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Latinas and the Air
Force, Opportunities
Abound
When I joined the Air
Force 28 years ago,
several career fields
were closed to women
officers. For example,
women could not be
fighter pilots. Now,
almost all career fields
are open to women
officers with only a few
restrictions such as
Combat Rescue Officers.
In fact, we have women
pilots flying on the Air
Force’s prestigious
Thunderbirds aerial
demonstration team and
have had women officers
pilot the space shuttle.
And, just a few years
ago, I was able to
command in a forward
deployed combat zone in
Iraq. If that doesn’t
demonstrate diversity,
I’m not sure what does.
Truly, women in the Air
Force today have many
opportunities—so, my
fellow hermanas, you can
dream big and achieve
success in areas you may
have previously thought
unimaginable.
You may wonder why did I
join the Air Force all
those years ago? I could
tell you that it was to
pay back my country for
my education and that
would be true, but
there’s more to it. I
joined because I wanted
to be a leader and I
wanted to make a
difference. Like the Air
Force ad goes, I did not
want to look back on my
life and regret what I
did not do with it.
I was born in a small
town in South Texas, in
what we affectionately
call The Valley.
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My parents worked very
hard all their lives to
give my siblings and me
an opportunity for a
better life. My father
knew education would be
the ticket to our
success and since he and
my mother didn’t get
very far in that area,
he pushed it hard. I was
the first in my family
to get a college degree.
I worked hard and earned
my degree in just three
years.
I applied for jobs with
my degree, but received
no offers at the
manager/leader level.
That’s where the Air
Force came in. They
offered me further
education, training,
worldwide travel and
substantial leadership
opportunities. And, very
important to me, was
that I would be paid the
same amount as any male
officer of the same rank.
Did you know that
according to Harris Poll/2006
Americans rank being a
military officer as one
of the top 10 most
prestigious occupations?
One of my goals as a
young officer was to
make colonel and lead
Airmen as a base
commander. I pinned on
colonel and eight months
later became the 27th
Mission Support Group
commander at Cannon Air
Force Base, NM. I had
approximately 1,600
people in my command and
our job was to maintain
the base.
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There
were
seven
different
organizations
within
the
group
that
contributed
to the
care and
feeding
of the
base,
from
force
protection
to civil
engineering.
It was
from
that job
that I
was
deployed
to Iraq
in
support
of
Operation
Iraqi
Freedom.
I’ll
never
forget
the day
I told
my
mother
that I
was
going to
be a
commander
in Iraq.
She said,
“Ay mami,
why
can’t
one of
the guys
go
instead?”
It took
me a
while to
explain
that I
had
worked
very
hard my
entire
Air
Force
career
to be
considered
a
professional
officer
and had
worked
even
harder
at being
a
commander
and
leader.
The fact
that I
was
personally
requested
to be
the
first
colonel
to
command
the
332nd
Expeditionary
Mission
Support
Group in
Iraq was
indeed a
good
thing. I
must
admit
that I
never
dreamed
I would
be a
commander
in the
middle
of the
Sunni
Triangle
in Iraq.
The real
lesson
here is
that I
should
have.
Dream
big
hermanas.
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Colonel Lisa C. Firmin is the Commander of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 842, and Professor of Aerospace Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is responsible for educating, training and commissioning officer candidates. |
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Many years later, with
two masters’ degrees and
countless training and
leadership positions
behind me, I want to
give back to others in
la comunidad. I want to
let everyone, especially
women and minorities
know of the many
opportunities there are
out there. In my
position as the Air
Force ROTC Commander at
the University of Texas
at San Antonio, I can do
just that. I
persistently spread the
word through various
outreach efforts. I’m
able to give qualified
students who might not
be able to afford
college Air Force
scholarships helping
them achieve their goals
and dreams.
By
Colonel Lisa C. Firmin,
USAF |
