Hi, My name is Jessica Ray, I am a 36 year old medically retired military police officer who served in the U.S. Army at Fort Hood, Texas. I am a non combat veteran currently suffering: PTSD, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and several other service connected conditions that I will explain throughout my stories at another time. I love cats, crafting, I sell Scentsy. I prefer a dinner fork rather than a salad fork. I am the best singer my shower has ever heard. I can’t survive a day without caffeine or music, music is my motivation and inspiration. I feel accomplished when I parallel park. Most of all I believe success is the best revenge.
I grew up in Oregon where I competed gymnastics all over the United States. I was supposed to compete in Japan; however September 11th happened the week before and there was a travel ban imposed and I was unable to go and compete. I was however recruited by 13 division 1 colleges and I chose the University of Washington for a gymnastics scholarship. By the mid mark of my first year at UW I had 2 ankle surgeries as well as a kidney surgery. Therefore I could not fulfill my gymnastics scholarship duties. I finished out the year and moved back home to Oregon where I eventually finished a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology.
I worked several jobs while I worked on finishing my degree, to include being a law enforcement officer. I loved being a police officer, it was one of the most hectic, draining, but most rewarding jobs I ever had. I always wanted to be in federal law enforcement so I applied for the Secret Service, I was the first ever Female to apply to the Secret Service here in Portland, Oregon. After receiving a conditional offer of hire, 2 years into the hiring process, I had my polygraph and medical exam left to do. However the Secret Service had budget cuts and cut their funding for new hires was the first thing to go. After that I decided to stay at home with my soon to be Husband’s children and raise them.
After getting married in 2012 I stayed a stay at home Mom to two step children who taught me a lot. During that time I became an FRG coordinator for a local guard unit. I took up extreme couponing and donated thousands of goods to homeless shelters as well as sending care packages to units overseas. It was during that time of volunteering I reminded myself I was meant for so much more and I always wanted to serve. I did not want to regret trying to serve in the military. I figured after 2 surgeries on my ankles, 1 surgery to remove endometriosis, 1 total hysterectomy to remove endometriosis and ovarian cysts, 1 breast reduction, and 3 ureterscopies to remove kidney stones that I would be denied by MEPS for enlistment. However, I lost 60 lbs and walked into the Army recruiting office.
Even with all of my surgeries I got a go at MEPS and I went to basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri to become an MP. That is the story of how I got into the Army. I got out of the Army in June of 2018. I moved a couple of times with my Husband and step kids. Then in the summer of 2019 my Husband asked me for a divorce. So I am a card holding member of the DD-214, divorce, and bad credit group of past service members. What do I win? A chance to do this blog and get my stories out and to help advocate for other Women Veteran’s care through the VA!
Future blog posts will include some of my struggles and things I encountered and had to go through as an active duty soldier. Some began at basic training and continued throughout my time in service. Some were with medical professionals while serving. There will be mention of a lot of chain of command issues. All leading in to my personal experiences with the VA. A lot of my stories will be relatable to many, some may have been through the same things, others might have been through much worse, but this is not a place to compare who had it worse, rather a place to share our experiences to help one anoth
