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Latina Letters From the
Front!
There she was. She stood
with her arms crossed
and the stern look on
her face as she scanned
her eyes past each
recruit going through
the Marine Corps Basic
Training in June 1999.
From the moment that she
took charge of us, I
knew I wanted to be like
her. Her hair seemed so
neat and perfect with no
hair strands astray. In
those green camouflaged
utility uniform and
black shiny boots, you
could tell that she was
proud to be one of the
few female Marines to
serve our country and
one of even fewer: a
Latina Marine.
My
name is Blanca Gonzalez-Phelps
and I have been a Marine
for almost nine years
now. If you would have
told me during high
school that I would once
find myself to be a
leader of troops, travel
away from home, and be
on multiple deployments
to defend out Nation and
its people…I might have
laughed uncontrollably.
As a wife and mother of
a 5-year-old daughter, I
am a United States
Marine.
My
first deployment was to
Afghanistan in May 2004
as an Air Defense
Electronic Operator as a
Sergeant with Marine Air
Control Squadron 2. I
never knew that I could
be a part of something
so important like
controlling the
Afghanistan airspace
during Operation
Enduring Freedom. |
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Watching aircraft
symbology on a radar
scope and guiding pilots
through the airspace
everyday for seven long
months was an
accomplishment I am
truly proud of
participating in. My
professional career
began taking extreme
momentum I earned the
Surveillance Operator
and Tactical Air Traffic
Controller
qualifications. Working
with other fellow
Marines in my crew, we
worked together to send
aircraft to refuel,
support troops during
attacks, and to evacuate
troops out of active
hostile areas.
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Mine
Resistant
Ambush
Protected
(MRAP)
in
Iraq,
2007 |
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Blanca
with
FA18
in
Iraq,
2007 |
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It
wasn’t long before I
found myself on a C-17
en route to Iraq in
support of Operation
Iraqi Freedom in August
2005 with Marine
Tactical Air Command
Squadron 28 as a member
of their Tactical Air
Command Center in the
Current Operations
section. We executed the
daily Air Tasking Order,
a 24 hour schedule of
missions planned as well
as unexpected immediate
requests. It was another
seven month deployment
but my first time in
Iraq. I started out
working as a Rotary Wing
Recorder assisting in
tracking aircraft launch
and arrival times from
various landing zones
throughout the country
and displaying the
information for units to
view.
I
moved on as a Close
Battle Recorder
documenting significant
events throughout the
area of operations,
processing medical
evacuation and casualty
evacuation requests, and
plotting points of
interests on our map for
the Battle Commander to
maintain the situational
awareness of the fight
throughout Iraq. I
finished off this
deployment as the TACC
Crew Chief ensuring that
all of our operations
ran smoothly and
efficiently. I received
my final qualification
and was honored to be
presented a Certificate
of Commendation for the
effort I put forth
during this combat tour.
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With
M249
SAW
in
Afghanistan,
2004 |
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Blanca,
daughter
Karina
and
husband,
Chris
Phelps |
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In
July of 2007, now a
Staff Sergeant of
Marines, I was besides
the Marines of Marine
Tactical Air Command
Squadron 28 on our way
to Iraq.
Once again, I sat the
TACC Crew Chief position
as I guided young
Marines during their
first deployment and
executed the mission I
had once before. It
wasn’t too long ago that
I had also experienced
my first deployment and
was filled with
reservations but
finished the tour full
of accomplishments and
pride.
The Marine Corps has
given me opportunities
of a lifetime and
highlighted the best
qualities in me: helping
others and the desire to
help make a positive
difference in our world.
We, Latinas, are capable
to surpass boundaries if
we believe in ourselves.
The first thing you have
to have is the heart to
guide you.
By Staff Sergeant Blanca
Gonzalez-Phelps
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