 Welcome to the Army's Women's History Month panel discussion, hosted by the Army Outreach Division in support of US Army Public Affairs. I'm Hank Minitres, and it is my absolute pleasure to serve as your moderator for today's discussion. Over the next 30 minutes or so, our panel will share their experiences, their insights, their thoughts of what it's like to be a woman in today's Army. Now, regardless of where you're joining us from or how you found us, just thank you for watching our discussion tonight. We've also pinned a link at the top of the comments section on Facebook. If you'd like more information about the Army, just give it a click. And as always, feel free to drop your questions in the comments section. You know, women have served in the Army for many, many years, decades, centuries, and the Army's stories just can't be told without the contributions made by women in the Army. Now, while they may not have always received the recognition that they've definitely earned, women have played and continue to play a vital role in today's Army. They are the soldiers on the front line. They are leaders. They are officers, non-commissioned officers. They stand with our troops. They're members of the United States Army Civilian Corps, as well as employers, spouses, mothers, and sisters who offer critical support in service to our country. Right now, let's meet our panelists. We have four guests joining us tonight to share their experiences. As women in the military, we'll start with Major General Sharon Fasano. Currently, the Joint Transportation Reserve Unit Commander and the Mobilization Assistant to the U.S. Transportation Command Commander. In her previous assignment, Major General Fasano served as Deputy Commanding General, Operational Command Post for the 377th Theater Sustainment Command, mobilized in support of Army North at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. She served five tours of active duty following the events of 9-11, totaling 68 months, which included deploying to Balad, Iraq, as a Support Operations Transportation Officer with the 172nd Corps Support Group in 2004. That's just a few of her many assignments. Ma'am, can't thank you enough for joining us today. Thanks, Hank. And good evening, everybody. Really looking forward to tonight's discussion. I'm extremely honored to be part of this panel and honor of Women's History Month, and I look forward to seeing where the discussion takes us. You bet, Ma'am. Next up is Kelsey Minato. She graduated from West Point in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science. At West Point, Kelly was a four-year starter on the women's basketball team where she set numerous Academy, Conference, and NCAA records. That's right. We only bring the best on our show. Kelsey's the only West Point athlete in any sport to have their jersey retired while still actively competing. That's saying something. After graduating, Kelsey commissioned as a Field Artillery Officer and, in 2019, deployed to Iraq as an Infantry Company Fire Support Officer in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. In August 2021, Kelsey resigned her commission and returned to Southern California where she is currently a Marketing Operations Project Manager for a Medical Technology Company. Kelsey, welcome to the show. Hey, hey, and hey, everyone. Thank you so much for having me. It's great to be here. It's great to have you here. Our next guest is no stranger to our monthly Meet Your Army events, Staff Sergeant Lynette Eriaccio. She's a senior mechanic for headquarters and support company Sixth Battalion First Security Force Assistance Brigade. She joined the Army in 2013 after graduating from basic training and advanced individual training. She was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Sergeant Eriaccio is a graduate of the Drill Sergeant Academy, Fort Jackson, and served as a Drill Sergeant at Fort Benning, Georgia. She also has a combat deployment to Iraq. She was raised in the communities of Pinedale and Raymond, New Mexico, my home state, so we got a homegirl on the line with us, which is awesome. And she's also the mother of a beautiful 12-year-old daughter. And as mentioned, she's been on the show with us before for Native American Heritage Month. Sergeant Eriaccio, it is great to have you back on the show with us. Yeah, thank you. I appreciate it. Good to be back. Awesome. Next up, Staff Sergeant Alicia Farrell, who's an automated logistical specialist at the Quartermaster School. Sergeant Farrell is originally from Newark, New Jersey, just like Daniel LaRusso from the Karate Kid. Side note, she entered active duty in July 2007 and completed basic combat training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and her advanced individual training at Fort Lee, Virginia, where she was awarded the Military Occupational Specialty Automated Logistical Specialist. We call that a 92-alpha in military jargon. She's currently a brigade senior maintenance manager and has served at posts around the world at Fort Hood, Fort Stewart, Fort Bliss, Korea. She's been there, done that to Afghanistan in Iraq as well. So, Sergeant Farrell, welcome. Can't wait to get your perspective on this. Thank you, Hank, for having me. I'm honored to be part of this conversation. You bet. I want to thank each of our panelists for joining us for this important conversation. We're excited to get to know all of you in the next half hour or so. Probably longer because I talk too much and I just love hearing what people have to say. But we will hopefully get some good questions from our audience as well through the comments section. So, another plug for the folks watching. If you have a question for our panelists, post it in the comments section. If you have a question about the Army, click on that link that's been pinned at the top of the comments section. So, ladies, let's give the audience an opportunity to get to know you just a little bit better. Start with your Army story and every Army story starts off with why you decided to join. General Fasano, let's start with you, ma'am. Okay. Thanks, Hank. Both my mom and dad were in the Army. My dad graduated from West Point in 1967 and he married my mother who had just graduated from nursing school. After 12 years of marriage, my mother decided that she wanted to join the Army herself. So, she got a direct commission as an Army nurse. She served a few years on active duty and then transitioned to the Army Reserve. And she's just a big believer in all the wonderful opportunities that the Army Reserve provides. Thought it was a great opportunity for me. I wasn't necessarily in agreement. There's kind of a backstory there, but I did end up signing a contract for six years of Army Reserve duty when I was 17 years old. And this is back in 1986. My mom ended up being right, of course. I just fell in love with the Army. I just love the camaraderie, the sense of purpose, the mission that we did. I love the challenges, both physical and mental. When I got back from basic training in AIT, I enrolled in college and enrolled in ROTC and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Fantastic story and I totally get it on the... I didn't think it was a great plan for me. But yeah, the Army just has a way of finding something that works for you and then you realize, wow, I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this. I can't believe I'm getting paid to learn to do this. So, fantastic. We're glad you made the decision to join and to stay with us, ma'am. Kelsey, over to you. Why did you join the Army in the first place? Yeah, so basketball was probably kind of what introduced me to the Army by way of West Point. I have several family members who served in the military, my grandpa, great grandpa, several uncles, and a few aunts. But I had never really considered the Army as a profession, even though I was kind of surrounded by it growing up. But similar to what Major Versana said, once I started to do some research, I saw the opportunities that come with serving and being able to challenge myself in so many different ways, being able to serve a bigger purpose than myself. Those were all things that really appealed to me and it turned out to be an incredible experience for me. Absolutely. That's an awesome story. Thanks for sharing that, Kelsey. Sergeant Eriaccio, over to you, please. Hello, I just wanted to introduce myself real quick and then go back. So the reason why I joined is being a Native American, which was very influenced was a lot of tribes, co-talkers. There was the Navajo co-talker. There was the Cherokee co-talkers. There were also different tribes who contributed a lot to a big major wars that we had. And there was no one in my family that essentially was a service. It was more of just like relatives. And so my older brother, I know he first enlisted in Marines and I enlisted in Army. I just felt like I wanted to continue the legacy of Native Americans in serving our country. So I enlisted. I felt like I always would have thought, what if I did, what if I didn't? And so I'm glad I did and I'm glad I'm still here 10 years strong into it. We're glad you are here with us too. Absolutely. And about the co-talkers, you and I are both from New Mexico. I'm fortunate enough to have found a job back in our home state. But yet the story of the co-talkers here is just one that is ingrained in us growing up. And I have to say that was also one of the reasons that I felt inspired to continue serving was just their story, their New Mexicans, their Navajo, and the contributions that they made to help us win both wars. World War I, that was the Comanche Co-Talkers, and World War II, the Navajo. So thank you for your service and thank you for continuing their legacy of honor for sure. Sergeant Farrell, over to you. Why did you join the Army? Yes. Well, coming out of high school, I was not the best. Didn't get the best grades. So I know I want to do something different, unfortunately. So I just stepped it out in my comfort zone and I just want to join the Army. Didn't have anybody around me that was in the military, all my siblings, all five of us. I went out of five. I'm the only one that went in the Army and everybody else went to college. So I just want to do something different and it worked out for me. So that's why I joined initially. Well, the big thing there is that you actually just did something. You know, when you get to the end of your high school career, you really only have three choices, right? You're either going to go to college, you're going to join the military, or you're going to join the workforce. And, you know, everyone's got their different motivation for doing different things. And there's something, you know, for everybody, as we used to say, different strokes for different folks. So glad that you made the decision to join because you've done some great things while you're in the Army. And I think we're just lucky to have you. Now, for three of you, I got a follow-on question for you. After you entered the Army, what was it that convinced you that, hey, this is something I really like to do and I want to continue serving as a soldier? General Fasano, can we start with you on that one, please? Sure. As I mentioned, I love camaraderie and I love the challenges. And those are the main reasons I've stayed. The Army always challenges me to be better, to consistently learn, to evolve, to adapt. And most importantly, the Army gives me a sense of purpose. I feel like I'm part of something bigger. I'm helping others be better in addition to improving myself. I always told myself I would stay in as long as I was challenged in having fun. Didn't always have fun, but I always felt challenged to be better and contribute more. And that inspired me to stick around for 37 years at this point. That's phenomenal. 37 years. And something you said just resonates with me as well. Wasn't always fun. But that's literally any job in life. But I don't know about you, but sometimes I look back at those times that weren't as fun. The great vacation spots that the Army likes to send us to from time to time. Separating from family, maybe not as fun, but when you look back on it, you just look at, wow, I made it through that. I can't believe I made it through that. And you mentioned camaraderie. That's such a huge thing. As you, over time, you start to grow tighter and tighter with those around you. And you, all of a sudden, you have your Army family to take care of you, which is just incredible. A lot of people, it's hard for them to understand that. Sergeant Eriaccio, over to you. What made you decide to continue serving? What made me decide is that in the maintenance world, there's not a lot of female representation. My first interaction, it was very fast-paced going. So it was kind of like, if I could be the one to continue to stay and be a female and just male-dominant job, work environment, then I think it would shift my perspective of the Army. It's not as bad as people may think it is, and that if I can become a leader and control the environment, relax the way I would like to as a leader or senior leader, then I feel like this is something anyone and everyone can do and should do. So my goal is to make it into that place of leadership is to make it just like what the general was saying, to camaraderie, keeping everyone together and making a good experience and not such a negative experience. Because everyone's experience is different, but I'm, and so far it is working and I'm still learning a lot from my leadership as well of different ways to run the shop. I just think you're wise beyond your years and it shows a level of maturity with you that your reason for staying in is that you want to mentor others and help others who come in behind you have a better experience than even you had. The Army has long said, when you enter an organization, you want to do your very best to leave that organization better than you found it, and I think that you are embodying that and exemplifying that. I gotta I gotta I gotta applaud you on that, Sergeant Eliacho. Very good job. Sergeant Farrell over to you. Why do you decide that you, why have you decided to stay in? Well, sir, I would say I wanted to stay in because like I shared a sense of like wanting to keep my mom proud. My mom was very proud of us. I came in the Army and I just wanted to continue to make her proud. And after having my daughter at my after my second duty station and her looking up to me and just know that the impact that I have on my peers around me, my high school friends, it kind of convinced and motivate me that I was doing the right thing. And the experience I embodied just made me want to just stay in the Army. So yeah, that's why I'll continue serving. Outstanding. I the whole wanting to make your parents proud thing. I think that's something a lot of people, including me, can relate to. Once once you have started along a path where you are accomplishing things and all of a sudden you're getting recognized for things and you know you're making your parents proud. But at the same time, you never realize and you hit on this your peers standing around you also noticing that and you are while you might be focused on just making your parents proud. You are inspiring others to reach for excellence. So I applaud you for that as well. Now, Kelsey, you different situation. You didn't stay in. You separated from the Army after serving five years. Can you share how your experience at West Point and serving as a combat arms officer prepared you for entering the civilian workforce and a bit about how this is different than your Army experience? Yeah, so yeah, when I was I was leaving the Army, I wasn't kind of I wasn't quite sure what skills or experience I'd be able to translate outside of the Army. As an artillery officer, you can imagine that that skill set is very specific to artillery and very specific to the Army. There's of course some some elements of leading people and coordinating events and that kind of thing. But it was really the operations experience that I gained from the Army that I was able to then take into my job now and being able to work on different projects at once, work with different teams, coordinate events, make sure things are a resource. There was those types of skills that I have taken into my job now and also some of the more soft skills that I learned at West Point in the Army and then also through sports of teamwork, being a team player, having a good work ethic, being able to connect with people and relate to them, I think is really important and I was able to also take those skills into my job now. So even though at first I wasn't quite sure what I would be able to contribute outside of the Army, I think I realized soon that there's a lot of lessons and skills that you pick up in the Army that you don't necessarily realize in the moment that you can then take into a different profession or a different industry. I'm so glad that you hit on that. Part of my resume it says on there United States Army Recruiter and I will tell you that one of the toughest situations that you get into as a recruiter talking to the general public about the Army is you find people their main objection to join the Army as well. If I'm in the field artillery, if I'm driving a tank or if I'm an infantry soldier, that's not going to help me get a job once I get out of the Army. So thank you for shining a huge spotlight on that myth and dispelling it because look at you. You went from field artillery to marketing and in using all the experience that you had with, like you said, being on a team, team building, operational experience, organizational experience, knowing how to coordinate and cross-coordinate. Those are all skill sets that you learn in the combat arms that are a direct translation to just about any civilian job. So thank you for sharing that. Now I am sure that each one of you can point to a few people who mentored you throughout your respective careers. I always like to talk about the importance of mentors and the impact some of these mentors have had on you professionally and maybe even personally. So Kelsey, since you were just on with this, let's start with you. Yeah, having mentors is so important. I've been able to have a lot of great ones over the course of my life in the Army at West Point through sports and in my job now. And for me, it's been very helpful to have someone who I can bounce ideas off, who can guide me. And especially as a woman in the Army, having representation and having someone you can look up to and who you admire and can mentor you and guide you into becoming a great officer and a great leader was a huge help for me. And even in my job now, I'm really lucky to be surrounded by so many female leaders and just to observe them and observe their leadership, how they lead their teams, how they make decisions, how they interact with people is huge because I'm able to kind of see things that I like about how they lead and I can try to adopt that and bring it into my own leadership style. So I can't say enough how important having mentors both professionally and personally is. Well, you also hit on something else that sort of echoes what Sergeant Ediacho said earlier. It's about representation. Representation matters. And we say that with every one of these shows. It's why we do these panel discussions because representation matters. And just thanks for pointing that out. General Fasano, over to you. I know you had to have had some great mentors in your career. You care to share any stories? I have. I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't have those mentors. And Kelsey got me thinking about the representation piece of it. As I was coming up through the ranks, there were not any or very many females who were in those leadership positions. Most of my mentorship came from males, which they were phenomenal and guided me along and got me to where I needed to be. And my very first mentor was when I was a first lieutenant. And I wouldn't be in the Army right now if it wasn't for him. If he hadn't intervened at that time and sat me down and mapped out an education track and a job track for me. I'm very fortunate right now. And as we're thinking about Women's History Month, the Transcom Commander is General Jackie Van Ovest. And she's the very first female combatant commander. She's been in position for about a year and a half. And what's amazing about her is she saw something she wanted. She went for it. When she graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1988, she wanted to fly fighters. Of course, she was told no because females were not allowed in combat roles in the 80s. So she said, fine, I'll go ahead and become a test pilot. So she got to fly everything, including fighters. And that's what she wanted to do. You know, my previous position, I worked for General Richardson. And she is the second female combatant commander and only the second female Army four star in our entire history. Being able to work for those two phenomenal women and seeing their leadership styles and seeing how they were able to succeed. And they broke through so many barriers in order to get get where they are. And Lieutenant General Jerry Daniels, who's the Chief of the Army Reserve right now, the first female Chief of the Army Reserve that we've ever had. I think we've had 42 prior to her. Yes, you know, she got the job just based on her her own merits. And in all these women, they take the time to mentor me and show me that I can achieve more. And we're not limited anymore that we just have to continue to break through those barriers. Oh, that's phenomenal, phenomenal that she had such great mentors like that. And and they're legends, they're legendary. They like you said, they crashed right through, you know, that glass ceiling, as they say. And they're inspiring, you know, I've I've been so fortunate to have interacted with all of those ladies. And they are tremendous leaders. They're inspiring. There's just something about them. You know, it's it's they're great leaders. And it's just incidental that they happen to be women. You know what I mean? It's just phenomenal. But representation matters, Sergeant Eddie Achild, over to you. Yes. So just I was saying, when I mentioned, there wasn't a lot of females in maintenance world. But my AIT Patune Sergeant, first class, Townsend, she was the whole example of what it be to professionalism. And we didn't my AIT, I didn't talk or intermingle or anything at all, nothing personal. It was a professional perspective that she put out into energy she gave. And I reached out on her to her on enterprise at that time, outlook, but she's out now, she's she's retired. She I would always just try to keep her in the loop of what I was doing, even if it wasn't a whole paragraph of messaging. And she the only thing I know that was short and sweet and simple was keep it up, you got it, keep it up. And that alone taken the little things and just going with it was something that really helped a lot. And I'm still connected with her through social media now and she's out with the Army and it's just like, wow, I wonder if she thought or who, you know, she felt if she still feels because I did message her like my mentor and I wonder it's like, I want to have that same feeling someone saying that to me one day. But she's my first example. And then it came to actually on the field is a lot of same examples, man, males were some great examples of mentorship, toughness. When it came to becoming a non commission officer, my mentors were actually my peers, we were all at some point just mentoring each other, different moises. And sometimes it's not like, for what I learned, it's not like levels above you who are your mentorship, it's how you're going through everything together, you're going through feel ups and work day to day. And that's something I picked a lot from my female counterparts. And I'm going to wear drills, some of them still in the Army, some of them out reserves. And it's really neat to still just kind of get the little from we can from one to each other to keep going and still keep it in touch to this day. So that I felt like was something that I had to shift my attention towards. Those who went through it with me, those were like, okay, we're still on, we're still on right track, we're still healthy, we're still good, and still sharing sharing our stories. So I feel like that was something a different direction as far as mentorship is only because there wasn't a lot of female leadership above me at the time. Now where I'm at in first SBAB, great mentors, great leadership, I have a chief who's about to retire, but he's still working day to day. We're talking before about how at the end until at the finish line just working hard and grabbing as much knowledge as I can just observing and it's a mixture of everything. So yeah, for sure. No, for sure. It's something you said, I don't know if you realize this or not, but you said you wanted to be the type of leader that someday a subordinate comes and says to you the types of things that you're saying to your mentor. That's so very important. We always say in the army lead by example and as my dad used to say, always do your best 100% because you never know who's watching. I say that to say we never know the impact that we have on people. People don't always just walk up right away and say, oh, by the way, Sergeant Ferrell, what you just did was inspiring to me. You may not hear about that for like five or 10 years. So why not try to be the best leader that you can be regardless of, you know, are you a Sergeant Major or are you a Staff Sergeant? Just do the very best you can in your position that you're in and not so much, hey, look at me and copy me, but just try to do your best and you will automatically inspire others. And I think that the Army is such a great institution for instilling that in our soldiers. Sergeant Ferrell, over to you. Let's talk about your mentors. Yeah, so I have maybe, I have three I want to highlight Chief Crystal Jones. She's a CW2. I think she's in the Como Technician. She, when I was, you know, because we all have our dark moments in life. I think I just had my son and I gained a lot of weight and she did not give up on me. She pushed me mentally, physically, emotionally. She was there for me. She first wanted to see what was my mental at, you know, she could easily well gave up on me and just, you know, write me off. She was not my NCO at the time. She just saw that I needed help and picked me up and I forever is in debt for that because now I instill that in my soldiers. Now just, you know, being an instructor and seeing that my soldiers when they're struggling on their PT or just physicality, I look at what she did for me and I just use that. And then I also have Chief CW2 as well, Amine Hudson. I go to for when it comes to technical portion because he's the same. MOS is me as well. And like every time I have an issue or I feel like I'm not going the right direction, I just want to get a second opinion without any judgment. I go to him and then I have thirdly, but lastly is my one of my good friends. I'm one of my best friends. She's out the army now. She used to be a 9-2 Alpha like me. She gives me a better perspective of, you know, she's a civilian now, but she know how it is being in the military. And when I'm down and she know how it is, I go to her and talk to her and she always motivate me to like just push through and just tell me how proud she is, how resilient, how I'm a resilient leader. So, you know, those three personnel have a big impact in my life as mentors that I always constantly seek and go to and seek out every time. I see there's a pattern here. There's a total pattern here that is just inexplicable. You have learned just to pay it forward. You had someone who mentored you, helped you along through those dark times and you're absolutely right. We all have those. I've had them. I think everyone on this panel has had that day, that week, that month, that set of months where you just thought, geez, I don't know if I can go any farther. But yet there was a mentor there to reach out a hand and give you a hand up to help you back up. And then now you've decided to pay it forward, which is exactly what the Army teaches as part of our Army values. Very insightful responses, ladies. We each have a story to share. And for each of you, part of your story is that you all serve or have served as Army soldiers. Today, more than 160,000 women serve on active duty or as civilians in the Army that contribute to our nation's security. We have women serving in every career field in the Army. General mentioned this earlier back in the 80s. Back when she and I first came in, that was not the case. But now women have the opportunity to serve in every job in the Army. They are critical members of the Army team. So what I'd like to pose as the next question to you, ladies, is how has being a woman in the Army changed since you first started? Sergeant Pharrell, let's start with you. I would say it's like you said in the beginning, you see a lot of women in combat. MOS is doing out there fighting in front line now more than ever. But I want to touch on when I first joined in the Army, when you first have a child, as soon as you have a child six weeks, you're back in a fight. But now the Army has progressed and learned that we all bounce back in different ways. They are doing a better job at focusing on the mental health, spiritual, emotional, and also physically to help women get back in a fight and prolonging us getting back in shape, not just physically, but mentally so we can be better leaders for our soldiers that's coming through. That is so very important and a very valid point. Thanks for pointing that out, Sergeant Pharrell. Kelsey, over to you. You have an interesting perspective. You were in for five years and now you're on the outside looking in and you've seen the progression of how times have changed. I'm just curious as to what your perspective is on that with regard to how the Army has changed with regard to women. Right, yes. This question actually makes me think of when I took my first visit to West Point, I met General Ann Dunwoody, who was the first female four-star general, and which was just an incredible moment for me to meet her. But I knew that was important and it was impressive. I don't think I appreciated how important that is until a few years later when I started to understand what that meant. But I think for someone who was young like me to see that she is this great leader, she's a four-star general, she's accomplished a lot in her career, I think that struck me on some level and made me want to reach farther and to try to achieve more and the Army is a great place for that to happen and to really push yourself as far as you want to go and as far as you can go and really tap into your potential. And when I joined the artillery, I think it had only been available to women maybe a few years at that point and then a few years later then infantry then became available to women. So it's great to see these different opportunities that are now available to women and to see women step into those positions and prove themselves and to show that they have what it takes, they can contribute to the mission and I'm excited to see where we are five years from now and to see all that women can accomplish in those five years. Yeah I think it's going to be exciting like you said in about five years to just kind of look back and say wow oh wow this is you know what progress we've made especially and you hit it right on the head what better place is there to be all you can be than the Army. Okay shameless plug for the new the new logo there I'm sorry had to do it had to do it. General Fasano over to you you and I came in about the same time you and I have seen a lot of the same changes but your perspective is clearly different than mine because you are a woman can you talk about that? Yeah it's a we've evolved quite a bit since I joined when I joined we had only been part of the the total force for eight years the WACS went away in 1978 so I came in right after all that happened we were really limited in what we could do back in the 80s now females can be field artillery like Kelsey they can be infantry they can be they can go to ranger school I'm really inspired by Lisa Jaster major now Lieutenant Colonel Lisa Jaster was the first female army reserve who made it successfully made it through ranger school and really just our opportunities are limitless you know I mentioned when I was coming up through the ranks I never saw females at the higher echelon and now at least in the army reserve the female general officers are representative of of all females in the military so 20 to 25 percent are female in the formation and 20 to 25 percent are general officers in their army reserve so it's just phenomenal to see all these talented women wearing the stars um for the for the women coming up now now they can see that it's possible to serve in those roles I found myself being the first female of a lot of things I was the first female commander the 475th quartermaster group the first female commander the 310th ESC the first female deputy commanding general the 377th TSC and now I'm the first female JTRU commander in a few years we won't even recognize first women in any position because women will just be in these roles and I think that's it's really inspiring and demonstrates that we can achieve whatever we want in the army totally agree with you and appreciate the perspective on that ma'am and and you hit on something that leads into the next question but let's let's hear from sergeant ediacho first on how she has seen the army change with regard to women and then we're going to get to something you said about being the first of you know many things in the army so sergeant ediacho over to you what's your perspective um I think for me is once I went to uh bct I was the only female or female in general in that company and no one would talk to me so oh wow and it was okay it was not it was me more I'm trying to get used to everyone and but that was 10 years oh probably just less than 10 years ago but now in more I think it's probably where I'm at now though in the first SBAP it does not matter there's nothing that's holding the boundary is you were selected you were taught by percent of in the army this is where your best at what you do you're good and being able to not build from that first impression that I had being in a bct and then coming to going into environment where it's like you're a person you were mad or you're an nco that you're actually changing it it caught me off guard one time where I was like oh someone actually wants to it talk to me you know so someone wants to hear my credentials or something or just even wants to know how do I pronounce my name and that loan was something that was a really big big impact that I've um had a person to count on was like just the acknowledgement of your presence and your your soldier you're a team member a teammate that was one thing because I think in the beginning it was just either don't say anything nice at all to whoever's different around and then it just came to be like hey let's let's let's crack some jokes let's talk let's just share let's talk let's just um so that was one thing that I felt like that was such a great a great um direction in and I feel like even if I were to go back to that same bct um I have so I have 110 110 percent that that would not be the same case it would just be because of how much female presence are in our bcts are in different units and sure I feel like that would have been it's small but it was something that was a big impact for me to be like okay I belong now and um being in a drill uh for betting and having the females just stride being stronger than the boys and just being able to just and I was like wow they are going to dominate out in the field and nice that was just a physical change that I've seen was like hey you you all have the army watch out you have some strong females coming towards your way and it was something I felt like I was not this at that physique level I know when I first came in I was just run run run cardio cardio but these girls have been doing some homework and lifting and that was inspiring for me as a drill sergeant so that loan as well is another thing that's small but yet when I came in that was not like a thing it was just kind of like okay we're going to do cardio I'm going to do my own but there's a gym mentoring of um weight lifting and performance so if you can do your job you're okay with me doesn't matter anything else other than that and that's of course it you matter and that's sure but you matter regardless all your female and can do this even awesome my battle buddy is my battle buddy is this my battle buddy is that so that's one thing I felt like that was a great thing and you said it you know there's there's nothing greater than just having that sense of belonging right being included just being included acknowledged and included that's that's just something and you know for for this generation that's coming up you know you said they've done their homework they're into lifting and things like that you know how great is it that it's just been so normalized that there are just women in every unit in the army now it's been it's become normalized um now with the number of women in the army having increased there have been some challenges along the way all four of you have hit on on some of that and general fosano this is what I was talking about earlier when you mentioned you were the first commander of this and the first commander of that and the first commander of this there had to have been some adversities that you had to overcome so that's the question to all four of you what adversities have you overcome uh as a woman serving in the military general fosano I'd like to start with you please ma'am yes so I've been extremely fortunate to be honest being in the reserves and being a sustainment officer we're just better represented across it than the forces as a whole females we tend to be better integrated in that regard but the one one problem I've encountered ever since and that neck and flash all the way back to when I was in r2c advanced camp is a lot of the bonding and planning that happens goes on after hours it doesn't happen in the office some of it does but some of it happens after hours so the barracks it's in the tents it's at social events when you're segregated by gender decisions get made by the majority who are male and we don't get involved I remember when I was a brigade commander we had spent the day briefing the two-star general and then they did a social event afterwards and it was at a pizza place so we're all being social well afterwards they went next door to a cigar bar which don't tend to go into cigar bars and the next morning we were galed with all these tales of the funny stories and all the bonding they did with the two-star so we miss out on those types of opportunities if you if you're segregating by gender or if you're having social events that are more targeted towards male interest versus female interest so there's a little bit extra work that has to be done to overcome situations like that to make sure that we continue to be involved and understand the decisions that are being made excellent point that's something I had never really considered until you brought it up that's amazing and I hope that there are leaders watching this that make a mental note of that to be just a little more thoughtful whenever they're planning these socials for after work because you're absolutely right it's you know there's decisions made in the office but it's a lot of the on the golf course type conversations that take place down in the community club great point ma'am fantastic perspective sergeant adiacho over to you adversities that you had to face you kind of hit on that a little bit with your story about basic combat training yeah um I think one was really recent for me was not having enough female PA medical personnel in some units it was a majority were males and I felt like there was a point where my medical needs were not um my needs were not being met and it was a very difficult how I to sit there to think how can I say the magic words to say that I need additional help I need help specifically that's woman focus and but how I got through it was really just there's a lot of misinformation out on the internet and everything so it was me forcing me to reach out to other female higher up master sergeants and different units and thankfully enough they also were probably in the same situation or they gone through it and helped me get through it so the communication of it all was what um got me through a lot of adversities and when it became too medical and that's something I feel like that's I can't do anything about it but it helped me be able to get the right way to write help and be able to still continue and drive on and um thankfully my chain of command was very very supportive and they listen and again the communication flow was what I had to work on also to say this is what I need help with and as much as I felt like I had to prepare to make this big explanation it was like don't worry we got you and and that alone was just it put a lot of hope and pride back into it okay I can do this even though there's underlying medical stuff that was going on um and it was the same thing with the females and basic training and bct they at a point having them um express their medical needs or concerns and it was like don't worry if we got you and I felt like if they can do it at this level the big army like what what's taking that so long but I'm glad that I got through it and I have a smarter way of um going about um getting my needs met and thank you that have a good chain of command to help me so get me through so many layers to that onion that I would love to feel bad we'll do it we'll do a couple okay number one yes communication is key but number two the army is all about helping others it's it's about taking care of soldiers but as a leader sometimes you don't know that your you know soldiers are having a problem unless they bring it to you you had the courage to take it up with somebody you thought could help you and you went out and actively sought help and that is just so key that is so key because you you hear a lot of times these stories where people didn't get help and as you start to as a leader investigates that you say well they didn't ask for help they're they're blaming the army but they actually did not step forward and ask for help so you know seeking help having that motivation and being proactive so important great example that you just set there kelsie over to you this is kind of an interesting situation i'm sure there were uh you know moments of adversity that you faced while you were in the army uh would love for you to talk about that but if you could just expand a little bit in in talk about how overcoming those adversity the adversity that you faced how did that translate and help you once you made the transition to becoming a civilian mm-hmm um yeah so well in in the army i i don't think i really felt significant adversity thankfully and i i probably have to attribute that to women who came before me like these ladies here and and other trailblazers um but probably for me joining artillery which was it's a combat arms branch it had been predominantly male predominantly only male um historically and then later on being attached to an infantry company which also had been only male historically i think the biggest challenge for me was the unknown of kind of what the culture would be like and how i could fit in um it turned out to be okay um thankfully but for me in order to i guess try to prepare myself for for that i would i focus on being physically fit being coachable being humble enough to acknowledge that i didn't know everything there were a lot of subject matter experts around me who i could lean on and learn a lot from so um i think for me that was the biggest challenge which fortunately it's not a huge challenge but again i think a lot of it has to go to um female soldiers and leaders who kind of established a good environment for other women to come into but taking it outside of the army um i think again i'm surrounded by a lot of strong women and influential women and they have done a great job of creating a really inclusive environment where everybody is treated fairly with respect and we're all kind of just a big team and i think that team aspect is really important in whatever profession or industry that you're in because we're we are stronger as a team than we are as an individual and um it's important that we lift each other up and we come together as a team um and if we do that then we can go a lot farther than we would on our own yeah i completely agree with you on that and and also the the whole um notion of being coachable be a good leader should be humble and recognize that they don't know everything and be open to that coaching that they're going to get from whomever that might be if you're a lieutenant maybe it's your platoon sergeant yeah so once you know if you're battalion commander maybe it's your command sergeant major but you know there's a meme that i i see every down then floating around on social media and kelsea you appreciate this as an athlete where it talks about uh coaches who the the biggest thing a coach wants for parents to bring when it comes to youth sport youth sports is is don't bring me a perfect athlete just bring me someone who's coachable someone who's open to learning you know don't bring me a a know-it-all kid that's not going to listen to me so yeah and great points go ahead go ahead go ahead as you said that that platoon sergeant or that nco relationship is so important and when i was a platoon leader i had a fantastic platoon sergeant who probably recognized that i needed some mentoring and some guidance and he really took the time to coach me and to help me and to not just kind of like write me off or say go figure it out on your own but like he actually really coached me and i'm so thankful for that it's it's well it's great thing that you were coachable phenomenal but you're right that's a that's a great relationship there when it works out sergeant ferrell ferrell over to you adversity that you faced how you how you overcame it and and what do you think it's done for you now uh yes i yes i hate oh well i would say just most of part of my time and being in the military i was a single parent and i think an adversity for me would be you know battling being a mom fully and then taking off this uniform like like actually being in for my kids and then when i'm at work fully giving my all to my soldiers and like just i think and like i struggled a little bit about like leaving my kids at time when i had to go to Iraq and Afghanistan and just like combating in my mind hey am i doing the right thing and when i see that my kids are falling short i blame myself but that i was so glad that you know military have programs and we're like a tight knit community that you get you you build this family that people support you your your nco's they get your personal leaders they get to know you and they all here with you and they're just helping you and so um just having a great support system back at home your parents you know letting you know that you're doing the right thing so that me personally you know just being a mom full time and then knowing how to balance you know taking off this suit and like parents and my kids and then like fully giving myself to my job when i have to you know have to take myself there mentally so that would be an adversity that i'll overcome and one that i can relate to single dad from the time that my daughter was in kindergarten even through today now that she's first year graduate student um so totally get everything you're saying and yeah i like you i couldn't have done it without a strong support system both at work and at home having soldiers officers and nco's who were supportive of me and understood the challenges that i faced as a single parent who wasn't at home with you know grandparents and uncles and aunts to to jump in and help out with babysitting and and taking her to events and stuff like that so absolutely agree with you been there myself can relate and i think what you're saying is you know thank goodness the army was there for me uh in that situation so absolutely wow let's get back on track here you're making me think back to when she was getting on the bus for the very first time uh for those watching again we just want a shout out to let you know we've got a pinned link at the top of the comment section if you need more information about the army and as always drop your comments and your questions into the comment section we'll try to get to those best we can ladies if you could point to one singular moment in your army career that was exceptionally meaningful to you where did it occur what happened that had such a huge impact on your career sergeant eddy atcha let's start with you oh there's so many um the one thing that came comes to mind now is actually after my first deployment um when i deployed iraq i was a specialist i came home and on plea i showed up and it was supposed to be a surprise but my dad arranged a welcome home biker dinner for me and that was the bikers were dean albejo hopi bike riders and they needed it they escorted me from a certain distance when my dad picked me up at the airport and i was in uniform and i hopped on one of the bikers bike and just drove through with a lot of family members community members and eight had dinner my dad arranged this whole thing and that was something that was very very meaningful because it really reminded me of the supporters that i had back home my families and that the deployment that was not difficult but it was still lonely at the same time um different fog from a unit and the relationship that and the maturity i had to build at that point was it was a lot of rude awakenings and a lot of humbling moments as well um so i think that was one thing where it's like wow even though back home they don't know me as a person but it that was something that made me feel like everything that we're going through was worth it and that the celebration that the community was supportive and that was something i felt like that was the moment that i would like to be able to at the time of the specialist but i was like i had a lot of veterans that were sara majors females sara major and they were telling me keep going keep going keep going and you can do it and it was it was very that was a pin point of where it's like i can keep doing it if they could do it i can do it and that was definitely influential because at that moment i think there was a lot of deployment blues when i came back and i was sure i had to i needed that and i'm glad that that's something that happens often back home and for everyone else i think they have their own ways of the community and family celebrating their return safely because of home safely um so that was one thing i felt like that was a very pivotal moment where it's like what i'm doing is worth it and that my the love that i had so there there's a lot that i feel like that the days are long the days are difficult there there's a lot of bump in the roads but the moment like this was something i felt like that could keep me going so that was something that was very very very good oh that's that is so cool i can just imagine you on the back of a bike in a convoy of bikes going through town but you're absolutely right you know you come back from a long deployment you're you've been lonely you've been tired you don't even know if what you did over there mattered but then when you come home and people appreciate you for what you did it can motivate you to continue going on and then you realize you know what what i did over there did matter and people do recognize it so i i'm glad that you experienced that and that it pumped you up to continue going general fosano how about for you that big moment in your career that just sticks out in your mind yeah so it was it was an impact that my realization that one person can change your entire trajectory in 2015 i was a gs employee working for army reserve one star commander and i was a colonel at the time and keeping in mind at this point i had already worked for two other commanders who didn't give me the time of day but this one general pulled me into his office for a mentoring session and asked me straight out what what are your plans and i was like well sir you know i'm i'm good you know i made the rank a colonel which is way more than i ever anticipated i i could achieve and i've got about four years till retirement so we're just going to slide out and he's he said no you are limiting yourself you don't realize how competitive you are for general officer and you need to apply for brigade command right now because i can see you being a general officer one day and oh all right sir you know i figured the worst thing that would happen i would be actually a really good thing is have brigade command and retire straight out of the brigade command and just culminate a pretty successful career and it turned out he was right i was competitive and had he never had that conversation with me i would have been retired already four years in position and an opportunity to continue to serve so just the impact of one person taking even just 1015 minutes to have a discussion totally changed my trajectory isn't isn't that amazing how you know things just sort of happen the way they're supposed to happen we may not know we might have a different plan or a different idea but then like you said all it takes is just one person who sees something in you to step in and say you know what let's get you over here because this is where i see your potential and then your life changes completely that's one of the great things about the army i've always said that is you may not yourself see your own potential but others looking at you can see the raw material there and say hey you know what i think this person should do this and that goes to something that that i talk about frequently um is i've seen a shift in in the army's philosophy of leadership it used to be you know i i've got to keep all the soldiers that i possibly can in my unit i don't want to let any of them go off to officer candidate school i don't want them to go to airborne school because if they go to airborne school they get promoted and i'm going to lose them and now the the idea of talent management has become normalized in the army and so what happened to you ma'am is hopefully happening to others across the army as well where good leaders are looking at people and yeah they might lose them but they're they're giving something back to the army that's for the better the greater good of the army through that type of talent management that you just described sergeant ferrell over to you big impact big moment in your career that that that you will tell your grandkids about i would say like it happened recently being newly um becoming instructed here at port league virginia um this is the place where i came and got my attain my m o s um and now i'm an instructor instructing soldiers and so like you know talking to these soldiers the new recruits coming in and helping them and just why you could just come full circle to me um just like that was me and then hearing their stories um introducing themselves letting me know what their their short term a long term program learning their personalities and just you know so looking forward to see what type of leaders they're going to be when they get to their you know their duty station so it kind of like it was very impactful to me and just know that like i'm newly about to get promoted and they see it is it is important for the soldiers to have some type of inspiration so i felt like you know it was a spiritual moment for me like recently so that was like a big impact how amazing is that and and again back to representation representation matters they're sitting where you sat so many years ago they're seeing the success that you've had and you know they're thinking to themselves i'm just starting out but if she can do it i can do it too so congrats to you and kudos to you for leading by example helsey over to you what was that one moment during your career that you'll always remember for the rest of your life yeah for me i think it would have to be our ntc rotation um when i was a platoon leader back in 2018 um and to lead a platoon of about 35 or so soldiers and to watch them over the course of a year develop and grow and to become more proficient and more confident in themselves and then to culminate in the ntc rotation and to watch them execute the missions perform well to work as a team and to to see to see their confidence in themselves that they didn't have you know nine twelve months prior and to to watch how they were able to achieve their goals for me was was really gratifying and um you know the the army's a mission or a mission excuse me the army's a people oriented organization and um i really took that to heart and i i try my best to be their leader i'm not going to you know take credit for all their success but for it was just a very gratifying moment for me to to be able to lead them for a year and then to watch them just achieve their goal at the end of it so it was awesome now that that is fulfilling that's that's the word i would use to describe it it's just gratifying it's fulfilling to see that the work you put into building a team paid off like you said you you don't take all the credit for it but you played a certain very important part of of that and and just to see at the end you know the success if there's nothing like it in the world ladies i'll tell you what there's some great answers to to all of those questions and one of the things that we like to do with this program is is dispel myths i like to change the public's perception of what the army is all about because they watch movies they watch television shows and a lot of people the their only perception of us is that we wear dress uniforms all day long and hats inside and we salute each other constantly and we're screaming at each other and doing push-ups and and running everywhere running so uh let's let's stop the shop talk for just a minute and let's let them know that we're just real people and i'd like to talk about how you spend your time off what do you like to do to unwind what are your favorite sports kelsey we know the answer to that already uh what are your hobbies all all kinds of you know fun things that you like to do uh that people would not suspect that an army soldier would like to do journal fosano how about we start with you well i don't know if what i like to do is a hobby i would counter any of those opinions because i do enjoy working out that is a big stress reliever and i've got to keep up with the a cft i also enjoy traveling um i do choose to go to better places than the army will usually send send me to so my husband and i we travel extensively we've been to almost every state we've been to over 30 countries we just thoroughly enjoy exploring the world together um we live in beautiful san antonio texas and we just moved close to downtown about six years ago and just to take a stroll down along the river walk or down along with historical missions especially the alamo and enjoying what the the city has to offer because it's san antonio is a beautiful city with a lot of history and there's always something going on but it's just getting out and and relaxing and seeing the sights absolutely sergeant eddiocha besides riding motorcycles uh after you get home from deployments what do you like to do for fun yes so obviously getting a cft ready prep staying good um just powell season is upon us so there is a powell any powell that's around in um georgia area i go over there with my daughter she's she's been um we're going to be new to the powell trail so we've been practicing our best of our abilities and stayed hydrated so that's something i know that we're doing on our off time um and that's actually a lot more work than i thought it would have been but yeah yeah dancing um is something that i'm really fond of and getting getting um ready for and as much as i can just relax because work is fast pace is going so i do like to just try and decompress and just go on walks even just to mellow out at the same time sure that's that's where i'm at now is just getting um going on that powell season powell trail around the east coast area that is so cool i'm really glad to see that you keep up with your culture you know earlier earlier you introduced yourself in the traditional way and you know again you and i are both native new mexicans and so yeah powell season is is just for those who've never been to one you should definitely go to one and you'll see the kind of work that sergeant adiacho is putting into this it is a lot of work to put that production on so i applaud you for doing that helsey how about you what do you like to do for fun i like i like to be outdoors thankfully in california the weather's usually pretty good so that that helps um i like sport some loving march madness right now um i like to read and i'm a bit of a reality tv junkie so i love to go on my couch turn my brain off and watch some quality reality tv oh my goodness yeah i uh i call that stuff rain candy yeah every now and then yeah especially when i was working at department of the army of the pentagon it was just you know the the the fast pace up there sometimes i just had to go home and and turn on uh i think at that time was jersey shore was like the popular one you're like you know what i just i just need to watch something dumb for a while to just kind of unwind it's good for your health yes it is yes it is oh that's hilarious i never would have thought that coming from you but interesting all right sergeant ferrell how about you what do you like to do for fun in your off time i'm the same way i like a reality tv i binge watch um what i try to miss a couple of episodes so like if i have the weekend off just i have like two or three i can just watch all day i love to cook spend money go shopping with my girls um read a book as well hiking um um of course try to work out like if i'm really stressed i go for a run or whatever but um definitely i would say a good way to i know it's wrong but go retail shop and go to the mall spend some money retail therapy baby retail therapy yes but yeah that's what i do to like you know have fun and just enjoy life travel as well travel as well i love to travel uh travel is huge for me too absolutely agree with it most all of you are doing things that i that i love to do too because you know like like i said at the onset of that question is you know we're we're yes we're in the army but we're real people we do real things that regular people do and we're no different than anybody else we just have a very interesting job that sometimes sends us to some great places but at the end of it we get some great experience that's for sure and there's a brother in sisterhood that is just unmatched and we could do a whole show on that but actually we're we're not just running out of time we are way over time because because i like talking to you all it's been a great discussion what i'd like to do is just wrap it up with one final question and ask you if there's any parting advice or inspiration that you'd like to offer our young female audience members who might be sitting there considering joining the army after watching what you had to say about it general fesano can we start with you ma'am i think the theme here has been that you can achieve whatever you want in the army whichever path you choose whether you're on the nco path the officer path the warren officer path the combat arms path combat service support whatever it is that you want to do you can achieve it in the army and we have so many more opportunities now as women and not just more opportunities but a better quality of life and that's something that has evolved over the years in um start for all mentioned it as well you know recognition that you do need to to take the time to spend with your family need to make sure that you take leave so the just limitless opportunities in the army and you can tell by these fabulous women here that it's a it's a career we can all thrive in couldn't agree more ma'am sergeant ediacho parting thoughts or advice i would say be yourself you're just adding much more culture into the army you're at some something that if you don't know something someone knows if someone don't know something you know being yourself being able to present who you are without holding back is something that um i definitely wish someone told me and not the persona is just not it's too exhausting to hold up just be yourself and just be able to know you know yourself you know your body and if something's not right i'm just like the person your your friends your left and right will be there and uh and i just that's one thing i wish someone told me was i can just cold heartedly i can't put 110 anything but that percentage made a difference it definitely sure so that's something i would say just don't lose sight of your yourself and your thoughts just keep um your foundational um knowledge there and just expand a little bit more absolutely now be be yourself and you come in with a foundation but don't be afraid to grow you're absolutely right gelsie how about you parting thoughts or advice yeah to echo what they've both said i think you know that there's so many different areas that someone can take in the army like it's not it's not a singular tunnel like you can go on to different paths and i think there's a spot for everyone in the army even if you don't realize it or if you don't know and um you really can you you can take it as far as you want or and or not as far as you want like there's limitless opportunities and not to sound cliche but you can be all you can be and um it's exciting time in the army right now i think just as an outsider an outsider observing in so i would just encourage um young girls to not count out the army as a career and as a profession excellent advice sergeant ferrell close us out with your thoughts i think this is the best organization that you can ever be in um i've learned so many things i have so many tools that if i got out right now i know i can survive and so i would say that don't be afraid we you hear a lot of bad stuff or that's anywhere you go in life and i feel like the army will prepare you to deal with anything and i feel i am confident that if i can make it here i can make it anywhere so don't be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and um this is a great community that will take care of you so great points all all four of you thank you so much and again for those watching click that link at the top if you need more information about the army we are here for you we have limitless opportunities for you to be all you can be so i just want to give a special thank you to all of our panel members for sharing their experiences their fantastic stories their inspiring stories also want to give a special shout out to all of us who joined us virtually thank you so much we hope you enjoyed our event we'll see you next time i'm hank benetrez okay i think we're clear i hope so last time we weren't we were still talking and we were live it was hilarious oh my gosh ladies that was great oh my god thank you yes thank you that was so much fun it was good to see everybody yeah that was really good it was extremely interesting like you said it went super fast yeah yeah we went we went about an hour in 13 minutes