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- Women of the Military
- Publisher |
- Amanda Huffman
- Media Type |
- audio
- Publication Date |
- May 12, 2020
- Episode Duration |
- 00:47:12
This episode is sponsored by Ashleigh Magee Coaching. you’d like to learn more, send Ashleigh an email to admin@AshleighMaGee.com
Chelsea has received multiple recognition awards to include the Small Business Administration Person of the Year Award, Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, Cova Gives Back Award, Microsoft #EmpowerPossibility Award, Verizon Salute Award and Innovator of the Year.
She was planning to join the Navy and had started her officer package in her last year of college. But the recruiter she had been working with retired and didn’t submit her package and no one could find it. So even though she had her degree she decided to go for it and enlist in the Navy with the plans to transfer from enlisted to the Officer once she was in. But she didn’t know how hard that process would be. And by the time she completed her officer package she started Troopster. So it all worked out in the end.
She enjoyed boot camp and made good friends and she was really excited about her job as a photojournalist. She learned so much. One of the experiences she shared was going to a campground where half the team had paintball guns and the other half had cameras. They were instructed to “document the war” and then after an hour switched roles.
Her first assignment was at Norfork in Virginia and it was “Big Navy’s” journalist portal, where journalists went to tell the Navy’s story. She wasn’t at Norfork for very long within weeks of arriving in Virginia she was headed out on her first deployment to Japan. She was attached to different ships to capture the story of the Navy. She was always coming and going. Gone for a few months, home for a few weeks and then heading back out again. She loved getting to capture the stories of the Navy and shared some of her favorites.
But everything wasn’t easy. In 2013 onboard her seventh ship and for some reason she found herself integrated among the rest of the Public Affairs officers on the ship. This wasn’t the way it had been on her previous ships, but she worked around it. But she noticed everyone in the shop was extremely unhappy and she wasn’t sure why. But the leader of the section quickly showed why everyone was so upset. His demeanor and had tirades that made life hard for everyone.
She decided to document everything and presented it to her Squadron Officer. He tried to handle the situation, but she got yelled at by the Chief and nothing changed. So she continued to document and then went back to her Squadron Officer and she brought someone with her, but they ended up being too afraid to speak up. He sent her back to the office and didn’t help with the situation. The whole situation tainted her experience in the Navy. No one seemed to care about the sailors on the ship.
As all this was going on she received a care package from her mom. When she opened it she found that everything had gone bad and it was like putting salt on an open wound. It was the final straw and she burst into tears. And then a week or so later she was in the library. She knew she had to do something else so she started Troopster. She didn’t want someone else to feel the way she did. And through a lot of hard work and daydreaming, she created Troopster.
On Thanksgiving Day in 2015, she launched her business. She had been thinking there was more to do, but her mom encouraged her to launch. She has learned a lot and continues to learn. They have sent more than 7,000 care packages around the world. It is grown so much and she loves her job.
Connect with Chelsea:
Mentioned in this episode:
Email: Airmantomom@gmail.com
Related Episode:
From the Navy to Entrepreneurship Episode 27
From the Navy to the Air Force - Episode 15
Surviving Sexual Trauma in the Navy - Episode 26
Resources:
Women of the Military Mentorship Program
Girl's Guide to Military Service available where books are sold.
This episode is sponsored by Ashleigh Magee Coaching. you’d like to learn more, send Ashleigh an email to admin@AshleighMaGee.com
Chelsea has received multiple recognition awards to include the Small Business Administration Person of the Year Award, Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, Cova Gives Back Award, Microsoft #EmpowerPossibility Award, Verizon Salute Award and Innovator of the Year.
She was planning to join the Navy and had started her officer package in her last year of college. But the recruiter she had been working with retired and didn’t submit her package and no one could find it. So even though she had her degree she decided to go for it and enlist in the Navy with the plans to transfer from enlisted to the Officer once she was in. But she didn’t know how hard that process would be. And by the time she completed her officer package she started Troopster. So it all worked out in the end.
She enjoyed boot camp and made good friends and she was really excited about her job as a photojournalist. She learned so much. One of the experiences she shared was going to a campground where half the team had paintball guns and the other half had cameras. They were instructed to “document the war” and then after an hour switched roles.
Her first assignment was at Norfork in Virginia and it was “Big Navy’s” journalist portal, where journalists went to tell the Navy’s story. She wasn’t at Norfork for very long within weeks of arriving in Virginia she was headed out on her first deployment to Japan. She was attached to different ships to capture the story of the Navy. She was always coming and going. Gone for a few months, home for a few weeks and then heading back out again. She loved getting to capture the stories of the Navy and shared some of her favorites.
But everything wasn’t easy. In 2013 onboard her seventh ship and for some reason she found herself integrated among the rest of the Public Affairs officers on the ship. This wasn’t the way it had been on her previous ships, but she worked around it. But she noticed everyone in the shop was extremely unhappy and she wasn’t sure why. But the leader of the section quickly showed why everyone was so upset. His demeanor and had tirades that made life hard for everyone.
She decided to document everything and presented it to her Squadron Officer. He tried to handle the situation, but she got yelled at by the Chief and nothing changed. So she continued to document and then went back to her Squadron Officer and she brought someone with her, but they ended up being too afraid to speak up. He sent her back to the office and didn’t help with the situation. The whole situation tainted her experience in the Navy. No one seemed to care about the sailors on the ship.
As all this was going on she received a care package from her mom. When she opened it she found that everything had gone bad and it was like putting salt on an open wound. It was the final straw and she burst into tears. And then a week or so later she was in the library. She knew she had to do something else so she started Troopster. She didn’t want someone else to feel the way she did. And through a lot of hard work and daydreaming, she created Troopster.
On Thanksgiving Day in 2015, she launched her business. She had been thinking there was more to do, but her mom encouraged her to launch. She has learned a lot and continues to learn. They have sent more than 7,000 care packages around the world. It is grown so much and she loves her job.
Connect with Chelsea:
Mentioned in this episode:
Email: Airmantomom@gmail.com
Related Episode:
From the Navy to Entrepreneurship Episode 27
From the Navy to the Air Force - Episode 15
Surviving Sexual Trauma in the Navy - Episode 26
Resources:
Women of the Military Mentorship Program
Girl's Guide to Military Service available where books are sold.
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