Deployment Impacts Your Life Forever - Episode 13

Welcome to episode 13 of the Women of the Military Podcast. Today’s guest is Christina Youngblood. Christina is an Army Veteran and an Air Force spouse currently stationed in Utah with her husband and two children, ages 6 and 5. She has always loved writing and has found a home for it on her blog Heart & Stripes. She loves being a stay at home mom, volunteering on base, spending time with her family and she is currently working on her Bachelor's Degree as well. She was raised in Florida but is experiencing her first winter in Utah after spending four years stationed in Belgium. Christina joined the Army in 2002 and by November 2003 she was on her way to Kuwait for the second wave of Iraqi Freedom. She was a paralegal attached to a finance unit. This meant that even though she was technically stationed in Kuwait she went into Iraq through out her 15-month deployment. This deployment experience at the age of 20 led to PTSD that it took a long time for her to diagnose and get help in her recovery process. She joined the National Guard in 2002, but with basic training, Advanced Individual Training as a paralegal and leaving for deployment in 2003 she didn’t experience being part of the National Guard until 2005 after she returned home from her deployment. There she found a full-time job working with the National Guard. She worked hand in hand with an active duty unit and got to see more of the active military side than most National Guard members do. We also talked about the role women played in the war even before they were allowed to serve in combat units. She was overseas in 2003 and found herself out on the front lines doing her job. And I served in 2010 and deployed with a combat infantry unit. The rule to allow women to serve on the front lines and have any job they wanted to do was only made because women had already proven themselves on the battlefield. Follow Christina on Social Media: Blog: Heart & Stripes Facebook Instagram Twitter Are you leaving the military? Get your free guide: Navigating Life After the Military Would you like to be a guest or know someone who might want to share their story for the Women of the Military Podcast? You can sign up here and I will be in touch with you shortly.