Courtesy Photo | 1st Sgt. Aleah Ginos, assigned to B Company 8th Military Information Support...... read more read more
FORT LEE, Va. - A group of 50 soldiers, civilians, and dependents representing Fort Bragg units traveled to Fort Lee, Virginia and gathered to discuss a legacy learn, about a heritage, and honor the fallen.
Their first stop was the Regimental Club where a panel of guest speakers was waiting to present. The panel represented different ranks, branches, ages, races and experience levels, but one gender. In honor of Women’s History month, they gathered to share their experiences as soldiers, as leaders, and as women as part of the 4th Military Information Support Group’s Women’s Mentorship Group.
The audience sat close in a semi-circle around the panel. Their fatigues appeared out of place in the spacious room with tiled ceiling, ornate brass fixtures, and dark wood paneling. They didn’t come for ambiance, they came to listen to the likes of Capt. Amy Sexauer, executive officer of B Company, 8th Military Information Support Battalion.
After talking about the accomplishments of soldiers like Pfc. Monica Lin Brown and Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, both of whom had been awarded Silver Star medals, Sexauer reflected on her own service.
“I’m five feet tall, I’m a little girl," Sexauer said. "When I joined, I thought I’m too little, I’m not good enough. There are women who can do that but not me.”
She had told herself that in order to be a good soldier you had to be a dude. You had to be big, masculine, aggressive, mean, not have feelings, not have long hair and don’t wear makeup. She had accepted the poster of what being tactically competent looked like.
She continued her story talking about 1st Lt. Ashley White, who was killed during combat operations in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, while serving on a cultural support team. White had a significant influence on Sexauer when they were in the CST program together.
"Ashley proved to me that you can be whoever you are and still shoot, move and communicate. That’s part of her legacy to me, to be good at what you are without compromising who you are,” Sexauer said.
Another speaker, Chief Warrant Officer Nicole Woodyard, director for ordnance training at Fort Lee, held the audience in rapt attention as she discussed finding herself the first woman to do many things, not because she meant to be first but just by the nature of the situation. She related difficulties in her life and her career that made her what she is today while highlighting the importance of openness and sharing.
“Through my transparency, through my truth as a person and sharing my story with whoever I felt could benefit from it, we grew together as a team,” Woodyard said to the transfixed group adding, “and when everyone in here knows that you can rely on each other, and you’re speaking the truth, that’s when the team gets stronger.”
Woodyard closed by saying that even though she never set out to be the first of anything that anyone may be the first of something to someone and never even know it.
Following the six presentations and a brief Q&A session, the group departed for the U.S. Army Women’s History Museum where museum staff presented, “Leading a Legacy,” a program which covered the establishment and disestablishment of the Women’s Army Corps.
The 4th MISG Women’s Mentorship Group had the opportunity to examine historical uniforms and tour the exhibits. Some members also took the opportunity to share with museum staff the history of women in the Special Operations Forces telling how women had served proudly in psychological operations since the 1970s.
Sgt. 1st Class Jessica Alicea-Cavezza, the senior data system integrator for 4th MISG and one of the event coordinators explained that it is important to include men in women mentorship groups because otherwise, she believes, change will never happen and people will never really grow. She’s in a good place though, to grow both herself and her subordinates.
“In other units, I’ve had to prove myself a lot. In the SOF community it’s different,” Alicea-Cavezza said with pride, “I love this unit, I’m treated as a person and as a senior NCO. What I say is valued.”
The group came to learn about role models and found a room full of them. They came to break down barriers and found several already rubbled. They wanted to unearth a legacy and found themselves actively shaping it. This is a time of change for the Army, and this group of soldiers is actively embracing it.
| Date Taken: | 03.04.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 03.07.2016 20:51 |
| Story ID: | 191468 |
| Location: | FORT LEE, VA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT LIBERTY, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 697 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Women’s Mentorship Group kicks off Women’s History Month, by MAJ Stephen Von Jett, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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