Introduction

 First of all I need to say this; The opinions and information posted here are not official or those of the United States Army.  I am a Soldier but speak for myself only.  I am very proud of my service and encourage participation, but be warned, if it is found to be offensive or disrespectful to the country, our elected officials or our armed forces it will not be posted.

My Mission is this: 
To give a voice to mom’s who serve in the United States Military and have deployed.  The intention is to break the stereotypes on mothers and women who serve in the Military.  To allow those who do not know the real story behind women in the military a chance to see the truth of whom we are and how we benefit the military. 
  

A  Short Bio:

I am currently a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army and work for a Brigade as their Human Resources NCO.  My first experience with the Army was from 1997-1998 as an active duty Soldier and I was assigned to the 82^nd Airborne Division, 307^th Engineers.  After spending a little time in the inactive reserves I became a full-fledged one-weekend-a-month-two-weeks-a-year reservist in 2002 through 2005.  Then, in March of 2005 I became a full time reservist in a program called the Active Guard and Reserves (AGR).  I went to Iraq as a General Construction equipment operator from 2003-2004 with a Unit that specialized in building bridges.  In 2007-2008 I deployed to Iraq again with a Military Police Unit as their Human Resources non-commissioned officer or NCO.    I have a twelve year old son and for eight years of my military career I was single mother struggling to prove my credibility as a Soldier.  It was frustrating enough trying to prove it to other Soldiers but I had to prove it to my own family and (some) friends.  

Leaving my son with family while being deployed was the hardest decision I ever made and I would be lying to say I never questioned it; however, on the whole, it brought me to where I am today.  My son and I have both struggled with all of the adjustments and that is why I want to share my experiences and knowledge with others.  It is my full intention to do research on mom’s who have served by conducting interviews with other women who serve, and speak with any expert that can give me insight into how much this new and growing population is changing how our Military is run.  There have been far too many opinions about women in the military by those who have no idea what it is like for us, or what we are really capable of.  These opinions are highly unflattering about my previous status as a single mom and current status as a married woman with a child, and I won’t forget our dual-military status moms. Most of these opinions are held without any basis in fact or personal experience and it is my goal to change that.