By Pfc. Eric J. Martinez
13th Public Affairs Detachment
Sometimes being a female in the military can be difficult. But imagine being the only female in an entire service to have your specific job. That could be downright intimidating.
Not for Marine Maj. Teresa J.S. Drag, a future operations planner in the Multi-National Corps – Iraq Joint Operations Center. Drag, a Terra Haute, Ind. native and an aviation command and control officer, is the only Marine Corps female to have attended Stinger training.
Drag's military career didn't begin until later in life. She was raised in Paris, Maine, and attended American University in Washington, D.C. She worked in graphic design and retail before deciding to become an enlisted Marine at age 27.
"I didn't have to go enlisted, but I wanted to," Drag said. "I don't think I would have done as well in (officer candidate school) if I hadn't been enlisted first."
"I realized I had to grow up because bouncing around from job to job was not the way to make the best use of my college education," Drag said. "I needed to sit down and find out what in the world I would really like to do."
Drag was approached after boot camp to qualify in the previously all-male military occupational specialty. The Stinger is a portable, infrared homing, surface-to-air missile system.
"They were assigning (military operation specialties) and the decision had been made to open that one up to females."
"I was the only girl there but, none of the other Marines had a problem with it," she said.
Drag has served around the world, including Pakistan and Afghanistan following Sept. 11. She then went to the Marine Corps Combat Development Command – Quantico where she studied the capabilities of equipment for air space control and air defense.
Now Drag is in charge of tracking MNC-I future missions.
"We try and decipher what missions the forces are giving us anywhere from three days from now to a couple of months from now."
"She's an outstanding worker," said Maj. Edward Wilson, C3, MNC-I, who works side by side with Drag. "It's a testament to anybody who works in operations. It's high paced, high stress and if you don't know your job or if you can't catch on quickly, you'll have to be moved to a different section."
Drag has caught on just fine.
"It's a lot of coordination and facilitation with all the different sub units and staff sections," she explained. "It can be challenging sometimes, but you realize that there is some kind of order to the madness."
Drag said her aviation background helps her determine what support to provide to and what questions to ask of aviation units.
Despite working in a male dominated field in a primarily male military service, Drag relied on her knowledge and skill to make it clear that she was just as capable as all the guys.
"Coming into the military, I knew there were people who thought girls didn't belong," Drag said. "But I also knew, especially in the Marine Corps, the focus is on getting the mission done."
| Date Taken: | 03.28.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 03.28.2008 10:22 |
| Story ID: | 17849 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 402 |
| Downloads: | 328 |
This work, Female Marine major completes Stinger training, by SPC Eric Martinez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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