It’s hard to look at this picture now because the sadness and disappointment was so visible. I had these photos taken for a headshot because I was trying to escape the Combat Communications Squadron I was assigned to. I was selected to teach Airman Leadership School and my plan was to be an instructor while I worked part-time for a new Combat Communications Squadron in Massachusetts. Things would not go as planned due to a stop loss order after 9/11, continued abuse and retaliation from military leadership at the new squadron, and chronic lead poisoning. Despite all the odds against me, I performed well, became a Team Chief, and was successful at every mission over the course of four plus years.
My enlistment was for 6 years but I couldn’t take one more second of working for toxic military leadership. They retaliated against me in every way conceivable after I reported four offenders, two of which were merely fired from their jobs in the Maine National Guard. The E-7 was forced to retire when he reached 20 years of service; the E-6 was honorably discharged from the Maine National Guard and then turned around and enlisted in the New Hampshire National Guard. He was working at the Pentagon last I knew. How did I know? He was one of my instructors at a training in Dallas, Texas. My Commander told me they both had special protections because they had over 18 years of service. They also both made out much better than I did. I went through two years of hell watching these fools escalate and thirteen years of abuse and retaliation because I needed to escape and reported them.
Indicate your main purpose for participation in the ANG.
1. to receive eduational benefits
2. for the camaraderie and friendship
3. for retirement benefits
4. travel opportunity
Indicate your reasoning for leaving the ANG.
1. transfer to another unit (where? 267 CBCS)
2. other (BLANK)
(What I really wanted to say is “I have to leave this squadron before I end up dying. I cannot handle the untreated trauma from adverse childhood experiences, the rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment I endured for two years on the job, the fact that I was alienated from my father and now he’s dying of terminal bone cancer, and the abuse and retaliation I experienced from enlisted military leadership and my female officer in charge. I was so depressed and anxious with everything going on, I could barely function. After getting physically attacked by one of the perpetrators friends off duty, I got a different car with a no vanity plate and moved in with my father in rural Maine where I could disappear.”)
JOB ASSIGNMENT:
Do you feel that you were performing meaningful work while a member of the ANG? 5
Comments: If trainers were available and efficient time was given to trainees, then work would have been satisfactory.
TRAINING:
How would you rate the quality of AFSC training you received during UTAs and annual training? 5
Comments: See above response; Also personnel should be rotated on equipment in work center after successfully completing training on equipment geared for 3-Level.
SUPERVISION:
How would you rate the quality of supervision you received? 3
Comments: MSgt D.M. – very good supervisor although my experience since him has declined.
OVERALL LEADERSHIP:
How would you rate the quality of the overall leadership you received as a member of the ANG? 1
Comments: After attending ALS (Airman Leadership School) and learning how to be a successful supervisor I realized that the leadership at 265 was not up to par and has hence affected retention.
PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES:
Did you have opportunities for advancement? 1
Comments: My thoughts exactly.
(this is funny, what else is there to say when your leadership gives you a hard time if you aren’t at work i.e. “not dedicated to the mission” while spending time with your dying father versus when you are at work, you are given menial tasks you have already signed off on while isolated from the rest of the squadron. It’s kind of hard to be dedicated to a mission you don’t train an individual for. I think we all know why I was separated and isolated from a group of men. We wouldn’t want the victim of crime a.k.a. liar and false accuser to ruin anyone else’s military career. Of course the abusers gaslit the entire squadron while they were being investigated. Military leadership participated in the abuse and abandonment of a trauma victim they created. I was already traumatized from the escalating abuse of two different high ranking military members who I couldn’t escape but then add the non stop abuse, belittlement, cruelty, and dehumanization from other squadron members mostly leadership and you have a recipe for disaster. The only reason I didn’t consider suicide at the time was because my father was dying and I wanted to be there for him in his most tender moments.)
RECOGNITION:
How well do you feel the ANG recognizes its members? 1
Comments: My experience has been the ultimate demotivation factor, my morale has been negatively affected because I was pigeonholed after filing/winning a sexual harassment case. (“perception” and “airman special” and “good ol’ boys network”)
IMPACT ON FAMILY:
To what extent did your membership in the ANG impact your family? 1
Comments: My parents are sickened by the fact that I have been treated so unfairly and unjustly since the sexual harassment case was filed. It also did not surprise them a bit.
PLEASE STATE FRANKLY YOUR CANDID ANSWERS TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
(Ok, my trauma response is being a rule follower so I’ll answer the questions truthfully)
What are the principle reason(s) for you leaving the ANG?
1. Lack of training opportunities
2. Unsupportive and unprofessional supervisory management
3. Promotion being withheld when eligible
4. A lack of empathy for the fact that my father is dying and I missed too many UTAs “I’m not dedicated to the mission”
(This is an especially painful subject for me. I was dealing with the aftermath of four high ranking military members who abused their power and forced themselves on me including being drugged and raped by a recruiter; I was experiencing retaliation after I reported the offenders including being physically attacked while off-duty; and my father was dying of terminal cancer. The doctors told him he only had six months to live. No one cared about the pain I was carrying as a poor, abused kid from rural Maine. No one cared that I was a victim of crime and devastated that these f–king sociopaths dragged me into their sick world. No one cared that military leadership rejected, abused, isolated and retaliated against me for reporting the crimes. No one cared that my father was dying of terminal bone cancer and we had just recently rekindled a relationship after a lifetime of parental alienation. My story is evidence of why training accidents, suicide and medical issues – zero healthcare because we’re “faking” – are the top three causes of death in the active duty.)
If you had any authority and resources, what would you change about the ANG?
1. More training during the weekends/UTAs
2. Change of command, enlisted specifically and Captain Lewis (female officer)
3. More objective promotion protocol
4. A disband of the “good ol boy network”
5. A First Sergeant who is allowed to stand up for the enlisted member without repercussion from officer corp or enlisted management corp
Related Links:
Air National Guard Recruiter Rapes New Recruit
Sexual Assault at Keesler Air Force Base
Air Force TSgt. Jennifer Norris Testified Before the House Armed Services Committee in Washington DC (January 23, 2013)
“I Just Want to Disappear”: The End Result of a Lifetime of Dehumanization and Abuse
Parental Alienation: I Watched What Happened to My Father Happen to My Husband & It Broke Me
After Lead Poisoning Symptoms Dismissed by PTSD Diagnosis, It Results in Brain Inflammation, Fatigue, Muscle Weakness, Digestion Issues & Chronic Pain
I Watched My Father Die From a Brutal & Painful Battle with Terminal Bone Cancer… And My Toxic Military Leadership Kicked Me While I Was Down
Military Injustice: Nowhere to Turn, Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide; The Story of Kamisha Block and How U.S. Army Leadership Contributed to Her Death
Fort Hood: How a Lawyer Out of Nowhere Kept the Problematic Past Hidden, Shut Down the Missing & Murder Element in a Case, and Used an Outdated Fix to Promote Herself
Trends in Active-Duty Military Deaths Since 2006 | Congressional Research Service (July 1, 2020)
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Jennifer and Lee 