Paving her own path

According to Alana, the main reason she joined the Navy was the money for college. “While in high school, I thought I wanted to go to medical school,” she says. “And by joining the Navy, I could have the military pay for it.”

Alana joined the Navy six months after high school, but at some point during her four-year duty, her priorities and outlook shifted. “I learned that I really liked the military,” she explains. “So much so, that after awhile, I was seriously considering becoming a Naval Officer.”

So, now with a new direction in mind, Alana decided to transition from Active Duty after her first tour was up in order to pursue college full-time on the Post-9/11 GI Bill. “That way, once I have my college degree, I can reenter the Navy as a commissioned Officer,” she says.

Today, Alana is attending nursing school full-time, but that doesn’t mean she’s put her military career on hold. “I didn’t want to totally transition from the military, so I joined the Navy Reserve. By doing so, I won’t have any interruption when it comes to retirement and I get to keep all my (military) benefits.”

Upon entering the Reserve, Alana learned that the rating she had held in the Navy, Aerographers Mate (AG), was not available to her. She was then offered a choice of other ratings, and she ultimately selected Equipment Operator (EO). “It may seem like an odd choice, especially for a woman,” she points out, “but I just thought it was different and sounded like a lot of fun. I really enjoy learning new things.”

As an EO, Alana is also a member of the Seabees — the men and women of the Navy’s Construction Battalion.  At the time of this interview, Alana had just recently graduated from EOC1 Advanced School. This three-month school teaches new Seabees a wide array of skill sets ranging from surveying and crane operation to the planning and estimating of new construction projects. It also teaches leadership and allows every student the opportunity to lead a team in the construction of a new road.

“I really enjoyed when we got to the paving and asphalt portion,” Alana says. “It was great to see everyone’s hard work pay off in the finished product of an actual new road.”

Now that Alana has completed this school, she says she’s more qualified to take on more challenging ATs (Annual Training). “I want my next one to be overseas,” she says.  “Ever since leaving active duty, I have really wanted to travel internationally again. So that is another reason I chose the Seabees. As a rule, Seabees have a lot of opportunities to go overseas — more so, I think, than most other ratings in the Reserve.”

When Alana isn’t in school learning something new or out at the construction site operating a piece of heavy equipment, she says she likes to spend her time with her family or at the park walking her dogs.

Alana lives in the Southeast United States.