"Not your Air Force sort of girl" a Women's History Month perspective

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Joseph Kapinos
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  It is the middle of basic training. One female trainee is there; proud of the fact she is wearing Air Force blue for the first time. Sitting there, she listens to the instructors speak about military bearing and the importance of keeping it all times.

Suddenly, the lights go out and darkness engulfs the room.

But then, a light pierces the darkened room and images of Americana begin to appear on the screen behind the stage. Music fills the room and one by one, emotions fill the future Basic Military Graduates and they are prouder than they have ever been in their lives.

That young woman would go on to become a Major and remembers that day as the day she "fell in love with the Air Force."

"It was just after Desert Storm, and the music they played that day was the Lee Greenwood song, 'God Bless the USA'," said Major Tamara O'Donnell, 39th Air Base Wing chief of protocol. "The video had all of the images from Desert Storm and Desert Shield, and I knew right then and there that I was sunk."

"It was over for me right then," she said. "I had never felt something so majestic and as overwhelmingly emotional as that moment."

Right after the famous 90's song, the National Anthem played for the newest Airmen. Then the lights were turned back on, and the training instructors scanned the room to see who had kept their bearing the entire time. Needless to say, most had "failed" this part of the training regimen.

"There were very few people who had been able to keep their composure," said Major O'Donnell. "But it was the first time the Air Force got into my heart, and it has been there ever since."

Major O'Donnell, an Ovid, Mich. native, started her career in the Air Force thanks to the initiative of an Air Force recruiter and the recruiter assistance program. During the last part of high school, she had met with the recruiter who had mentioned joining the military. After telling him that she was not an "Air Force sort of girl," she reconsidered and thought it might be a good way to get an education, which was her goal from the beginning. Her options for taking classes on her own were very limited, and the military was a good way to accomplish what she wanted to do with her life.

"What I wanted most was to get an education," said Major O'Donnell. "I didn't have the money for classes, and my parents wouldn't co-sign for any loans. Plus, my parents made too much for me to qualify for any grants, so joining the military was the best way for me to get a degree.

"I figured I would join, do four years and then get out," she said with a smile. "Little did I know then that today I would be a major."

After serving a number of years as a laboratory technician in the enlisted corps, mostly at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Major O'Donnell accepted a commission and started the next part of her career as an officer. Prior to coming to Incirlik, she worked as the A1 (Force Support) executive officer at Headquarters Air Force Material Command and as the program manager for the Air Force Institute of Technology, both at WPAFB. After reporting to Turkey, Major O'Donnell then deployed to Manas Air Base, Krygystan to be the deputy commander for the 376th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron, wearing numerous hats as she looked after many aspects concerning the welfare of the deployed Airmen. Being a deputy commander gave Major O'Donnell a new perspective on her career and caused her to celebrate the fact that women have made so much progress when it comes to leadership in the military.

"I think it is phenomenal that women are able to be leaders at all levels in the Air Force," proclaimed the major. "I think it truly speaks to the women who have come before us and all of the struggles they have overcome in the past."

Major O'Donnell has worked to advance the cause of women's history by previously volunteering to chair the WHM program at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar in 2007. She put together a panel of female leaders to speak to the base about the advancement of women from the early beginnings of the Air Force to the present day. She admits that many times, today's leaders are unaware of how much history they are making each and every day.

"I don't think they understand or realize the things they have done along the way to change history," stated Major O'Donnell. "They don't understand that their hard times made a difference. Whether its women's history or black history, we deal with life, and by dealing with life and celebrating our heritage, we make it better for tomorrow."

Celebrating all of the heritage months is important to the major, because she sees each one as an opportunity to look back at history and see how far we have come as a military. While not being a "history buff," she readily admitted to knowing that it is important to know and understand history, so no one repeats mistakes, paraphrasing George Santayana's (1863-1952) famous quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

While being a successful Airman and officer has been very rewarding for Major O'Donnell, it has not been an easy road for her to travel. Being a woman in the military presents challenges she has had to overcome in order to be a leader, wife and mother. Especially being a mother.

"When I became pregnant with my children, there was always that question; 'are you going to choose family or career?,' and trying to find that balance in life. I think that finding that balance in life is the hardest part for all of us, but especially for females, because as a society, we don't really look favorably on women who are willing to leave their children in order to deploy," said Major O'Donnell.

Relating a time when she had to deploy with two little girls at home, several people told her choosing her job over her family was wrong and "that's a bad thing."

"I remember getting into an argument with my sister because she was asking me how I could do this to my children," said Major O'Donnell.

"What she didn't realize, was that I was doing it all for my kids," she added. "I want their world to be better than mine. And I want them to know that their freedom doesn't rest solely on the shoulders of the men that surround them."

Having her children know that being a success in life means being successful in partnerships is important to this mother of three. Whether it's working in a deployed location or taking care of the family, men and women bring equal strengths to the table and that we all need each other, she said.

Proud of the heritage that the women of yesterday have accomplished for both her and future female Airmen, Major O'Donnell had some final words for those women who are thinking about joining the military, or even those who are still in and considering staying.

"Just like motherhood, it is a commitment that over the course of your life will cause you to carry a heavy burden at times," stated the major proudly. "But also like motherhood, it will bring treasures to your life that are well worth the cost."