Photo By Sgt. Jeff Ledesma | (Left) Native of Delray Beach, Fla., Warrant Officer Staceyann McNish, an allied...... read more read more
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By Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma
1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Women have been faced with obstacles throughout history and have fought back. They have swam against the current and gone against the grain through all the stereotypes and double standards to emerge as stronger, inspirational individuals.
One Jamaican-born Soldier, Warrant Officer Staceyann McNish, an allied trades warrant officer with Company B, 115th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, has unknowingly defied the norm by being the sole woman in the Army to be in her military specialty.
Because of her career field's small size, she found out that she was the lone Army woman specializing in mechanics and welding from her comrade in the close-knit career field, Chief Warrant Officer Jack Peters.
Peters, her supervisor at the time, was one of the people who encouraged McNish to take on the challenge of becoming a warrant officer in their specialty.
"I have been doing the same job the entire time I have been in the Army, so I never looked at it as a big deal, but I know it's a major accomplishment," said McNish. "(When I first signed up for this,) I never thought that I would be the only female warrant officer."
McNish recently has gone out on missions to repair leaking water pipes in the surrounding area and Soldiers quickly saw her professionalism and ability to do her job.
"She doesn't sit back and point fingers, (saying) 'Hey, you do this; you do that.' She's actually hands-on," said Staff Sgt. Erik Babb, a section sergeant with the battalion's Company A. "Seeing someone perform the way she does really picks up the spirits of the troops."
"I think that Chief McNish would do a great job no matter what she chose to do in life. She is very dedicated and goal-oriented," said Lt. Col. Tyler Osenbaugh, her battalion commander. "The fact that she chose an occupation that few female Soldiers serve and became a warrant officer is how she chose to prove that she can do anything."
"I am very aggressive about my job," McNish admitted.
McNish said although the males in her field are very supportive, she does sometimes feel that there are times she has to work a little harder than the males, not for them, but for herself.
Although she is deemed one of the best in her career field, she cannot fix everything. With strong competitiveness, McNish said it is hard to accept defeat when circumstances don't allow her to be successful in completing missions – she doesn't like to fail.
But, on the opposite end, the tough specialty does offer many fulfilling moments.
"The most rewarding for me is being able to save lives like adding (rocket-propelled grenade) caging (to a vehicle) or adding sniper netting on (a humvee), or repairing a bridge," she said.
Though operations can be very time-consuming, the level of difficulty has never been an issue because she has always been determined to find a way, McNish said.
Osenbaugh said that her professionalism and wealth of knowledge that she unveils with her everyday actions sends the message that, with the requisite skills and motivation, people are only limited by their imagination.
McNish, a single mother of a 12-year-old daughter, Tatyana and a 7-year-old son, Alex, said she makes an effort to let her kids know every day that there is nothing they cannot accomplish if they put their minds to it. A perfect example of that, she said, is to look at how much women have accomplished in the military.
Although being a single parent can be difficult at times, she said she is able to manage the responsibilities with the support of her parents, in-laws and friends.
McNish added that her two children have been her beacon of strength, pulling her through every challenge life has thrown her way.
"I am able to juggle the (career and being a mother) because I have two wonderful kids and a good support system for them," McNish said. "They are really good kids. They always amaze me."
Being at the top of her Army career field has presented some challenges for the family of three, but through it all, they have persevered. In spite of all the moving around and deploying that their Mom has undergone, Tatyana and Alex have always managed to maintain straight A's.
Through it all, McNish has been a full-time mother and somehow found time to climb the mountain as the only Army woman in her military specialty.
"I get the look all the time when I say, 'I am a welder,' which is hilarious because it is a known fact that women, when given the opportunity to do any task, can be as good as a male," McNish said. "It is great to know that I have opened the door for other women, to know that it is okay to take on the challenge of being in a male-dominated job."
According to her battalion commander, she is an inspiration to every woman in uniform, present and future, because she's made it known that there are a whole host of possibilities for them in the Army.
| Date Taken: | 05.10.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 05.10.2007 13:59 |
| Story ID: | 10317 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 757 |
| Downloads: | 708 |
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