Geistfeld retires after 31 years of service and 2nd tour of Gitmo

12.11.2007

Courtesy Story

Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs

By Sgt. Jody Metzger
Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs

Colleagues and friends of Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Patrecia Geistfeld, as well as her husband, Ken, who flew in for the occasion, gathered at the lighthouse, Nov. 30, to offer congratulations to the Coast Guard operations specialist on her retirement from the military.

"I have met the most amazing people and been to great places and I wouldn't take back any of it," Geistfeld said. "Sometimes I have grumbled, as junior sailors do. I look back and it was actually a pretty good experience."

Geistfeld initially enlisted in the Navy at 20 as a radioman in 1975. Beginning early in her career, Geistfeld integrated her work ethics and beliefs into her military vocation.

Geistfeld has been an advocate for women dating back to a time when women were more visible as housewives than Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen or Marines.

"I think I was always a closet rebel," Geistfeld explained. "I was never an outgoing rebel, but I think that I was always unwilling to accept the rules that society imposed. I was always ready to say, 'I don't think so.' I always wanted to try to challenge the status quo. It was beginning to be more commonplace right around that time. It was the end of the Vietnam War and the '60s just happened, so women were beginning to be accepted in more roles."

Seeking to avoid the status quo for women at that time, Geistfeld's ambition for self improvement and opportunity to make a difference led her to join the service.

"I tried to go to college and pay for it myself," she said. "That was very tough. I wanted to travel and have a career, and those opportunities were just not there for me. I was struggling to pay for college and I needed a job."

As a female Sailor, Geistfeld had to work hard to win over her male counterparts and notes she did not want to be thought of as a weak link.

"I do remember, thinking back, that you did have to do your job and be sure and do your job well because there was that tendency for men to say, 'She's just a woman, just admin.' If you were sick, you had to think twice about being sick. I never wanted to give the impression about not being able to hold my own because I was a woman," said Geistfeld.

Though she left the Navy in 1980, Geistfeld never regrets any of her missions or her time spent on active duty. One of her missions brought her here in the late 70s, where she met her husband of 28 years who was serving with the Navy.

"A 'Gitmo romance' that lasted—I don't know how we did it," Geistfeld joked. "We're a really good team. We're not alike, but we bring it together."

Discharge from the active duty Navy was not the end of the road for Geistfeld's military career. She spent two years in the Navy Reserve and, in 1983, joined the Coast Guard Reserve. It is from the Coast Guard, and ultimately Port Security Unit 308, that she is finally retiring her sea legs.

Geistfeld encourages young service member not to make the same mistakes in their military careers as she did in hers.

"One of the things I regret is not working harder to get promoted," she said. "I was busy doing my job, and I did that very well. But, I don't think I started early enough to try and work my way up into leadership. I would have liked to have made it to master chief, and I think I could have if I hadn't postponed taking the advancement tests."

As her military career closes, and coincidentally her six month deployment, Geistfeld offers words of advice to younger troopers.

"I tell the guys to treasure it. You will look back down the road when you are older and you will remember these experiences with fondness."

• Date Taken: 12.11.2007
• Date Posted: 12.11.2007 13:26
• Story ID: 14616