Photo By Chief Petty Officer Nathan Carpenter | NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (August 5, 2022) Command Master Chief (CMC) Kimberly...... read more read more
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Women’s Equality Day is recognized every Aug. 26 in the United States to coincide with the date in 1920 when the 19th Amendment was adopted, thus allowing women the right to vote. However, women have been blazing trails throughout the history of this country, and the military is no exception.
Unable to officially enlist, females during the Revolutionary and Civil wars provided support to the troops by cooking food, cleaning and mending clothing, tending to wounds, growing food, and raising funds; some even spied and fought in disguise. Progress continued throughout the 20th century, and today females are able to serve in the U.S. military within most career fields and are slowly garnering a greater presence in senior leadership roles.
Here at Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota, females serve in a variety of roles that only 20 years ago would have been considered “male only jobs,” and in honor of Women’s Equality Day, the Coastline celebrates their stories and voices.
GROWING OPPORTUNITIES
NAVSTA Rota Command Master Chief (CMC) Kimberly Ferguson has had a front seat for several key integrations of female within the military during her 29 years with the Navy.
“I came in as a Cryptologic Technician (CT) and actually went to boot camp in Orlando,” said Ferguson, referring to Naval Training Center Orlando where all incoming female Sailors were processed through boot camp at the time.
Although some female Sailors were allowed to serve aboard the ship USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) in March 1994, Ferguson was limited to shore commands because female CTs were not yet allowed on ships.
Since then, women throughout the United States military have seen growth and opportunities within their service, career fields, and duty locations.
“Women are now joining the Marines more than they used to,” said Sgt. Cristalia Rosario, who joined the Marine Corps six years ago. “Now they’re trying to be more like the males in our field, so they usually go for the harder jobs to prove that they can do it too.”
Rosario, an ammunitions technician for Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Company, Europe (FASTEUR), joined the Marines out of high school and said females were few and far between then. She is encouraged by the increase of females within the military and suggests that others not let fear limit their full potential.
CRACKS IN THE GLASS CEILING
The concept of not letting fear hold you back from what you want – even if it’s considered a male-dominated field – was mentioned several times by interviewees. These females constantly pushed back against the limiting beliefs of others: the notion that males could do the job better, or that females could not meet the physical demands of the job.
“If that’s the field you want to be in and the role you want, go for it,” said Lt. Cmdr. Antoinette Broere, who served as the staff intelligence officer for Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 8. “There’s nothing stopping you but what’s developed in your mind or own limiting factor.”
Broere points out that most limiting factors for females within the military have been broken. She feels that once a female realizes that, they just need to be willing to take the leap and put in the hard work to reach the position they want.
“Women shouldn’t be limited and men shouldn’t be limited,” said Broere. “We need to flex each other’s strength and that’s how we’re going to become a much stronger Navy.”
CHALLENGING STEREOTYPES
Naval Aircrewman (Tactical Helicopter) (AWR) 1st Class Krystal Strahl, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 79, has experienced limiting beliefs of others when she enlisted for a rate that isn’t common amongst females.
“I think the demographic that wants to jump out of helicopters into the ocean is just a male-dominated demographic,” she explained. “The recruiter saw my potential and drive, and wanted to encourage that.”
Strahl confesses that she wasn’t interested in the AWR rate when she looked into joining the Navy, but she’s appreciates the extra encouragement from her recruiter to take the leap to what she now describes as “her calling.”
Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 2nd Class Bianca Henderson, a firefighter at the NAVSTA Rota Fire Department, has also dealt with the idea that females are not firefighters.
“The biggest difficulty I can think of is when I wear my uniform - people assume my husband is the firefighter, not me,” she said. “People don’t expect it.”
Henderson said that the demands to be a firefighter are not easy – for a male or female – but she has found her own way to complete the job.
“For some things, guys can muscle through it,” she said. “I can’t muscle through it so I had to find adaptations and techniques to get the hoses and lay them out.”
Henderson is one of two females at the NAVSTA Fire Department. The other is Spanish firefighter, Sonia Vega Rodriguez, who has been working at Rota Fire Department for just over a year and a firefighter for approximately five years.
As the first female local national firefighter for the Rota Fire Department, Vega Rodriguez loves that she’s able to break the mold. Female firefighters are rare in Spain and she hopes that by showing everyone that she can do it, it will encourage others to go for what they want.
“Every time they find out, they say to me: ‘Wow, you’re a woman firefighter,’” she said. “At first they are in a little bit of shock, and then they say you are a model for all women. I appreciate that they see that.”
BAND OF SISTERS
Ferguson can relate to being an anomaly amongst her peers, and said that as she’s moved up in the ranks she still grapples with being in a job dominated by males.
“I think it’s hard sometimes being the only female in the room, and as a CMC that happens pretty often,” she said. “We don’t have a large number of female CMCs, although thankfully it’s increasing.”
During times of self-doubt, she pushes through by using the mantra “fake it till you make it.” She says that it gets easier with time, thanks to her personal growth and confidence within the position, and an increasing number of females in senior leadership positions. She continues to show up because she knows the value she can bring to the room as a female leader by providing a different viewpoint to situations and solutions.
Senior Airman Celeste Winters, an aerospace propulsions technician with 725 Air Mobility Squadron (AMS), echoes the benefit of having females in leadership roles and as mentors.
“There have been several females within my career track that I’ve worked with and inspired me,” she said. “Women in leadership positions … I am excited to visually be able to see women in leadership positions and that it’s an opportunity to me.”
Being able to see females within her field and in leadership roles help to push the narrative that women can do the job, and do it successfully. Staff Sgt. Jennah Beaver, a crew chief for 725 AMS, has encountered some over the past six years who still believe that maintaining aircraft and engines are a male’s job.
“I have seen a lot more women throughout my career as of late,” she said. “Joining six years ago, it was more sparse, but we love to see other women kicking butt here in maintenance.”
Creating a network within your field and duty station is essential to finding support and guidance according to Winters and Beaver.
“I keep in touch with women from my last base as well as other people here who have really paved the way for women in maintenance,” said Beaver.
While Winters and Beaver are encouraged, they are still the minority. Beaver offers her advice, “find the women throughout your shop or career. Truly try to connect with them because they know exactly what you’re going through and the difficult times you may face … and they can either help you, hold you up, and it’s just good to have someone who understands.”
Lt. Madalyn Thompson, a helicopter pilot with HSM 79, feels fortunate to have several female pilots and crew within her command while stationed in Rota. Growing up with four brothers made for an easy transition to the Naval Academy and military, but she seeing more females within aviation is inspiring.
“I think the best part about aviation in general is that women are becoming more and more common,” Thompson said. “... And it’s continuing to grow.”
Having females within the command that they can look up to, ask questions, and mentor is important towards developing the comradery or fellowship amongst the team. Something that HSM 79 has cultivated amongst its team from the start.
“I was there when we first stood up the squadron so I felt we had a significant part in developing the climate and culture of our shop and climate of the squadron,” said Stahl. “I think that really shows and that’s really special.”
This close knit community has allowed Stahl and Thompson to form deep bonds with their coworkers.
“You become really close to the females around you," said Thompson. "We may not be best friends but we have a connection that I don’t get with other aircrewmen or pilots.”
Thompson went on to say she is encouraged by the recent accomplishments of women within the Navy – specifically an aircraft carrier captain and Blue Angel pilot – but knows there is still work to be done.
“A lot of women have come before us to get to be where we are right now,” she said. “And it’s our job to fight to keep up where we are and push forward.”
THE CHALLENGE OF BALANCE
Ferguson found that as her career progressed, young female Sailors were looking for someone with experience balancing their professional career and personal life.
“When I got to the ship, that was the first time that I had a lot of young females,” she said of her assignment as CMC of USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44). “It took me about six months to realize ‘Oh my goodness. I am a female CMC and they wanted something extra.’ They wanted to have sit downs, they wanted to talk about how to get where I was, how to parent in the military, etc.”
The struggle of career progression and family demands is one that any active duty member experiences, but Ferguson says she feels a bit more aware of these hard choices that her Sailors have to make. She, herself, has made decisions that sacrificed her career for her children’s well-being.
“I made a choice because it was right for my kids to stay in San Diego,” she said, of taking a job as the command drug and alcohol counselor which delayed her advancement to chief. “But I also got to do a job that taught me many different things and more tools for my toolbox to help raise them as well as be a leader in the Navy.”
With her unique life and career experience, she is able to meet her Sailors – both male and females – with an empathetic understanding that choices regarding family and career are never clear-cut. Ferguson believes everyone should set goals for their career, but remain flexible in the path to getting there.
“If they have a goal, set to it and do not worry about if it’s male dominated or not,” she said. “If it’s something you want to do and you put your mind to it, look for mentors and role models to help and answer those questions.”
At the end of the day, most of these females do not want to be viewed as an outlier within their command, but a team member who arrives each day ready to work towards a common mission with their coworkers. The diversity of their backgrounds and experiences will make for a strong Navy even stronger.
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.26.2022 08:58 |
| Story ID: | 428017 |
| Location: | ES |
| Web Views: | 584 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Profiles of Female Leaders within the NAVSTA Rota Community, by Courtney Pollock, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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