Photo By Sgt. Scott Akanewich | Sgt. 1st Class Angela Haslip-Farris stands behind the traditional retirement cake at a...... read more read more
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LOS ANGELES - As a young girl growing up on the mean streets of South Central Los Angeles, Sgt. 1st Class Angela Haslip-Farris knew her destiny did not lie amongst the poverty-stricken, gang and drug-infested environment that she saw as her world. She knew there was much more beyond the seemingly inescapable cycle of chaos surrounding her – one which she saw and lived in every day of her young life.
“I had seen so much of the lifestyle around me carry on from one generation to the next, I knew I had to lift myself up out of it,” said Haslip-Farris, who recently retired after 32 years of service to country. “Back in high school, I had no sense of direction. What I saw for myself was a pre-destined life of poverty and I vowed to myself I’d never live like that.”
Haslip-Farris recalls Army recruiters visiting her school.
“I never thought for a minute that would be me,” she said.
After graduating, she began attending Los Angeles Community College, but something still wasn’t quite right, said Haslip-Farris.
“I had always been told growing up I was a bastard child who would never succeed,” she said of her being born out of wedlock to an alcoholic mother and a father who was non-existent in her life. “For a long time, I believed I couldn’t escape from L.A. and the environment I was in. Many friends of mine were into drugs or getting pregnant.”
Haslip-Farris was raised by her grandmother from the age of eight months and despite the ever-present traps that constantly surrounded her, another constant was religion.
“As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been in church,” she said. “I was taught to always love myself because God loved me more – this gave me a sense of purpose and made me realize my destiny truly lied elsewhere.”
Armed with her faith, a newfound sense of drive and strong-willed determination, Haslip-Farris marched on – literally and figuratively.
During her first few semesters of community college, her phone rang one day. It was a call that would forever change her life and lead her to the destiny she had always knew existed for her out there someplace.
“One of the recruiters who had visited my high school called to check up on me and see how I was doing,” said Haslip-Farris. “I ended up going to the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) and taking the pre-test for the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery), which I did well on.”
A couple weeks passed and after going through the thought process one experiences when faced with a life-changing decision, it became clear what was next, she said.
“I enlisted November 13, 1980,” said Haslip-Farris.
However, before she left for Basic Training at Fort Jackson, S.C., there was one last roadblock to overcome, she said.
“I had an uncle we just called ‘Lucky’ who kept telling me things like ‘You won’t make it through,’ and ‘You’ll be back home in no time,’” said Haslip-Farris. “I used this for motivation during the tough times because I wanted to prove him wrong.”
During her time in the South Carolina countryside, she endured the typical trials and tribulations a recruit faces while passing through the gauntlet of earning the right to be called a Soldier – as well as a confrontation with a particularly ornery critter, she said.
“One day during grenade training, I jumped into a foxhole and there was a snake waiting for me,” said Haslip-Farris, who has a fear of the rowdy reptiles. “I pulled the pin, threw the grenade and got out as quickly as possible. After all I’d been through to that point, nothing was going to stop me.”
After also overcoming a bout with heat exhaustion from the sweltering southern sun, she finally graduated Basic Training and ironically enough learned Uncle Lucky’s discouraging words had been a psychological ploy all along.
“He really didn’t want me to fail,” said Haslip-Farris. “It sure worked. After that, I knew I could accomplish anything.”
From there, Haslip-Farris went on to Fort Gordon, Ga., and completed Advanced Individual Training, then returned home on leave. She then moved on to her first duty station in Germany.
Upon her return to the States, she thirsted for the love she had developed for the Army and joined the Army Reserve, where she finished the rest of her 28 years of service. Along the way, she held numerous positions from Retention Noncommissioned Officer, Noncommissioned Officer Education System Instructor (Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course, Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course) and Military Occupational Specialty Instructor.
According to Haslip-Farris, training troops from the front of a classroom is where she found her true calling within the ranks.
“Just having the ability to provide information and bestow knowledge on Soldiers was the proudest accomplishment of my career,” she said. “I believe it was an innate gift from God to bless me with the ability to give instruction to others and have many of them approach me after-the-fact and thank me.”
In fact, Haslip-Farris was so entirely immersed in her instruction and mentorship of Soldiers, it was difficult at times to switch off the intensity she brought to her work, said her husband, Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) Robert Farris.
“Once, I went to pick her up at the conclusion of annual training at Camp Parks (Calif).,” said Farris. “It was about 8 p.m. when I got there and she was sleeping while she waited for me. So, I tried to wake her up and ask her if she wanted anything to eat and all she could say was ‘Hurry up! Wake up all the Soldiers – we have formation in 30 minutes!’ She was so into the training, she didn’t know where she was, what was going on, or even that it was me waking her up. I just said ‘Girl, you need a rest.’ I had a good laugh about that one for a long time.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Winsome Laos, 650th Regional Support Group, has known and worked with Haslip-Farris for 20 years. They met at Camp Parks in 1990 when Laos replaced her as an instructor after a rotation of training had ended.
“What first struck me about her was her kind-hearted nature,” said Laos. “For example, she offered me all her notes and materials from the course to help me make a smooth transition – something a lot of people wouldn’t have done.”
It was not only her wealth of knowledge and experience that made her so good in front of a class, but her engaging and entertaining teaching methods, said Laos.
“She was always very creative as far as going beyond just doctrine to the point of breaking it down to make learning fun for her students,” she said. “Also, she didn’t stop at the end of the duty day. She would spend many late hours making sure Soldiers got the training they needed and had a thorough understanding.”
In her civilian career, Haslip-Farris has worked for FedEx Ground for 22 years and has used what she learned in the Army to catapult herself up the corporate ladder. She is currently a Field Human Resources Specialist overseeing two districts encompassing all of Southern California.
“Every skill set I’ve learned in the Army has transferred over to my job at FedEx,” she said. “My military experience has helped me progress and be promoted several times.”
Despite her civilian success, Haslip-Farris has remained humble and grounded through it all, not forgetting where she came from and how she has gained what she has today, she said.
“I owe 100% of everything I have to the Army,” said Haslip-Farris. “In fact, I joke with my husband the longest relationship I’ve ever been in is with the Army.”
During her retirement speech April 6 at a ceremony held at 79th Sustainment Support Command Headquarters at Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, Calif., Haslip-Farris was only wistful about one aspect of her career – that it had to end.
“The military was my parent and grew me up from when I was 18,” she said. “I’ve spent my entire adult life in the Army. I was in bit of a period of mourning, but I don't feel sad anymore. I count this journey as one of success and honor. It was truly an honor to have been known as a soldier.”
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2013 13:47 |
| Story ID: | 105355 |
| Location: | LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | LOS ALAMITOS, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | SAN JACINTO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 126 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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