1st Sergeant credits female leadership for inspiration

  • Published
  • By Maj. Thomas Cieslak
  • 7th Special Forces Group public affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, FL --  First Sergeant Felicia Rodriguez knew she wanted to be a soldier since she was 12 years old and fulfilled that dream when she enlisted five years later in the Idaho National Guard in 1998.

Rodriguez' 18 years of distinguished service, coupled with her experience in logistics, led to her selection in 2015 as the senior enlisted leader of the Group Support Battalion's Headquarters Company in the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne).

The first woman Rodriguez remembers serving under was then-Sergeant 1st Class Baker.  Baker was a parachute rigger, responsible for packing parachutes that carry troops and equipment to the ground after exiting from aircraft. 

A stern and unyielding leader, Baker did not allow anyone to question the competency of those under her leadership or the integrity of those she led, Rodriguez said. 

Staff Sgt. Larynilsa Medina was another role model for Rodriguez.  Medina, she says, was extremely smart and an expert at her profession, eventually attending officer candidate school and retiring as a major.

"Both of these women were about their business and on their game," said Rodriguez about the women who influenced her as a junior enlisted soldier. 

Rodriguez added that their stellar examples of competency combined with their deep dedication to accomplishing the mission inspired her as a woman to strive for more responsibility in the Army as a leader.

Despite the severe gravity of her current and previous duty positions, she still remembers being a motor sergeant in the 9th Psychological Operations Battalion as her most challenging assignment. 

The duty required Rodriguez to balance the maintenance and repair of a fleet of vehicles while leading soldiers and managing supplies, teaching her hard lessons that serve as the foundation of her leadership style.

When asked for counsel, Rodriguez tells junior Soldiers to always volunteer and give everything they have to complete the mission.  She is an advocate for education and often encourages soldiers to complete their correspondence courses and continue efforts to improve their personal and professional skillsets.

"Take the hard right over the easy wrong and become the master of your trade," Rodriguez says is the most common advice she gives.  "The Army is working to select and promote the best person for any job."