Women’s History Month: CMSgt Diana Rogers

Photo By Diana Nesukh | When she was 20 years old, CMSgt Diana Rogers wanted to change the world, so she joined the Air Force. More than two decades later, Rogers has made significant impacts on the civil engineer career field and serves as a role model for young Airmen.  

WASHINGTON DC, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES

03.28.2023

Story by Wood Francois and Diana Nesukh

Headquarters Air Force, Office of the Director of Civil Engineers

When CMSgt Diana Rogers joined the military 20 years ago, service meant wanting to do something bigger than herself, to make an impact on other people, and to be a force of good in the world. Today, the meaning of service takes on a more personal meaning for Rogers that is applied to the people directly around her.

While the September 11th attacks played a role in Rogers’ decision to serve in the Air Force, she also acknowledges she was still trying to find her purpose and what she wanted to do with her life. Her stepfather’s persistence encouraged her to take the final plunge and join.

Rogers’ stepfather served in the Air Force and was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and upon separating, he would continuously reiterate the benefits of military service.

“He told me that even if the worst thing happened and I wanted to leave after four years, I’d still be walking away with a skill and some college money,” Rogers recounted.

Upon taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and scoring well, Rogers was drawn to civil engineering because, as she puts it, “you get to drive robots and blow stuff up.”

Rogers went in with a guaranteed contract for the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) flight for six years. To her dismay, her family was not immediately on board with her taking a job that would require her to disarm explosives, especially in the wake of the September 11th attacks. However, there was no going back once Rogers was committed to joining.

Over two decades later, Rogers is still dedicated to the Air Force, stationed at Misawa Air Base, Japan, responsible for 19 Airmen within the 35th Civil Engineer Squadron, EOD flight.

When she initially began transitioning from civilian to military life, the most significant change that stood out to Rogers was the level of commitment from her peers. She worked at a ski resort before joining the Air Force and would consistently get called out by her colleagues for caring too much about the role, which was a low-commitment job to most of them. When frustrated by the lack of effort, Rogers recounted times she would break down only to be mocked by those around her. The military provided a stark contrast to what she had previously experienced. The work ethic, serious dedication, and follow-through she saw in her military peers was more closely aligned with the outlook Rogers has on life.

Rogers has always found herself in leadership roles and attributes the pattern to her being a twin sister. Older by only 31 minutes, Rogers naturally took on a more assertive and authoritative role in the relationship and her family dynamic. Once her brother was born, she became a parental figure to him because of her natural leadership abilities. That identity helped Rogers through the learning curves the Air Force presented her with.

Recalling one of her first and most impressionable interactions, Senior Airman Jason Knapp, later retired as chief master sergeant, told her that, “nobody is ever going to give you the benefit of the doubt, nobody is going to take it easy on you, and I want you to be prepared.” To this day, Rogers appreciates his honesty and the high expectations he had for her. She credits him as being one of the first military leaders she interacted with whom she aspired to be like.

Today, Rogers’ leadership style reflects the leaders she has had but also revolves around celebrating her team’s differences and maximizing their strengths. “Vulnerability is my superpower,” Rogers said. Through empathy and her ability to share her shortcomings with others, Rogers has enabled her team to feel empowered to seek help when needed.

In 2006, Rogers went on her first deployment to Baghdad, Iraq. Shortly after her arrival, Tech Sgt. Walter Moss was killed by an improvised explosive device while conducting safety operations. After a three-day safety standdown to decompress, Rogers' team was the first to respond to explosives.

Grappling with the loss of a fellow Airman while simultaneously preparing to be the first response to explosives, Rogers dug deep to find the mental strength she needed to overcome the immense challenge. With the encouragement of her family, she pulled through and was able to complete her deployment.

Throughout her career, Rogers estimates she has disarmed more than 200 explosive devices, with 10 IEDs in one day while in Baghdad. Recalling an instance where she interrogated and blew up an IED with a robot, Rogers explained that upon checking the site with a metal detector thereafter, she found a second IED that was still active.

“My focus and highest priority was to ensure that my team was able to leave alive, with all of their fingers and toes,” Rogers said.

Thankfully, Rogers was able to safely retreat from the location and utilize a robot to disarm the second IED. With each device, Rogers’ confidence level has grown in the type of EOD technician, Airman, and woman she is. She has come to understand that she is able to do hard things and overcome any obstacle in her way.

This year, Rogers was promoted to chief master sergeant and is only the second woman in Air Force EOD history to ever hold the rank. The first was retired Chief Master Sergeant Linda Cox nearly 30 years ago.

Coming full circle from their initial reaction to Rogers’ decision to become an EOD technician, Rogers’ family could not be prouder of the woman she is today. Never having seen a woman as an EOD chief master sergeant during her military career, Rogers was inspired to achieve the promotion by all of the women she had the pleasure to serve alongside, as well as the young women who would be following in her footsteps.

“I felt the weight of young women Airmen looking up to me and wanting to be a good role model for them,” Rogers elaborated. “I knew that if they could see me as a chief master sergeant, they too would believe that they could accomplish that same achievement.”

Alongside Chief Rogers’ selection, the following Airmen were also selected for the promotion to Chief:

Brown, Yucari S SMSgt USAF AFGSC 5 SFS/CCF
Willocks, Tyhae C SMSgt USAF USAFE USAFE NCOA/COE
Macey, Karla R SMSgt USAF AFMC AFIMSC/IZPE
England, Jayce L CMSgt USAF ACC 820 RHS/RY2
Price, Emily L SMSgt USAF USAFA 9 AIR FORCE AF/Cadet Wing

• Date Taken: 03.28.2023
• Date Posted: 03.28.2023 13:07
• Story ID: 441343
• Location: WASHINGTON DC, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US