “Baby girl what is your greatest fear?” I had to think for a moment and I said, “I’m afraid of flying.” So the next day my grandfather took me down to the airport to just watch the airplanes take off and land. I was trying to figure out what he was trying to show me. He then turned around and said, “You would make a great Pilot.” I looked at him like he was crazy and said, “Grandad, do you really think so?” He said “Yes I do, even though you are afraid.” I paused for a minute and then we got in the car and headed back home. My Grandfather was my world especially with my Father being in and out of my life. …show more content…
I never thought about it after that. I continued on being a mechanic and at the time being a mentor for the other females in my unit that was amazed by what I was doing. A few years later my grandfather took ill. It was a shocker because no one in the family ever thought that he would ever get sick. See my grandfather was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and he had to travel to New York form the Virgin Islands to get treatment. My grandfather ended up losing his battle with Cancer in November 2004. It was the hardest day of my life. After the funeral I felt like I had to do find something to motivate me because the one person that was my motivation was no longer here to give me the pep talks or wipe my tears when I had a bad day. So after constant battles with my career I finally made the decision to get over my fear and make a drastic career challenge that I never expected. I then started studying the Army Flight Aptitude Standardized (AFAST) test to become an Army Aviator. I went to Fort Rucker Alabama 2 years later and started my flight training. My first day in the Initial Entry Rotary Wing (IERW) Course I had to learn how to fly a TH-67 Creek training helicopter. Once I saw the helicopter I was not afraid but once we got in it and we started taking off, I instantly got sick and we had to do an emergency landing. I was so embarrassed because I didn’t want anyone to know that I had a fear of flying. So I went home and prayed and prayed that tomorrow would be a better day. The next day my stomach was turning but I was determined to get thru the day. Before my grandfather died, he had given me a picture of him, and on that day, before I went to the aircraft with my instructor, I went into the bathroom, and sat in a stall, and started talking to the picture as if I was talking to my grandfather. After that, I felt so comfortable and got into the Aircraft and I could feel the presence of my grandfather. The instructor asked, “Are you going to be ok” and my response was “Yes Sir, I will be just fine.” As we got four thousand (4,000) feet above sea level, I couldn’t believe that I was actually doing this. Don’t get me wrong I was afraid but I knew I had to do this. I knew that I had to face this challenge head on. Thirty weeks (32) later, I completed IERW and I was so excited that when I received my certificate I was happy, but I wasn’t too overjoyed because I wasn’t done I had another course to complete that was I had to go the Black Hawk course. When my classmates went out to celebrate I went home, and I cried because I couldn’t call my grandfather, and let him know that I made my first step to becoming a Pilot. I tried to get myself mentally prepared for the final step of becoming

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