Behind The Rank, Volume 5

By Lila Holley

There are approximately 1.6 million female Veterans in the United States, and their stories are not often pretty.

In Behind the Rank, Volume 5, Lila Holley is back with fourteen coauthors. This array of women, some of them first-time Camouflaged Sisters coauthors, will give you a truly transparent depiction of military life and t

• Language: English
• Publisher: Purposely Created Publishing Group
• Release date: Dec 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781644845110

Lila Holley

Lila Holley has a heart to help her fellow Veterans. When Lila transitioned from the US Army after 22 years of service, she maneuvered through a battlefield of strong emotions that stalled her progress in the transition process. Lila wondered, If this was the norm among Veterans, why, then, is no one talking about it? She took it upon herself to start the conversation about the emotional transition Service Members encounter upon leaving the military. Lila shares her story of struggle and triumph in her book, Battle Buddy: Maneuvering the Battlefield of Transitioning from the Military. Lila offers a first-hand experience of the emotional transition Service Members can expect to encounter when they separate from the military. As the wife of a fellow disabled combat Veteran, and after raising two children in the military, Lila serves as a great resource for military spouses as well. Lila now enjoys "retired" life in Texas where she resides with her husband and daughter. She continues to serve her community by volunteering in a number of Veteran organizations and as the President of the Killeen Wealthy Sisters Network, a very active women's networking group. To learn more, visit www.LilaHolley.com

Book preview

img1.jpg

BEHIND THE RANK, VOL 5

Copyright © 2021 Lila Holley

All rights reserved.

Published by Publish Your Gift®

An imprint of Purposely Created Publishing Group, LLC

No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, taping, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews, quotes, or references.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-64484-510-3 (print)

ISBN: 978-1-64484-511-0 (ebook)

Special discounts are available on bulk quantity purchases by book clubs, associations and special interest groups. For details email: [e-mail] or call [phone].

For information logon to: www.PublishYourGift.com

Also available by Camouflaged Sisters

Camouflaged Sisters:

Revealing Struggles of the Black Woman’s

Military Experience

Camouflaged Sisters:

Silent No More

Camouflaged Sisters:

Leadership Through the Eyes of Senior

Military Women Leaders

Camouflaged Sisters Presents:

Behind the Rank, Volume 1

Camouflaged Sisters Presents:

Behind the Rank, Volume 2

Camouflaged Sisters Presents:

Behind the Rank, Volume 3

Camouflaged Sisters Presents:

Behind the Rank, Volume 4

img2.jpg

This book is dedicated to the military women and women Veterans who are no longer here to share their stories.

We use our words to tell our stories in honor of your service.

Rest easy sisters in arms. Salute.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

LOVE

A MOTHER’S LOVE

Gloria Scott

A CAREGIVER’S LOVE

Kriskeya Price

LESSONS FROM AN ARMY WIFE

January Liddell

SURVIVAL

THE SINGLE PARENT SOLDIER

Joie Cook

MOMMA SAID, YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL

Melia Lipford Wiley

AGAINST ALL ODDS

Sue

DEATH, GRIEF, AND RESILIENCY

Dr. Sharon E. Flowers

REAL LOVE DOES NOT ENVY

Montoya Baylis

ALWAYS MOVING FORWARD

Dixie L. Thompson

PTSD THROUGH THE EYES OF A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER

Anita Gould

FROM PAIN TO PURPOSE

Marlene Cain Lucas

CHOICES

FORWARD MARCH

Shellie Willis

BREAKING THE STIGMA

Winnie Moore

CHOOSING SERVANT LEADERSHIP AS A SPECIALIST

Martha Lozano

Meet the Visionary Author

About the Authors

PREFACE

This series accomplished exactly what I intended for it to accomplish—telling the stories Behind the Rank of military women. When I began recruiting for the Behind the Rank series in 2016, I wanted to create a series that gave women a platform to share their stories, whatever part of their story they felt led to share. It would be in their own voice, with their own words. And what transpired was a five-book series sharing eighty-nine stories from military women, women Veterans, military spouses, a mother of two Veterans, and a caregiver. These women wrote about surviving sexual assaults, domestic violence, toxic leadership, the strain of deployments on their families, and so much more.

This series became a release for these women; it allowed them to freely express themselves—some sharing their stories publicly for the very first time. And the only reason they were able to do that is because we created a safe space for them to share—a space where they felt heard, respected, and protected.

Behind the Rank is that series. I am beyond proud of the body of work we have been able to create but I am even prouder of the women who found the courage to share their stories in these projects. I grew more and more excited with each recruitment period, each manuscript build, and each book launch/release because it meant that women were healing as a result of sharing their stories and revealing their truths. These books resulted in an amazing community being formed between the women of Camouflaged Sisters.

I invite you to read each volume of Behind the Rank. While the stories stand alone, they also intertwine and create a beautiful array of what it means to serve in the military, to create a life for oneself after military service has ended, to support a Service Member, to release your children to serve in the military, and to care for a parent that has dedicated their life to the military. The stories are not pretty. They are not wrapped up in a pretty gift box. These stories are detailed, graphic, vulnerable, transparent, beautiful tales of reality— these are the stories Behind the Rank.

INTRODUCTION

Well, we made it to Volume 5 of the Camouflaged Sisters Behind the Rank series!

It has been an amazing journey as we shared so much in this series. Volumes 1 through 4 focused on Duty to Self, Duty to Serve, and Duty to Family as the motivation behind this series.

• As we focused on Duty to Self, we looked at how military women used their stories to heal the wounds of their service. As a result, they are now able to see their battle scars as beauty marks.

• As we focused on Duty to Serve, we realized there are two types of women who join the military—those running away from something hoping to recreate themselves or their life and those running toward something looking for validation and acceptance.

• As we focused on Duty to Family, we realized and acknowledged the impact family has on us. Both our blood family and our military family motivates us to serve, fuels our commitment to service, and demands our dedication, which we freely give to both.

Those factors were indeed the driving forces behind this series, but the main goal of this series was to allow more women the opportunity to share their stories—and that, we accomplished!

In this installment, we have fourteen coauthors of which thirteen are first time Camouflaged Sisters coauthors. In all five books, we have shared eighty-nine stories from women connected to the military in some way. We have shared stories from women currently serving, women Veterans who have since transitioned from the military, military spouses, a mother to two Veterans, and a family member serving as caregiver to her Veteran father. This array of women gives us a truly transparent depiction of military life and the types of women that serve.

These women Love serving. They love their life of service, they have love for the branches of military they serve in, and they’ve grown to love themselves—the women they’ve become—because of their service.

They are survivors and should be applauded for building and mastering their Survival skills. Skills that helped them succeed and thrive during their time in the military. Skills such as faith, hope, intestinal fortitude, effective communication, resiliency, and much more. These skills helped them survive life and career challenges such as single parenthood, domestic violence, divorce and bad marriages, toxic leadership, death, and PTSD, to name a few.

And lastly, these women are not afraid to make hard Choices. Choices that helped them grow and develop into amazing women. These women take ownership of their choices, good or bad, and are prepared to do the work to see those choices through.

As you read the stories in this book and in the other books of this Behind the Rank series, know that these stories are special because they are our true-life stories. It has taken an incredible amount of courage for these women to be this transparent, honest, open, and vulnerable. We ask that you appreciate and respect that as you read these words. Now go with us as we continue on this journey revealing the stories Behind the Rank…

img3.jpg

LOVE

Love is the motivation behind the heartfelt stories of these women. The love of a mother for her children and a daughter for her parents is a bond that transcends time, space, and even death. The stories shared in this section tell of such bonds—bonds not easily broken and sealed with love.

A MOTHER’S LOVE

img4.jpg

GLORIA SCOTT

My Daughter the Soldier

As a mother of two Service Members, aunt of two Service Members, and mother-in-law of two Service Members, I have experienced firsthand what it means to be a part of an organization that prides itself on caring for military families. It has not all been easy, but it has been well worth it.

My oldest daughter left home at the age of eighteen. At the time, I was a single mom with four other children between the ages of three and nine. When Celeste told me she was joining the Army, I was in fear of her future. I wanted her to be my little girl forever. Honestly, I wasn’t at all eager or ready to accept that my daughter had become a young adult, and right before my eyes at that. I clearly recall the day she came home in eleventh grade and told me she was going to enlist in the United States Army upon graduation. My heart started beating fast immediately. I became nauseous because I didn’t see that bombshell forming. It was as if my body had wrecked with a train. Afterall, she was the oldest of my five at the time. And although she was a year from graduating from high school, I had hopes and dreams of her attending a local community college just up the street from where we lived and that was good enough for me. As a single parent, the thought of my oldest child traveling around the world without me and her siblings was going to be a hard pill to swallow. So yes, I was very anxious thinking, What if she gets sick? The thought made me sick. It took me about a month to accept and become somewhat content with the idea that she truly was reaching adulthood fast. I gathered quickly that I needed to support the decisions she was making for her future. Following my emotional roller coaster high, I sat her down and told her we would get through this journey.

One of my most memorable moments of Celeste’s tenure was attending her Basic Training graduation. I was so excited to tell