Real Talk: Major Angela Bonnette Discusses Her Life In The Military
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During March, Women’s History Month 2016, OurBKSocial recognizes, acknowledges, and celebrates Major Angela Bonnette and all women of the military. We thank you for your bravery, sacrifice, and commitment to this nation.
“The military broke me down so it could build me up, says Major Angela Bonnette, a retired Reservist and proud Brooklynite. Bonnette vowed to defend her country and enlisted in the United States Navy on July 10, 1985. She chose the Reserves because it offered her the opportunity to attend college while serving near home. Receiving the same training as active-duty Soldiers, Bonnette says she cried going into basic training and cried coming out.
Bonnette had planned to become a fashion model and a professional dancer. While chatting with her girlfriend Loretta Davis before high school graduation, the possibility of joining the military became a reality. Why not, Bonnette thought? She’d look good in the uniform and could travel around the world like a celebrity. Little did she know, what was in store for her. The transformation from civilian to sailor was rigorous.
“In basic training there were no perms and mani-pedis – no glamour. Showers were open which meant – no privacy. One had to earn furniture privileges. In basic, the sitting on a cot or chair was forbidden unless you earned the privilege to do so. A sailor was told what to do and when to do it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. My weapon had to be with me always. I felt like I was slowly losing my femininity.” She confesses, “I had a really hard time saying,”Yes Ma’am and No Sir.”
In basic training there were no perms and mani-pedis – no glamour. Click To Tweet
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Bonnette joined the Navy with a good sense of herself. Yet the discipline within the military helped her identify her strengths and those who had her back. She also learned the importance of teamwork; no one is better than the team. In the military, what is accomplished is too difficult to be done individually.
While in the Navy, she completed a bachelor degree in political science from Baruch College and a master of science in education from Hunter College. After 14 years in the Navy with her accumulated experience, knowledge and skills, she applied for a higher rank in another branch of the military.
Bonnette was in the Army now. She had advanced from Naval Petty Officer 2nd Class to Second Lieutenant. The transfer from Navy to Army was challenging; it was a culture shock. Bonnette contends, the navy is a specialized and smaller branch of the military. Sailors live on ships. The Army is a larger branch. Soldiers go out in the field and rough it. They are exposed to the natural elements. Additionally, in the Army, Bonnette was an officer, she gave the orders, after years of taking them.
During her 29-year career, she provided military expertise and leadership. She reported for drill one weekend out of the month and participated in active duty two weeks out of the year. Bonnette was even deployed in Germany during wartime.
It was while stationed in Germany at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, she was injured. “Sometimes bad things have to happen before good things can.” This Becca Fitzpatrick quote was quite applicable to Bonnette. Her injury lead her to the amazing Wounded Warrior Project. This veterans charity organization’s vision is to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history. Today, Bonnette enthusiastically serves as Lead Peer Mentor of the North East Region. To learn more about the Wounded Warrior Project or to donate to the cause click here.
