Siletz news /, June 01, 2004, Page 16, Image 16

TRIBAL MEMBER NEWS
Soldier Has Led Way for Other Women
The Oregon Guard command sergeant major was a finalist for a statewide post
by Capi Lynn (reprinted with permission of the Statesman Journal in Salem, Ore.)
One afternoon, nearly three decades
ago, Denise Kraxberger came home
early from work and found a military re­
cruiter waiting for her with papers to sign.
She was 18 and had just graduated
from high school. Although she had a
full-time job as a filing clerk at an
insurance agency, her mother thought
she was partying too much and needed
more discipline in her life.
College or the Army National
Guard, her mother said.
Kraxberger chose the National
Guard and has never looked back.
Twenty-nine years later, she is one
of the highest-ranking females in the
Oregon Army National Guard.
Upon returning from a yearlong
deployment with the 641st Medical
Evacuation Battalion, the Keizer woman
was being considered for the position
of state command sergeant major, a posi­
tion never held by a woman in Oregon.
“She’s in the final four, which is quite
a statement,” said Col. Mike Caldwell,
deputy director of the Oregon Guard.
Kraxberger learned last week that
she didn’t get the job.
“I was disappointed, but I was proud
to have even made the cut,” she said.
Kraxberger, 47, has a lot to be proud
of as she reflects on her military career.
As one of only 15 command
sergeants major in the state, she has
helped create opportunities for other
women to rise through the ranks of a
male-dominated organization.
“Denise has demonstrated gender
is not an issue in this organization any
longer,” Caldwell said. “At one time, I
can assure you, it was.”
Kraxberger remembers there being
just six women in the Oregon Army
National Guard when she joined in
Denise Kraxberger
Age: 47
Position: Command sergeant major
for the 641st Medical Evacuation
Battalion
Service: 29 years in the Oregon
Army National Guard
Residence: Keizer
Family: Husband, Don; daughter,
Devon; son, D.J.; grand­
daughter, Hayley, 2°
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Siletz News
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1975. Today, there are 634, or about 10
percent of the force.
Nationally, there are nearly 40,000
women in the Army National Guard, or
about 12 percent of the force.
“The biggest struggles were a few
years back, when there just weren’t
positions for females,” said Kraxberger,
who started out working in administration
and personnel. “There weren’t a lot of
women, and the jobs were held up by the
men. You had to wait until they retired.
“Today, there are more opportunities.”
In August 2000, she became the
first female command sergeant major
in the state, filling the role of lead support
to the battalion commander. She expects
that others will follow in her footsteps.
“We have a lot of great females out
there, and they’re heading this way,”
she said.
Support from Family
Kraxberger has made her family
proud. She and her husband, Don, have
been married 26 years and have two
grown children.
They met in the Guard when both
were working at the recruiting office.
He left the organization after fulfilling
his six-year commitment and has been
her biggest supporter since.
“Every time I was going to get out,
he talked me into staying,” she said.
Being a woman in the Army
National Guard hasn’t always been
easy. Kraxberger was hesitant to talk
about some of the challenges she has
faced along the way, but her daughter
was more forthright.
“I think she had to work extra hard
compared to the males,” said her
daughter, Devon, 23. “They overlooked
her a lot for positions.
“She definitely worked her butt off
to get to where she’s at.”
Kraxberger admitted that there
probably were instances of discrimina­
tion during her early days in the Guard.
“But I kind of got over it and went
on,” she said. “I think my Guard time has
been great. I think it’s been pretty fair.”
At times, she has felt added
pressure, such as when she became the
first female command sergeant major.
June 2004
Lt. Col. David Greenwood pins a medal on Command Sgt. Maj. Denise
Kraxberger of the 641" Medical Evacuation Battalion at a ceremony April 16.
“It was a big deal in the Guard,”
Kraxberger said. “I knew all eyes were
on me to see how I was going to do,
how I was going to handle it.
“I think there was a little resistance
until once I proved myself and showed
I’m here for the soldiers and I can do
the job they wanted me to do.”
An Accomplished Woman
Not all soldiers welcomed her with
open arms.
“I know reality, and reality is that
it probably took some of my counter­
parts a while to realize they had to come
to grips with working for a woman,”
said 1st Sgt. Rodolfo Hernandez, who has
served under Kraxberger with the 641st.
“For her to climb all the way to
command sergeant major is an
accomplishment. It may sound kind of
sexist, but those are the facts.”
As command sergeant major,
Kraxberger’s job is to make sure her
soldiers get the training they want and
need and the recognition they deserve.
She also is responsible for logistic and
administration needs while acting as
liaison to the battalion commander.
“She genuinely cares for her troops,”
Hernandez said. “It doesn’t matter who
they are or what their background is.
“She goes above and beyond what
is expected of her. She has people
underneath her who could do some of
the things she does, but she takes it
personal. As a soldier, I’d go anywhere
with her.”
Caldwell isn’t surprised to hear such
high praise bestowed upon Kraxberger.
“She gamers great respect from
those who serve with her and serve for
her,” he said.
That respect has been earned
beyond state lines.
During a demobilization ceremony
last week, she received a miniature
statue of “Iron Mike” in honor of her
work during the battalion’s deployment
at Fort Bragg, N.C. “Iron Mike” is the
famous symbol of the Army para­
troopers, a group to which the 641st
provided support the past year.
“Paratroopers are expected to move
further and faster and fight harder than
any other soldiers,” said Command Sgt.
Maj. William Franklin, who came to
Salem from Fort Bragg to present the
award. “Sgt. Major Kraxberger
possesses all that, she just doesn’t jump
out of an airplane.”
See Kraxberger on page 19.
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