Whether she’s served for four years in the military or more than 20, each and every woman who has served her country has a story.

Although her active duty career was short-lived, Martha Whippel, the 49th Wing historian, enjoyed every minute of her time as a U.S. Air Force photojournalist.

Whippel joined the Air Force in May 2001 after completing her second year of college.

“My best friend and I were in our third year of college and I think we were going through life aimlessly,” said Whippel. “We decided to make a change in our lives and I said ‘I think I’m going to join the military.’”

Whippel said her friend did some research and suggested she join the Air Force because it looked like her best option.

“I was like ‘I really don’t know anything about the Air Force’, I think I had some uncles that served in the Navy, but really nobody in my immediate family knew anything about the Air Force,” Whippel said. “I assumed everybody that was in the Air Force were pilots or worked on jets.”

Whippel was nervous to join, but after some convincing, her friend decided to join alongside her. After completing their semester finals on a Tuesday, Whippel and her friend were off to basic training that Thursday.

“We didn’t have a whole lot of time to think or adjust, but we loved every second of it,” Whippel said. “I went to basic training open general and at the end of basic they said ‘here’s a list of seven jobs. List them from one being the job you want the most.’ One to five were medical jobs and things I recognized the most, six was public affairs and seven was security forces.”

Whippel said she was anxious to see what job she would be selected for.

“I was given public affairs and I really didn’t want to be a journalist,” Whippel said. “I’m pretty sure my English teacher would say ‘she could hand out towels at the gym but not be a journalist.’”

After basic training, Whippel attended technical training school at Fort Meade, Maryland. Upon completing her training, she was sent to her first duty station, Holloman Air Force Base.

“I met some really cool folks and I knew nothing about the Air Force, so learning about customs and courtesies, the hierarchy and the respect--I loved it,” Whippel said. “One thing that I learned as a young junior enlisted person was that people appreciated you because the uniform represents something that people could all relate to. It represents honor and freedom and all of those characteristics that we associate with the military.”

Whippel said any time she was downtown in uniform it didn’t matter what her rank or job was, people would still say ‘thank you for your service’ and that was really inspirational for her.

“I had never felt that before and it really brought a sense of pride to me,” Whippel said.

Women have faced many challenges working in predominantly male career fields, but are quickly overcoming adversities standing in their way.

“The first female Air Force general was five years ago, so I think that we have come a long way since the Air Force started in 1947,” Whippel said. “Those women that came before us didn’t think they did anything extraordinary in their minds. I think that they just thought that they were doing what they thought they could to serve their country.”

Whippel said those women set the pace for generations to follow and by the time they got to her generation things were pretty equalized.

“We are not held back by gender and those glass ceilings are shattered,” Whippel said. “There’s still the pay gap but I think that it’s all about perspective and we have come a long way. I don’t feel like there’s any limitations on me because I’m a female, I’m currently working on my PhD and I’m in my final year of working on a doctorate.”

In 2009, women surpassed men in earning doctorate degrees.

“That’s a big deal,” Whippel said. “It shows my daughters that there are no limitations and the sky is the limit,” Whippel said. “If you’re a female and you want to be a fighter pilot get on it. If you’re a female and you want to be an engineer get on it. I think that when women don’t let those things hold them back and keep them from doing the things they want them to do it opens the door for their success and inspires other women.”