Geospatial Intelligence in the Air Force

Geospatial Intelligence in the Air Force

She served four years on active duty in the Air Force as a Geospatial Intelligence Imagery Analyst. She didn’t really know what job she wanted to do when she joined the Air Force, but her ASVAB score allowed her to work in Intel and her recruiter recommended that option. Even though she didn’t particularly enjoy the career field, but she did excel and felt like part of the military mission.

She struggled through Boot Camp facing an injury that turned into stress fractures making it painful to run and march. But she did graduate and then waited to pass a running test before she headed off to tech school. While at tech school she faced challenges with two higher-ranking women who spread lies about her and eventually were able to convince the leadership to recycle her back to the next class.

The struggle continued

But the struggles with the women who were causing her undue stress were just one of the challenges she faced. Her best friend confided in her that she had been gang-raped by their classmates. She eventually reported it and went to mental health. Once she went to mental health, she was told she had to be reassigned to a new career field. The men who gang-raped her went unpunished and Marissa had to march to class with them every day. Knowing what they did and that they were not punished. She also feared that it would happen to her.

The fear of being assaulted or raped never diminished and she felt trapped because she couldn’t go to mental health to talk to someone and not risk a negative impact on her career. Even with all the struggles she considered reenlisting but wasn’t allowed to cross-train so she decided to leave the military behind.

Transition out of the military

She became a student and struggled with the transition as she went from military to civilian. She didn’t know what her purpose was and struggled to figure out how to move forward. Luckily, she was able to find her purpose and graduate with her degree and master's.

Connect with Marissa:

www.linkedin.com/in/marissarock

Mentioned in this episode:

The Invisible War

Ekk! I’m a Civilian Now

Girl's Guide to the Military Free Guide

Girls Guide to the Military YouTube

Related Episodes:

Weapons System Officer in the Air Force – Episode 71

Working on Jet Engines in the Air Force – Episode 61

Going through MEPS in the Air Force – Episode 34

Check out the full transcript here. 

Thank you to my Patreon Sponsor Col Level and above:

Kevin Barba, Adriana Keefe, Lorraine Diaz

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Resources:

Women of the Military Mentorship Program

Girl's Guide to Military Service available where books are sold.

Signed copies of A Girl's Guide to Military Service

Girl's Guide to the Military Series