Photo By Cpl. Thomas Mudd | Scout snipers with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, board a CH-53 ‘Super...... read more read more
Women throughout history have had major impacts on the world. For instance, Cleopatra influenced an empire, whereas the mythical Helen of Troy destroyed one. Amelia Earhart challenged conventional female roles by becoming a pilot and buying her first airplane in 1921, shortly after the Suffragettes won the right for women to vote in the United States. A maverick of her era, Maj. Stacey Colón has forged a unique career path with the United States Marine Corps as an aviator and environmentalist.
March is recognized as Women’s History Month, allowing an opportunity to highlight the contributions women have had on historical events and current society.
“The demand for woman's suffrage, in the United States, started well prior to the American Civil War; but it didn't start gaining steam until after the Civil War,” said Lt. Col. Timothy Silkowski, director of Fleet Support Division aboard MCLB Barstow’s Yermo Annex and a student of history. “Interestingly, the 15th Amendment was passed in 1869, specifically stating ‘The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude’ - absolutely no mention of the word ‘sex’.”
“By 1869, the first two national suffrage organizations were formed by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth C. Stanton forming one, and Lucy Stone forming another,” Silkowski explained. “The two organizations finally merged in 1890 as the National American Woman Suffrage Association.”
Women such as these have paved the way for women today to thrive in any way they choose. For Colón, currently the acting director of Installations and Logistics aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, that choice was to first earn a Bachelor’s degree in astronomy from Wellesley College then become a commissioned officer for the Marine Corps in 2000. She follows impressive footsteps.
“With the commencement of hostilities in Europe in 1915, women contributed significantly on all fronts of World War I - for both the Allies and the Axis Powers,” Silkowski said. “Their war efforts were so significant, in fact, that both Europeans and Americans started to question the notion that women were neither physically or mentally fit to vote in national elections. Finally, in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson re-introduced the bill; and Congress finally passed the 19th Amendment on June 4th, 1919.”
Thanks to the many women in history forging the way and fighting for the rights of women here in America, women like Colón can exercise their rights to choose their own paths. For Colón, it’s about the journey and not the destination.
“I can say with confidence now, that after 17 years of military service, nine changes of duty station, flying seven different types of military aircraft, deploying three times as a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter pilot in support of Operations IRAQI FREEDOM and ENDURING FREEDOM,” Colón said, “and serving in maintenance, training, and environmental management positions around the Marine Corps, the destination remains an illusion.”
As an aviator, her combat role was assault support.
“Always with a focus on the mission,” Colón explained, “(the goal was) bringing people and provisions to the point of need.”
Some of her missions continue to bring feelings of success, such as bringing a 3-year-old girl to the Jordanian border so she could have heart surgery; delivering mail from loved ones, and lifting off the deck with an aircraft full of Marines on their way home.
“I enjoyed making a tangible difference in someone’s life,” she said. “I started thinking ahead to what I wanted to do, what I wanted to be when my military service ended.”
What she decided was to return to her roots as an avid lover of nature and the great outdoors.
“I was ready for a new challenge, and found one in working on a degree program at American Military University that would lead me to one of the Marine Corps’ handful of environmental management billets,” she said. “It was a vector back toward the connection with the natural world that had shaped much of my early life.”
In 2015 Colón earned an additional Military Occupational Specialty as Environmental Officer and was assigned to MCLB Barstow as deputy director of the Environmental Division and where she is now the acting director of I&L. She continues to rack up achievements here, earning her Master’s degree in environmental policy and management in February of this year. The program has allowed her to focus on MCLB Barstow specific issues.
“The in-depth understanding of groundwater contamination and remediation issues at Barstow which I gained from my capstone project has been indispensable in addressing the issue to the community and to local, state and federal officials,” she explained.
As so many women who have forged their paths before her, Colón shares common goals to improve and to have a positive impact on others.
“I’ve come to understand that regardless of where my career path takes me that I can and will make a difference,” she said.
Living a life of service and leadership is a calling. Whether women are leading from a “board room, war room, or classroom, or serving side-by-side with those in need,” it is a choice of character, she explained.
“We are people who want to make our workplaces better, our communities healthier, and the future of our nation more secure” Colon said. “Regardless of what each of us aspires to be, we want to share the best of ourselves and bring our ideas to the world, and we can – because this is who we have chosen to be.”
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| Date Taken: | 03.23.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.30.2017 10:38 |
| Story ID: | 228600 |
| Location: | BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Hometown: | EAST THETFORD, VT, US |
| Web Views: | 132 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Major Colón: Aviator to environmentalist, by Laurie Pearson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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