VETERAN’S DAY
Special Edition
Page 8
November 7, 2018
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from medical jobs to intelligence
jobs to learning how to speak Ar-
abic and Chinese...I mean there’s
a wide range of jobs out there for
young people. And it certainly
should be considered an option,”
she said, adding that becoming a
doctor or lawyer are also viable
military career paths for enlistees.
Throughout her own Army ca-
reer, Gavia has garnered a long list
of impressive jobs working in the
physics, medical, and leadership
fields. She also has an associate’s
degree in technology, a Bachelor of
Science in liberal arts, and a Master
of Business Administration.
As the recipient of multiple
honors through the years, includ-
ing the Legion of Merit, Bronze
Star Medal, and Meritorious Ser-
vice Medal, Gavia said the Army
can help young people stick with
goals they’ve set out for them-
selves, just as it did for her.
“When they leave the military,
they do better in college. People
who serve in the military gener-
ally vote…they generally make
their invested interest in the com-
munity known,” she said.
As an African American wom-
an, Gavia said she’s faced chal-
lenges along the way rising in the
ranks of the military.
“I joined the military 31 years
ago. And life was very different
31 years ago than it is today. And
so people thought differently about
things. They weren’t as educated on
diversity and prejudice and discrim-
ination as they are now,” she said
Gavia added that today the mil-
itary has a robust equal-opportuni-
ty program to prevent prejudicial
behaviors and attitudes from per-
vading. Overall, the experience of
team-building the Army provided
made her a stronger person, she
said.
“The Army develops teams and
it develops leaders and it makes us
strong. And I couldn’t imagine do-
ing anything else,” she said.
It was reported last month that
the Army was about 6,500 people
short of reaching their recruiting
goals this fiscal year, for the first
time in more a decade, despite
other service branches meeting
their targets.
Gavia pointed out that the
Army did sign up more people
this past year than they have since
2010. She was confident that by
getting the message out and im-
plementing modern incentives
for enlistments, that the recruiting
goals will be met in the future.
“We’re putting together a cross-
fit team to travel across the coun-
try to compete and recruit. And
we’ve also identified that we have
young people interested in e-gam-
ing. And so we’re putting together
an e-gaming team.” she said.
Gavia, who was raised in Vir-
ginia, said her father, who served
in Vietnam, instilled the values of
servicing a bigger cause than her-
self from a young age.
“He wanted us to serve some-
thing; it didn’t have to be the mil-
itary. He would’ve been just as
happy if I went off with the Peace
Corps or if I did volunteer 10
hours a week with the Red Cross,”
she said.
It wasn’t until Gavia went to col-
lege for a few months that she re-
alized she wanted something more.
“I didn’t feel included, I think.
And every time I’d see my father
with folks growing up, it’s just a
team, a family…I wanted to be
part of something bigger than my-
self,” she said.