Meet your Military: Truck driver and fuel specialist finds her confidence

Photo By Sgt. Erica Earl | Spc. Domonique Thigpen of the 630th Transportation Company, Washington, Pennsylvania, stands in front of a fuel tank at the Port of Riga, Latvia, Oct. 16, 2019. Thigpen joined the Army Reserves out of high school and said her service has taught her to be a more open communicator. She said she also enjoys working with NATO allies and learning about their customs and cultures. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Erica Earl, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)  

RIGA, LATVIA

10.16.2019

Story by Sgt. Erica Earl 

5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

RIGA, Latvia-- Upon graduating high school, Spc. Domonique Thigpen, a Youngstown, Ohio, native, wasn’t sure what to do with her life. As the only one among her siblings, two older brothers, to graduate high school, she said she felt high expectations and pressure from her parents to succeed.
“I felt like I had to do what they wanted, when they wanted me to do it to be great,” Thigpen said.
She was a high academic achiever and simultaneously took high school and college classes, but she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, or what option would most please her family.
At the advice of one of her friends in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program in her school, Thigpen decided to enlist in the Army Reserves.
“It was me learning how to be an independent person rather than trying to be who everyone wanted me to be,” she said.
Thigpen said her parents were not happy with her decision, but she wanted to make a choice for herself.
Thigpen, who has now been in the Army for four years and serves with the 630th Transportation Company, a reserve unit based in Pennsylvania, joined as a truck driver and fuel specialist, a job she still holds, and one she said defied personal expectations placed on her.
“I picked this job for kind of a funny reason really,” said Thigpen. “I thought of little small me in a big old truck.”
Thigpen is petite, just a little over five feet tall, and said the job has helped her feel empowered. Recalling how she was bullied throughout her high school years, she added that the job has also helped her be more self-assured and more outspoken
“You have to communicate to get the job done,” she said.
When Thigpen was new to the Army, a noncommissioned officer offered to help her as she was struggling to carry a few heavy bags. Thigpen said she just stared back at the sergeant offering the assistance, unsure of what to say or why this person in authority was talking to her.
“She and another sergeant sat me down and said, ‘Listen, you’re in the military, and there’s only a few of us females, you’re going to talk to us,’” Thigpen said.
Through the necessity of communicating to her team for mission requirements and reporting to her chain of command, Thigpen said the military helped her gain confidence. A boost in her self-esteem also came when she was asked to lead a convoy to a fuel point as a private and step outside her comfort zone.
“I still sometimes have problems with opening up or being distant and getting in my own way,” Thigpen said, “But I remember that I joined the Army for a reason and for a purpose and a plan.”
When not on rotation or drilling with the Army Reserves, Thigpen works in an Ohio nursing home as a cook, where she has developed a close connection with residents and continued to grow out of her shell.
“You get close connections, and you get to know different people, as well as learn how different crowds of people will respond to your cooking,” said Thigpen, who has dreams of eventually working in culinary arts and opening her own restaurant.
She exchanges cards and letters with one of the residents, who has become close with Thigpen and her mother.
Thigpen has been on rotation with the 630th TC since March. She said before the deployment, she was going through a rough patch, unsure of her place in the Army Reserves, hesitant about going overseas and still afraid she was disappointing her parents. She said getting to be a part of a bigger picture has helped with that.
This is Thigpen’s first time overseas and prior to basic training, she had never left Ohio.
“Getting deployed and working in my field teaches you about yourself and other people,” Thigpen said. “You never know who has the same type of story as you, or who you can motivate.”
Thigpen said she is motivated by her peers and leadership, who reach out to her whenever she is feeling down and allow an open line of communication, regardless of rank. She added that the joy of being overseas helps as well. She has gotten the opportunity to see Poland, Latvia, Lithuana and Germany while on rotation, and she is planning a trip with her mom in Europe before her unit redeploys home.
Thigpen said that along with touring monuments and collecting souvenirs to remember her experience, she enjoys meeting local nationals, attempting to learn their languages and seeing how thing are done in their militaries as her unit provides support to NATO allies.
“I play a small part to a bigger picture,” Thigpin said.

• Date Taken: 10.16.2019
• Date Posted: 10.17.2019 02:52
• Story ID: 347940
• Location: RIGA, LV