JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – March is Women’s History Month, a time to commemorate and celebrate the vital role of women in American history. We invited women within the #IAMIMSC team to tell us a little about themselves and their views on the importance of Women’s History Month.
Meet Tierney Ray, she’s a financial technician at Travel Pay Processing Ellsworth at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. Ray, who has been working with the Air Force for about eight and a half years including active-duty and civilian time, contributes to the Air Force’s lethality and readiness by “enabling Airmen to deploy, make a permanent change of station move and train without the added stress of bills piling up from accomplishing those missions. It’s our job to make sure they have the funds they need to complete the missions they’re assigned.”
Here’s more from Ray:
Why do you feel we need a Women’s History Month?
History in general is taught so we can avoid making mistakes of the past but I think it’s also really important to pay respect to those who have come before us. There are a lot of women who have paved the way for where we are. I know women weren’t always allowed in the Air Force and we’re now to the point where we have women fighter pilots. It’s important to remember that nothing is off limits if we do our best.
Tell us about a female coworker or friend you admire?
It’s definitely my mom, Kathy Ray. She was originally a linguist in an intelligence squadron and she learned Korean. That was back when it was a very male-dominated field so she had to deal with the stress of being one of the few women in a high-stress career field and still push to be the very best in that field. She also raised a family of three and deployed multiple times on the front line. After being an airborne linguist, she transitioned to information technology and joined the communication squadron. Of course, when stop loss happened, she deployed to Iraq and was there before bases were set up. She had to lay the lines, the fiber optic cables so troops could communicate. She did all that while raising three kids. She’s pretty amazing. She retired after 28 years in the military and now she works as a civilian IT specialist with the government.
Who do you see as a good historic female role model and why?
There are so many … I would say the most recent is a woman who in July of 2021 passed the 37-week training course to become the first female Naval special warfare combatant-craft crewman. She’s transporting sailors to the front lines and it’s the first time a woman has completed that training which is pretty amazing. In the past, I would say Maj. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt because she became the first female fighter pilot and that’s another male-dominated career field. Any woman who sees an obstacle, sees an opportunity out of something that they say women have never done before or women can’t do … those are the kind of women that I admire most.
What would you say to a little girl in elementary school about what she can achieve as an adult?
I would say, first, don’t believe anyone who tells you that your dreams or goals are impossible or silly or will never happen. The things that we’ve been able to achieve so far is astounding. We never thought we’d be anywhere near where we are now and it’s because dreamers and goal-oriented people push, that we’re expanding those boundaries all the time. Instead of letting the naysayers tell you it’s impossible and you can’t do it and there’s no way, find a way. Get creative, get strong and get resilient. Take your passions and explore them. Make sure the world knows, yes, it is possible and you’re going to prove it.
If you could have a conversation with your 6-year-old self, what would you tell her?
Never say never. When I was little, because I saw all of the stress my Mom was under, I was like “I’m never joining the military. I would never do that, that’s crazy.” And then I became an adult and decided to join the Air Force because not only does it run in my family, it was a source of pride. It’s not just, oh it’s crazy, it’s stressful, it’s dangerous … it’s serving your country. It’s putting yourself after all of the citizens in the United States. It’s making sure their rights are upheld. So, never say never and definitely take more risks because the only thing you really have to lose is that one opportunity. So, apply for the scholarships, take the leap of faith, make a crazy choice because if you don’t, you’re definitely going to achieve your dreams.