By Sarah Williams
“What is it like being a woman in the military?” If I had a dollar for every time I was asked that question during my active-duty time, I’d be living in a mansion with a Corvette for every day of the week!
Well, maybe not a mansion … but definitely the seven Corvettes!
Every time I was asked that question, I cringed inside and still do to this day.
I attended the United States Air Force Academy from 1993 to 1997 when female enrollment was at 10%. Today, it is 29%.
On day one of boot camp, all cadets marched up a ramp under the words “Bring me Men.” Was I offended? Not in the least. Those words had historical distinction based on an 1894 poem by Sam Walter Foss, which reads in part, “Bring me men to match my mountains, Bring me men to match my plains,” and was put in place in 1964.
The Academy became co-ed in 1976, but its name remained until 2003. The words now read “Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence in All We Do,” the slogan of USAFA.
The Academy changed that messaging to match the core values of the Air Force and the aspirations of the entire cadet wing. I never felt like a “woman” at USAFA. I wanted to be recognized for me as a person vs. part of the minority.
Throughout the 26 years after graduation, every time I was asked “the question,” I replied, “No different than you.”
Whether male or female, we have the same responsibilities and the same purpose and should produce the same desired results. Was it harder at times being a woman in a male-dominated environment? Sure, there were times, and that’s another story.
What got me back to the task at hand was not to dwell on this but to re-direct my audience to me as a fellow aircraft maintainer … period.
At the end of the day, it’s what we do that counts, not the box we check when asked to provide who or what we identify with.
I will continue to answer that question by responding, “No different than you.” Power is in our actions, not in our identity.