Courtesy Photo | U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Amber Allsup, warrant officer strength manager...... read more read more
“I’m only 5’2” and I’m going to lead from the front every time.”
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Amber Allsup, warrant officer strength manager with Recruiting and Retention Battalion, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, is a force to be reckoned with. Standing all of five feet two inches tall, Allsup doesn’t just preach the good word of leadership, she embodies it.
Allsup joined the Guard in 2001 right after September 11, 2001.
“We were sitting in a high school in accounting class, then they put the TV on and it just hit home,” Allsup recalls. “I come from a very big family and I felt like it was just something that needed to be done, we have to protect our families. We have to protect the residents of our country and it was the right thing to do.”
With multiple siblings and relatives who were in the Army, Navy, and Marines, Allsup was no stranger to service.
But even with others in her family well-versed in the military, Allsup blazed her own trail. As a woman in the Army, her experience, like many others before her and many that will come after her, are full of unique challenges and opportunities.
“As women, we've always had that stereotype that there's just certain lanes that are not for us, but there's never been anything that really said why,” said Allsup. “Why do people feel we can't do something? Why do you feel that there's a certain MOS we can't be in? As a woman, we bring more to the table because we have a different perspective.
“Iron sharpens iron, so why are men the only ones that can sharpen themselves?”
As a strong mother for her children, mentor for other soldiers and leader for even more, Allsup doesn’t believe that women (or anyone for that matter) should have “can’t” in their vocabulary. In fact, she believes that women can strengthen and motivate other women better than anyone else.
“I’m strengthened by seeing another female doing something she said she could never do. You’ve just motivated me in a nonverbal way,” Allsup said. “You never know who you’re empowering, you never know who you’re inspiring.”
And it’s not just the physical, but there are plenty of mental and personal challenges that women undertake when serving at the same time. Like many people, there are a lot of unseen battles for women, and Allsup believes those need to be considered, too.
“Why would someone that is already going through so many struggles be told that we're not good enough?” Allsup said. “I prove that I am on a daily basis. That I'm good enough. I'm still standing and I'm still going to outperform anyone.”
That’s the kind of attitude that got Allsup in the position she’s in now–as the first and only female minority Training, Advising and Counseling (TAC) officer in the state of Pennsylvania. But she wasn’t placed in that role because of that. Allsup was placed into the TAC officer role because of her drive, her dedication to mentoring and helping others, and her overall performance as a soldier. Her performance and mentality has been the same since day one at Basic Combat Training.
“I was told going through Basic Training ‘hey, I'm not going to let you beat me, you’re a female.’ And I said, ‘well, you’ve got to humble yourself today, because it's not even an option–you’re getting beat,” Allsup recalls with a smile.
In her role as a TAC Officer for the Warrant Officer Candidate School Program (WOCS), Allsup is responsible, along with other cadre, for forging the Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s future leaders and technical subject matter experts. This school is a proving ground full of physical and mental challenges, and requires staff that are tough, but care to mentor these future leaders.
“I remember I always wanted to be a drill sergeant, but it just didn't happen for me,” Allsup said. “Life got in the way and I just didn't go down that path, but that still never took the desire of wanting to be that mentor away. Not just for females, but for those that just maybe didn't believe in themselves.
“If not me, then who?”
And the role, for her, goes far past mentoring and training. Allsup believes that everyone needs someone they can relate to in TAC officer roles.
Female attendance at military schools is often low, especially in schools like WOCS, and when the female candidates have female cadre to talk to, it makes a huge impact. Allsup sees the potential in women, and knows that they are a huge value-add to the Army’s “team.”
“Because I come from a big family. I've always been a team player. I think about how we take all of these assets and all of these resources and make a team and fulfill the mission,” Allsup said. “Females are a part of that. So when you exclude us, then you're not making a team. So when you put gender in there, you’re limiting your capability of being the best team and of providing the best product because you're missing a key element.”
Seeing that kind of representation in these roles, and women who have seats at the table are both important and inspirational. Allsup recalls seeing female TAC officers at WOCS when she attended at Fort Rucker, and feeling a sense of pride when she saw them.
“You just knew that they had to do something to get there, and when they were there they were there to perform and to perform not just for themselves, but they were to perform to show you what right looks like regardless of the challenges they faced to get there and stand next to their male counterparts,” Allsup proudly said.
And it’s that kind of effect that drove her to be a TAC Officer. The thought of being someone else’s inspiration and the thought of making a real impact.
“You do change lives,” Allsup said. “When we do a ruck march and a female says their gender is the reason why they lag behind, I say, ‘we don’t do that–all females get up to the front with me. I’m only 5’2” and I’m going to lead from the front every time.”
Allsup also spends what spare time she has keeping both her mind and body ready. As a self-proclaimed fitness aficionado and member of the Warrant Officer Eagle Rising Fitness Group & Warrant Officer Run Team, Allsup not only spends time working on herself, but others as well. But there’s a balancing act required of someone who works full-time with the Guard, volunteers and mentors, and also puts an emphasis on physical fitness.
“Everything just like in life, anything that you feel is important you'll make a priority right? So if health and fitness and your wellbeing is important to you, it will be second nature,” she said. “It's just going to be your norm.”
Allsup took it upon herself to create a non-profit called Fit Parents First Fitness, that focuses on family, community and fitness.
“Fit Parents First Fitness was a program that I offer that's not for profit. The goal is just to get families to work out together,” Allsup said.
The program started in 2020 during COVID quarantines where Allsup would set up in a school’s parking lot with equipment socially distanced, and coach parents and their children together in fitness classes. The most rewarding part for her? Seeing children cheer on their parents, seeing parents cheer on their children, and all of them working together and creating healthy habits.
“That’s what makes a stronger nucleus,” she continued, “and those types of bonds and relationships are forever.”
Providing that kind of purpose and motivation for families echoes the kind of purpose and motivation she provides for soldiers, friends, and acquaintances alike.
Allsup recalls watching her brothers and sisters go through life and deal with setbacks and opportunities and all the outcomes–the good, the bad, and the ugly. Each occurrence, Allsup used as a tool in her toolkit–dissecting each experience to understand how to motivate someone the next time around. Instead of accepting what someone thought an outcome would be, she began to question negative thinking.
“If someone would say, ‘you’re thinking too big or your dreams are too big’ I’d say ‘why do you think that is?’ or ‘why can’t I do that?’ Then I started thinking, I’m just gonna do it, and that motivation translated to my belief in other people,” Allsup said. “One day I was painting a room and doing drywall, and my niece walked in and said, ‘Auntie, why do you have a drill? Why are you doing that? That’s for men. When that’s the mindset of our younger generation, that you can’t do something, or can’t do it because it’s a man’s job, that’s why motivation and mentoring are so important. I’ve got the same two arms and feet just like men do. I’ve got the same brain.”
Through this inspiration and motivation, Allsup also started an all-female mentorship program to coach women into the same thought patterns she has, which will hopefully carry over into other generations. In the group, Allsup and others discuss leadership topics, self-development and more. She’s even written a book, “Accountability Agenda- She Holds Herself Accountable, She Gets Things Done” for women interested in such topics.
“If you’re going to live off of excuses, then you’re not really going to change for the better. You’re really not trying to be the best you and be that authentic you,” which, as Allsup mentioned, is critical for women today, especially in leadership roles.
“It's not just it's not getting up everyday and making a paycheck, it’s about how you give back,” she said. “Our purpose in life is not to just focus on yourself, but to give.”
Allsup’s life reflects this message in every way. From her fitness groups, to her mentoring groups, and her passion for giving back to and supporting veterans.
“Sometimes giving is not financial. It's your time. It's your energy. It's just a conversation with someone in need, and sometimes it's a thank you,” Allsup said.
Part of that ‘thank you’ is her work as a co-founder with Operation Recognition, a nonprofit organization that her son started in elementary school and now exists at Steelton Area High School. The program honors those who were called to duty during World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, by giving them a high school diploma they never received.
“The very first one, the first gentleman was 90 years old, and I remember my son on stage handing him his high school diploma and he said, ‘little man, now my mom can be proud of me’,” Allsup said. “10 years from now, you're gonna look back on yourself and be like, man, I wish I would have done that. But be honest with yourself. This ain't for everybody. But if you're thinking about it, then definitely go through with it,” she said. “If you're going to start this, then you’ve got to finish it.”
She mentioned the fear that often holds a lot of us back in trying new things. Failure, one of the scariest words in the English language, isn’t something that Allsup is hesitant about.
“We have to stop running from failure–it’s part of success. The only true teacher in life is failure. It’s going to tell you what you did wrong and what you should have done to be better,” Allsup said. “When you trip and fall, fall forward. Fail forward. When you stand up, you’re still ahead of where you were yesterday.”
And for those that are reading this that are currently serving, or in a leadership role wondering what she would say to you?
“Do whatever you can to be present. You need to make a way or find a way to get that seat at the table. Be comfortable being uncomfortable,” she continued, “We’ve just got to uplift each other. We’ve got to empower each other.”
While we can’t all be Allsup, we can still be a beacon for other women.
“Sometimes just being present shows someone else that it’s possible,” she said. “So when WOCS candidates show up at a ruck march at 0500 and I'm out there jumping up and down and they say, ‘Chief, why are you so excited?’ I said, why aren’t you excited? We’re about to go ruck!’ When they see you take off or see you out there doing it with them, they can see it’s possible.
“Provide hope for someone else. And when you do that, that’s what’s building our force. That’s a force multiplier in itself.”
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.02.2024 16:27 |
| Story ID: | 465105 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 330 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Breaking barriers: Allsup's inspiring journey in service and leadership, by 1LT Lindsey Foulk, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Army National Guard
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