Captain Zinnia James
U.S. Air Force
Senior Global Watch Officer
Headquarters Air Force Office of Special Investigations
Andrews Air Force Base, MD

“Being the first born child and a girl to top it off, my parents thought I was making a big mistake,” says Capt. Zinnia James, who has proven otherwise. First, she not only had to prove that the military was only for what her parents called “thugs” that couldn’t find a job or simply put a career for women. “Things took a turn my senior year when they attended a change of command ceremony, when I took charge as the cadet corps wing commander,” she says. “I could see it in their eyes, how proud they were, and ever since my parents have supported my decision.”

At 22 years old, James was intrigued by the pride military members had in them when they walked in their uniforms, so she decided to join the U.S. Air force after graduating from the University of Miami with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication. “I have always felt that God placed us here to help him change the world, and I felt that by joining the military I could do just that…change the world,” she says. “I was a distinguished graduate from our Air Force graduating class and I felt things could not get any better.”

Today, James is a special agent that conducts investigations that impact the Air Force either by recovering millions of dollars in fraud cases, to safeguarding a child from an abusive parent. As a federal agent, she is able to make daily decisions that impact lives. For James, although the hardest part of her job is being away from her family, making split second decisions is also hard, yet important. “The level of responsibility that the Air Force places on you as a young officer in this career field is important,” she says. “Whether it be in a deployed environment, where it’s life or death or in a stateside criminal investigation where the wrong choice results in the criminal walking.”

Throughout her career James has learned to be responsible, courageous, and honorable in everything she does. “I think the camaraderie that we have in the military is something that is very difficult to find anywhere else,” she says. “I know that tomorrow I could be in a foreign country at war with the co-workers I see every day…how many people can say that.”
James hopes to serve as a role model to other Latinas, and believes her power of influence is a contribution to her community. “If I can do it, all Latinas can be influential leaders,” she says. “Work hard, play hard, and never forget where you came from.”

Although her job doesn’t give her much free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband Michael, her two step-daughters and the family dog. She also loves taking trips, attend playhouses, and going to concerts of all sorts. All in all, after all these years she keeps to heart her parents’ advice, especially one of her father—“Always leave a place better than you found it.”

Master Sergeant Katherine Perez
National Guard Bureau
Florida Army National Guard
Future Operations Division
Office of Public Affairs and Strategic Communications
Arlington, VA

A public affairs specialist for the Army National Guard Bureau of Puerto Rican descent, Master Sgt. Katherine Perez has recently completed 31 years of service. After exploring options for a career, Perez found an opportunity at the Army recruiting office at Staten Island, NY, in 1976. “My plan was for three years of active duty,” she says. “Once I completed that tour in 1979, a few months later, a friend suggested I check out his Army Reserve Unit and I joined it. The rest is history.”

At only 17 years old, Perez’ family was not surprise of her career choice. Although she left college, where she was pursuing a degree in communications while working office jobs trying to figure the next move, the Army came about as a “process of elimination,” she says.

Like many who are in the military, deployment is certainly not an easy move, especially for a single parent. “Leaving my children at their young age with family to deploy to a danger zone is an emotional powder keg,” she says. “I’ve been deploy four times and it never gets easier.”

Despite the difficulty of having to leave her children for duty, Perez looks at the bright side of her job, which is meeting new people, traveling, and experiencing different cultures. “I’ve also taken advantage of educational opportunities, both military and civilian.”

The way she tells it, Perez considers herself to be competitive by nature, and by enjoying what she does has given her the strength to blaze the trails to excel in such a demanding and traditional male environment. “We are all trained as Soldiers and the same is expected of all of us,” she says. “Opportunities are there for everyone to grasp and progress as they choose.”

Indeed, life is full of challenges, and everyone faces them differently. When it comes to facing the challenge, she maintains the course and stays focus on the goal. According to her, those challenging times certainly tests ones faith and inner strength. “Can’t is never an option,” she says. “One can always reach their greater potential, if one tries. You can always give a little more and surprise even yourself!”

Perez’ sees Latinas taking advantage of more educational and career opportunities, especially creating opportunities which open doors for the next generation of Latinas, and her advice to Latinas is to “think one step ahead and perform at and be prepared for the next level up.”

Lieutenant Xochitl Castañeda
U.S. Coast Guard
Assistant Team Leader
Vessel Response Plan (VRP)
Coast Guard Headquarters
Washington D.C.

With 14 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, Lt. Xochitl Castañeda began her career after graduating high school at the age of 18. The way she tells it, her initial intend was not to stay in the military, instead she saw it as a stepping stone to her initial career choice, which was that of becoming a sheriff. But as it turns out, the U.S. Coast Guard has been more than just a stepping stone, it has become her full-time career. “I love it,” she says. “I love our mission, we are the regulators for the Marine Environmental Protection, and we have a regulatory and a military mission.”

Castañeda knew she was not ready for college, and although her father was in the army for a while, he was not happy with her decision. “I was kind of scared to tell him,” she says. “My mom and dad had always encouraged me to go to college, but I wasn’t ready. My dad never talked about his service, so he never encouraged any of his children to join.” Her mother was partially supportive, but unhappy.

It was not until she affirmed them she would only join to pay for college that they supported her decision. “As long as they knew it was only for one tour they supported me,” she says. “I knew it would better my life.” Like many in the military, overcoming challenges are not easy but with the support of mentors, family, friends and military members, it helps. “Although there have been several times in my career where I’ve thought about quitting and felt isolated, which has been a bit of a challenge, you find someone who may not be like you but will help in those times.”

For Castañeda, getting along with people that are different than her has been one of the many life lessons learned in the Coast Guard. “I’ve learned not to fear the different,” she says. “To try and educate people about me and my culture is an opportunity for me.”

Castañeda’s job entails dealing with global commerce in the shipping industry, buying new ships, trading ships, and to consider the needs and be aware of the global market place. In order to perform such duties one of the main skills required to have a priority is leadership. “You are expected to be a leader,” she says. “Be able to make decisions and you are expected to overcome challenges always to find solutions to a problem. A Latina woman is somewhat expected to be passive, so you have to find a blend of culture and professional self.” Today, she is happily married to her husband, Aaron and has two boys-who are half Norwegian and half Hispanic, 8-month-old, Joaquin and four and a half year-old, Tomas.

As a Latina, she advises everyone, not just young Latinas to get educated, “We [Latinas] are taking over,” she says. “Since our numbers are growing in numbers we are in demand, but we have one problem we don’t have enough qualified of them. We are moving to different places but we need to get more of our people educated.”