Mya the Soldier's Daughter

This episode is sponsored by Gracefully Global LLC 

Get your copies of the Captain Mama books with embroidered patches here: https://www.gracefullyglobal.com/commerce/?page_id=467

Cathy Alexander immigrated to the US from Grenada in 1989. When she graduated from college she couldn't find a job and decided to join the military. Even though she had her degree she wasn't a naturalized citizen yet so she did not pursue the officer path. She found boot camp challenging but excelled physically. She then went to Advanced Individual Training and because her class didn't start for six weeks had to do whatever duty was assigned to her. Once class began she enjoyed it more and learned a lot.

Off to the cold

Her first assignment was at Fort Dix, NY. It was cold but had an intimate environment among the soldiers. There she learned how much she loved to teach. She also deployed for training to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. After her first assignment, she decided to leave active duty and became a teacher. She also continued to serve in the Reserves. In 2003, she was mobilized to Fort Dix, NJ to help prepare members for overseas deployments. In 2001, she became a citizen, and then in 2006, she became an officer through a direct commission. She continued to serve in the Reserves with occasional activations. 

Deploying to Afghanistan

Then in 2017, she found out she would be deploying to Afghanistan. As a single mom, she knew that she had to find someone to watch her four-year-old daughter. The best option was to send her daughter to live with her sister in Canada. During her deployment, she served in the role of Medical Advisor responsible to train, advise, and assist the Afghan National Police Hospital Commander, Afghan National Depot Commander, and was also responsible for the medical logistics support of over 165,000 Afghan police.

Mya the Soldier's Daughter

Reintegration and the time apart were hard on her daughter and she wanted to share her story through her love of writing. She wrote and published a children's book from her daughter's perspective and experience to talk about the challenges her daughter faced in their time apart. Her daughter was involved in the whole book process and even helped pick out the clothes she wore in the book. It is important to hear the stories of children. Not just their parents when it comes to deployments and the military.

Continuing to Give Back

Cathy also created a Run/Walk Event to honor the 12 soldiers who died while she was deployed to Afghanistan. She wants to build a foundation to give back to the families. She is thankful she was able to come home from her deployment. Not everyone is so lucky.

She encourages people to join the military and learned so much from her experience serving. It opens doors for your future.

Connect with Cathy

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathy-ann-alexander

https://www.instagram.com/cathyannalexander/

https://www.facebook.com/cathyann.alexander/

https://www.cathyannalexander.com/

Books (affiliate links):

My Solider's Daughter

The Tale of Buzz-Anna the Traveling Bee

Wise and Witty Words for Your Life’S Journey: Inspirational Words to Help Measure Your Life and Keep You on Track

Mentioned in this episode:

Girl's Guide to the Military: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpLsrfrX3UrvJnCG7XvGDJQ

Related episodes:

Before Women Could be Fighter Pilots - Episode 29

Being a Single Mom in the Army - 46

Empowering Women Through StoryTelling - Episode 107

Check out the full transcript here.  

Thank you Gracefully Global LLC for sponsoring this podcast episode. Don't forget to check out my favorite package where you get both Captain Mama books and patched 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