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Grissom Airman participate in Women Veterans’ conference

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Mota
  • 434th ARW Public Affairs
Indiana’s women’s veteran population is more than 35,000 and women from Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana, make up part of that number.

To show their support, women from the Hoosier Wing attended the 2016 Indiana Women Veterans’ Conference in Indianapolis, April 15 to learn about VA benefits available and to network with other veterans.

“Having so many [Indiana women veterans] in one place, and having the ability to speak to so many of them from different services was one of the best parts for me,” said Col. Anna Schulte, 434th Maintenance Group commander and key-note speaker. “It was amazing to see how many women from Grissom participated in the event adding to the rich heritage of Indiana female veterans.”

That history and heritage was echoed as Schulte gave her speech to a diverse crowd of veterans from all branches of military services.

“Today we celebrate Indiana’s Women Veterans; these women embody the core values of our armed services and their legacy is a treasure to behold and share,” said Schulte during her speech. “Women have been in our service since George Washington’s troops fought for independence. Some were so determined to fight for what they believed that they even masqueraded as men and took up arms.”

Throughout the speech Schulte provided example after example of the women who helped shape the armed forces into what it is today.

“The cheering and all the camaraderie that came from women in the crowd after Colonel Schulte delivered her speech informing us of all the achievements made from women service members was inspirational,” said 2nd Lt. Erica Morgan, 434th MXG executive officer who attended the event with her daughter. “I’m glad my daughter had the opportunity to see the impact women make in our military and the chance to see some of our military traditions.”

During the conference attendees also had opportunities to visit a variety of workshops that focused on topics such as VA benefits, positive discipline parenting, art therapy, self-defense and a resume workshop provided by Grissom’s Family Readiness.

“We had a lot of participation from the women veterans during the conference,” said Jill Marconi, Grissom Airman and Family Readiness Center director. “Our primary goal was to provide federal and civilian resume writing skills and ensure applicants were aware of the impact their credit score and finances have on them throughout the Federal hiring process.

“Several woman have tried submitting federal applications and have simply given up hope because they didn’t know how to navigate the system; our class renewed hope and also provided other woman whom these vets could relate to,” she said.

Despite being there to provide resume writing skills, Marconi said that the event was more about unity, and female veterans speaking with people who can relate to their specific needs.

“This function really pulled in all the team players and was all about unity and growth for these folks,” Marconi added.

That unity was also displayed as volunteers from Grissom sat up and operated Grissom's interactive flight deck and boom pod displays so visitors could learn more about the 434th Air Refueling Wing KC-135R Stratotanker mission.

“Our team of volunteers did an outstanding job showcasing the tanker mission during the event,” said Senior Master Sgt. Douglas Stogsdill, 434th Maintenance Squadron fabrications flight chief and static display supervisor. “There were several other events [at the same location] and even if people didn’t come and visit our tent, they saw the uniforms and the Air Force logo; there were a lot of eyes on Grissom.”

Grissom’s presence and support of women veterans was also displayed by the amount of people from the base who attended. In all, over 40 people from the Hoosier Wing arrived to show their support and learn from the experience.

“Almost all the women from our office attended to show our support and learn about the benefits available to us,” said Tech. Sgt. Erica Sherwood, 434th Force Support Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge. “It was good hearing everyone’s story and having the opportunity to come together as military veterans that share similar experiences.”

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. Men and women from the Hoosier Wing routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission.

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