Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Erika Kugler | U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Kaylin Deppe, left, from Almont, Michigan, and Lt. Christina Bailo,...... read more read more
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It was not too long ago that the active duty military force was comprised of only men. Since the “Sacred Twenty” - a group of the first 20 women selected to work as nurses at Naval Hospital Washington, D.C., in May of 1908 - were first allowed to join the military, women continue to fight alongside their male counterparts in active duty and reserve components.
During WWII, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt enacted Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), called Public Law 689. Some 27,000 women were activated into the aviation, clerical, medical, communication, legal, intelligence, and science and technology fields to augment the United States’ war effort. Their modern-day counterparts aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) give thanks to the trailblazers that came before them while executing their current mission and looking ahead to future generations of women in service.
Aviation
“When I did Recruit Officer Training Corps (ROTC) in college, I decided that I wanted to be an aviator because aviation was the most alluring field,” said Lt. Ashley Farina, from Madison, Wisconsin, a weapons systems officer (WSO) attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41 embarked aboard the John C. Stennis. “WSOs (pronounced ‘whizzos’ in jocular, Navy parlance) tackle the weapons and communication systems inside of the F/A-18F Super Hornet. We excel in close air support and are responsible for weapons release.”
Farina, who was an instructor at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, taught future Naval Flight Officers (NFOs) in Naval Flight Officer Training Squadron (VT) 86, and said that there are more women in aviator schools and their associated training pipelines now than when she was learning the ropes.
“I’m excited to see female pilots in the F/A-18 platform,” said Farina. “With more women in squadrons and aboard ships, people are getting more comfortable with women in the active duty Navy. Up until 1993, women were not allowed to be in fighter aircraft. I attended a female aviation symposium in San Diego and met some original female F-14 Tomcat pilots that flew during the ‘90s. It was empowering to see these trailblazers.”
Outside of the cockpit, women also fill prominent, highly-visible roles within squadrons.
“I’m a master chief that happens to be a woman, not a woman who is a master chief,” said Command Master Chief (CMC) Anna Wood, from Cecilia, Kentucky, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 71’s most senior enlisted Sailor. “There were all girls in my family, and my mom taught me the importance of hard work. She would always say ‘the job has to be done,’ and I apply that to everything I do in the squadron. I look up to her and Fleet Master Chief Laura Martinez, who was my CMC when I was a hospital corpsman 2nd class. [Martinez] taught me that connecting with personnel, having a personal touch, and finding out what Sailors find important makes for good leadership.”
Clerical
“I take pride in my femininity,” said Personnel Specialist 2nd Class Miriah Romero, from San Diego, a Sailor who works in the John C. Stennis’ Administration department. “My old departmental leading chief petty officer, Senior Chief Personnel Specialist Demetria Thomas, was a great female role model. She taught me to want to help others be the best they can be and helped mold me into the leader I am today. I’m dual-warfare qualified and was the leading petty officer of the Educational Service Office when I was only a 3rd Class [Petty Officer], and that’s thanks to the tutelage I got from her.”
Romero said while growing up, her mom, step-mom, and aunt together raised 14 people in a 3-bedroom house, but she never saw them struggle because they made it all work, a testament to strong, female work ethic.
“I want to be seen as a Sailor first and foremost,” said Romero. “Everyone should be judged on the same plane, and it takes strength to deal with people that have an anti-feminine mindset. I will continue to do my job well and shine wherever I can.”
Medical
“I was always interested in medicine and the military,” said Lt. Cmdr. Ashley Zander, from Kenosha, Wisconsin, the John C. Stennis’ ship’s surgeon. “I was commissioned in 2008 through the Health Professionals Scholarship program and was the administrative chief resident at Naval Hospital San Diego after my 6-year internship in general surgery.”
Zander said that surgery is rougher on residents, in terms of job demands, and that female surgeons exude ‘alpha’ personalities.
“Surgery is typically a male-dominated culture,” said Zander. “The training is more intense when compared to family medicine or pediatrics.”
Despite the rigors, Zander maintains that there is a big future for women in Naval medicine.
“There’s no stigma or confrontation for females in Navy surgery programs,” said Zander. “In my experience, the Naval medicine program is nearly equally split between men and women. I’d tell any woman interested in the career field: if it’s something you absolutely want to do, go after it.”
Communication
As the spokesperson for the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group, Lt. Cmdr. Jessica Anderson, from Staatsburg, New York, the John C. Stennis’ public affairs officer, is responsible for not only the ship’s external messaging, but for the media products produced by the mass communication specialists aboard and in the surrounding strike group.
“I worked hard to be skilled in the jobs I had,” said Anderson. “I had to earn the trust of my leadership and of the Sailors that worked for me and with me.”
Anderson maintains that attitude is what drives an individual, not any other physical factor.
“I learned that as long as I came in with a learning attitude, the only way to go was up,” said Anderson.
Legal
“I was recruited by the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps while attending law school at the University of Washington and was commissioned July 1, 2008,” said Lt. Cmdr. Theresa Champ, from Poulsbo, Washington, John C. Stennis’ judge. “After Naval Justice School in Newport, Rhode Island, I was a defense counsel for detainees at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and was the first lieutenant to take a complete plea deal as lead military counsel.”
With only 11 aircraft carriers and 11 available judge positions, Legal department head billets are competitive.
“I’ve got to give thanks to women like Adm. Nanette Derinzi, the first female Navy JAG and 3rd JAG Corps community leader,” said Champ. “Women who marched for our rights and for suffrage are my heroes. If those female pioneers didn’t give everything they had for future females, we wouldn’t be where we are today. I’m grateful for those great women.”
Champ said she wants to be seen as a JAG, not a female JAG.
“I’m a military professional,” said Champ. “I don’t want preferential treatment. I want to be treated accordingly based on my hard work.”
Operations
“I did ROTC in college and was commissioned in 2009,” said Lt. Marijke Jahr, from Chicago, a tactical action officer embarked aboard the John C. Stennis and in temporary assigned duty status from the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). “I was an NFO and combat systems officer aboard the E-6B Mercury in Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ) 4 before being assigned to the Gerald R. Ford. I started the ‘VQ-4 Shadow Women’s Group’ because there were no other female officers in the squadron at that time and mentorship is great for females.”
Jahr echoes what many other women aboard the John C. Stennis feel in regard to females in the Navy.
“There might be some crass misconceptions about females in the military, but we’re all military professionals and have standards to uphold,” said Jahr. “There will always be roadblocks when you’re different, but being persistent and having a good attitude can get you through anything. To gain respect from work ethic [and not gender] is what the women in the WAVES program would’ve wanted for future military females.”
Jahr thanks the early WAVES professionals for paving the way.
“I can’t imagine their challenges,” said Jahr. “They were groundbreakers and we, as females in the Navy, must carry on their legacy.”
Science & Technology
With the advent of nuclear power, the demand for Sailors qualified to operate associated systems has naturally increased. Working in a nuclear power plant aboard an aircraft carrier can be strenuous, but dedicated Sailors strive in such environments.
“Throughout high school, I always found science the most interesting,” said Electronics Technician 2nd Class Kristen Walker, from Vintondale, Pennsylvania, a Sailor assigned to the reactor controls division of the John C. Stennis’ Reactor department. “The Navy’s nuclear schools were the first big scholastic challenge for me, but I’ve been able to persevere with the help of some friends.”
While in “A” school, Walker said she found someone who is now a close friend to lean on.
“I met another female [electronics technician] named Kalan Walker and we became close,” said Walker. “We got our qualifications at similar times and we help each other out, pushing each other to let our best qualities shine.”
Walker said she tries to do her best at everything and prove any naysayers wrong.
“Don’t just toss me aside because I’m a female,” said Walker. “Females don’t do less work or get out of tasking because of our gender. We’re all a team, no matter what gender, but I would like to see more senior enlisted females in the nuclear Navy to show that [females] can climb the ranks just as well as anyone.”
These Sailors and many others represent a new era of American military service that was galvanized with the creation of WAVES: one that included women in active duty wartime efforts outside of factories and hospitals on the home front. In today’s modern Navy, the idea of women not being an integral part of our lethal fighting force might seem like a foreign concept to some, but to forget the past accomplishments of female pioneers is to omit their hard work to create vital careers for future female service members.
The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points.
For more news on John C. Stennis, visit www.stennis.navy.mil or follow along on Facebook at www.facebook.com/stennis74.
| Date Taken: | 03.21.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 03.21.2019 05:32 |
| Story ID: | 315105 |
| Location: | INDIAN OCEAN |
| Web Views: | 609 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, From WAVES to Modern Warriors, by PO2 Jacob L. Greenberg, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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