MAJ Elizabeth J. (Stark) Chamberlain Oral History

title:

MAJ Elizabeth J. (Stark) Chamberlain Oral History

creator:

Chamberlain, Elizabeth Jane (Stark) (1971 January 26 -

subject:

US Air Force Academy (USAFA) | Air Force | AF Reserve

description:

Elizabeth J. Chamberlain (formerly Stark) was born on January 26, 1971 in Vincennes, Indiana. Her father was newly enlisted in the Army when he met her mother. After serving in Germany, they returned to the United States and he went to helicopter training, so she mostly grew up in the south. She had one brother, who was born while they were in Germany. She initially considered applying to West Point, but her father said that she should look more into the Air Force Academy instead. Although the service academy was not her first choice initially, her parents convinced her to attend after they found out she was accepted. Although the academies all focus on engineering, she pursued a political science degree with a focus on Latin America. She started at the Air Force Academy in 1989, and she helped the school establish a mock trial team, was on group staff, and worked with other political science programs throughout her four years. She had to adapt to some of the athletic requirements on the fly, but what challenged her most was learning how to become a leader with her personal skillset, which leaned much more towards the social side than the training process is constructed to focus on, especially in cadets’ first two years. The social development of cadets, especially women and other minorities, was especially tough to navigate, as the relationships you build there are not only social but professional, so she found that she and most other women minimized social relationships to preserve those professional ones. After graduating and getting commissioned in 1993 she chose to go into intelligence, as it aligned greatly with her interests she had planned to pursue at a non-service college. She found that having a support system was deeply important to surviving and thriving at the academy, and is very encouraged by how many women at the symposium were talking about reaching out to and supporting other women as they go through the academies. Her second assignment, with the 608th Air Intelligence Squadron, was an especially important one to her, because her small team happened to have several other women who graduated from the Air Force Academy working together, including their commander. In 1994, she deployed to Saudi Arabia on very short notice and very shortly after completing technical training. Tensions dropped a bit by the time she returned to the United States, arriving in time to see her husband graduate from pilot school and get married. She served on active duty for five years before transitioning to the Air Force Reserve in 1998. She worked full time with a bomb squadron in the Reserve component for five years, and in 2003 she went into individual mobilization. She transitioned out of active duty because of the switch between a volunteer assignment system to a non-volunteer system, which was going to make it much harder for her and her husband to be able to see each other and build a life together. As of the interview, she was technically working at Wright Air Force Base in Ohio, but her position allows her to telecommute and live in Washington, DC with her husband. While she had to deal with the occasional man who had a negative perspective on what women could do in the military, she also knows there are many men like her husband who just see women as another crewmate, just like anyone else. As of this interview Elizabeth had reached the rank of major, and for her service she was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal. No transcript of this interview is currently available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Maliszewski, Jane

date:

2006-10-21

type:

Moving Image

format:

mini-DV

identifier:

159; 2006.159

source:

OHP | 3rd Annual Academy Women Symposium | IMES

language:

English

relation:

NR

coverage:

1990s | 2000s | Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)—2001-2014 | 1989-1993 | 1993-1998 | 1998-interview

rights:

Unrestricted