Ms. Denise L. Boudreau This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. Warren boasts a War College grad By Denise Kinney dkinney@eastbaynewspapers.com

   www.eastbayri.com/news/2003/08 - [Cached]

   Published on: 8/7/2003   Last Visited: 8/10/2003

   "I was doing part-time paralegal work for (Warren attorney) Tucker Wright," Ms. Boudreau recalled.
   ...
   Denise L. Boudreau, 47, of the Army Reserves, graduated from the prestigious U. S. Army War College, in Carlisle Barracks, Penn., not far from Gettysburg in the heart of Amish country. Only one of 280 candidates out of the 500 who entered the program two years ago to do so, Ms. Boudreau is currently awaiting word on an upcoming promotion, which will elevate her to a "full bird" colonel.
   
   What basically started as a part-time job led to 25 years in the service of her country. Lt. Col. Boudreau currently serves as battalion commander of the 408th Personnel Services Battalion in Fort Totten, Long Island. She commands 10 units within that battalion, some of which are deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Noble Eagle.
   
   Although her quarter-century of military experiences have all been positive, graduating from the military college is her finest hour to date. But fulfilling the demands has been a drain on her time divided among a home life, her military career and a full-time job as an account manager for the U.S. Postal Service in Providence.
   
   The two-year U.S. War College program, preparing senior officers for high-level operational and strategic responsibilities, consisted of 10 courses, 5 per year, accomplished from her Warren home, except for a two-week resident phase each year.
   
   "It was an exercise in time management 101," said a smiling Ms. Boudreau.
   
   Along with the diploma attesting to her completion of the program, Ms. Boudreau was awarded a Master of Strategic Studies degree.
   
   She proudly displays the sheepskin bearing the following inscription:
   
   "Not to promote war, but to preserve peace."
   
   She nods. It's how she feels about the military, she said.
   
   Ms. Boudreau, who earned an undergraduate degree from PC, and a masters degree in business from Bryant College, said she was surprised and pleased when her application to study at the highly selective Army War College was accepted.
   ...
   While serving in the Reserves for 3 1/2 years as enlisted personnel, Ms. Boudreau found the military appealing and applied for active duty to attend officer candidate school. She was accepted, and became only 1 of 5 women training with 180 men at Fort Benning, Ga.
   
   Odds she did not find totallyunattractive, she said with a grin.
   
   However, after receiving her commission as a second lieutenant, she discovered during her first posting that being in the minority made the job a bit tougher.
   
   "It was 1978. Men weren't used to women in the military, especially as officers," she said. "Female officers were called, ‘Ma'am.'"
   
   One senior enlisted man told Ms. Boudreau he was "changing" her title.
   ...
   Ms. Boudreau said she considers herself a groundbreaker. Today, women are accepted by both the enlisted men they command and fellow male officers.
   
   "It's night and day," she said.
   
   Out of uniform at home, the lifelong Warren resident is an attractive woman with a great sense of humor, an easy smile and a ready, hearty laugh. She's sacrificed a lot to continue in and to rise in the military. She has never married, though she's come close, she said. Today, most of her relationships are with men in the military who understand and can accept the amount of time the second career takes away from home, and the time-consuming work involved when she‘s there.
   
   And she's a collector - action figures, character dolls from movies and television shows, and stuffed animals and figures of all kinds painted, or dressed in red, white and blue. Her living room, in fact, is decorated a la the Fourth of July.
   
   She points to a bear wearing military khakis, beanie babies, dolls, and bears clothed in patriotic hues.