First in Family to Enlist in Military
Says more women should join
Most parents would lose their minds just at the thought of allowing their teenage daughter to serve in the military, but for Jennifer Atkinson, her parents couldn’t be more encouraging.
Atkinson, who is currently a clerk at Pioneer Middle School in Porterville, said when she decided she was going to join the U.S. Army after graduating from Granite Hills High School, her parents thought it was a great idea, especially since it would give her a chance to be out on her own in the real world.
“They wanted me to get out of Porterville because they wanted me to see more than just here,” Atkinson said. “But, look where I am now, back in Porterville.”
Even though Atkinson, who was born in Los Angeles, is back in her hometown, she has four years of experience not many women get in their lifetime, which is serving in the U.S. Army.
Her friends thought she was crazy for joining. Her friends’ parents thought she was crazy for trying to recruit their kids to join her in her adventure.
Atkinson said she was so excited about her new journey that she didn’t even realize what she had done until she got off the bus in the U.S. Army installation in Fort Jackson in South Carolina and was instantly yelled at by drill sergeants.
“It was scary,” Atkinson said. “Just having to do all of this without your parents’ direction and just being on your own.”
The year was 2002 and, although in the company of 30 to 40 other girls just like her, Atkinson soon became home sick.
“Then I started getting nervous because once I got to my first unit, 82nd Medical Company, they told me that they had just came back from Iraq, and that they were planning to go back in six months,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson would eventually deploy to Iraq for a year where she worked in communications in a Medevac Unit.
“I had to keep the radios going and answer the phones,” Atkinson said, adding that she would report to pilots how many soldiers were coming back alive, deceased, and the varying degrees of injuries they suffered among other notable information.
After returning from Iraq in 2004, Atkinson would spend the rest of her time in the U.S. Army in Fort Riley in Kansas where she trained, cleaned equipment and made sure all returning equipment that was shipped overseas was back in one piece.
Atkinson did that until it was time for her to deploy again. But she never did. Instead, she met a man she would soon call her husband, and got pregnant, making her unable to deploy for a second time.
“They moved me to a different company and I just kind of waited there until my time was up,” Atkinson said.
When her time was up in July of 2006, instead of going back home to Porterville, Atkinson stayed in Fort Riley to support her husband, who was still serving in the U.S. Army.
“We were a military family for six years until he got out,” Atkinson said, adding that her husband, who is now 100 percent disabled, served in the U.S. Marines for four years and in the U.S. Army for six years. “He got deployed three times in the Army to Iraq.”
Once her husband finished serving, Atkinson said they moved to South Carolina where they stayed for a while raising their family. Soon thereafter, Atkinson, her husband, and their two boys, decided to move back to California to Atkinson’s hometown, Porterville.
“There is nothing like being home,” Atkinson said. “It is nice.”
Nevertheless, Atkinson said being in the military was also nice, giving her newfound respect and making her realize just how important family is.
“It was a great experience overall,” Atkinson said, “I enjoyed it.”
She said she enjoyed it so much that she would definitely encourage others to join, especially those who are looking for direction in life.
“I think the military would be the way to go because it gives you a boost,” Atkinson said, adding that the military is extremely helpful as it provides structure, and many benefits such as dental, medical and the GI Bill.
As far as women in the military, Atkinson said more should definitely join.
“There are careers out there for women in the military, and I think it benefits them,” Atkinson said, adding, “It benefits anybody who joins the military by having a job, learning new trades, and meeting people from different states.”
Now back to civilian life, Atkinson, who is 33, said she keeps herself busy working, spending time with her husband, taking her kids to soccer and baseball practice and games and playing sports herself such as softball and volleyball.