Combatant: Sharletha Howell

Pivot (verb): A complete change in the way one does something

Pivoting has been a running constant in our next Combatant's life, Sharletha Howell. Sharletha hails from North Carolina and served in the U.S. Navy as a Master at Arms (M.A.), a.k.a. a military police officer. She has been stationed all over the globe from Bahrain to Japan to California. Each duty station has made a great impact on her life and enhanced her ability to pivot. Even her story before joining the Navy was rooted in the need for change. She revealed that she lost her mother to cancer and no longer found reason to stay in North Carolina and decided to enlist. Her military experience as an M.A. had many highlights such as various global duty stations and opportunities to qualify for certain posts and potential billets within her rate (job). Unfortunately, no matter how many quals she obtained, there were still times she was not considered for opportunities due to the inherent racism and sexism that is still in the military today. She recalls working twice as hard and being overqualified, but was passed up on leadership opportunities compared to her white male coworkers. Navigating racism as a fellow black officer and sexism being a female sailor, she wishes she could have advocated and spoke up for herself more and reported the misconduct surrounding her. A fellow shipmate tried to school her once and told her, “It’s all about how you play the game.” She did not know what that meant at the time, but that ended up being a takeaway and influenced her ability to pivot when things or “the game” no longer served her.

What most veterans experience in transitioning out of the military is what captivated me about Sharletha's story. Many other veterans, such as Sharletha, change jobs and industries very frequently. They no longer are confined to staying at jobs that do not serve their needs, do not respect them, or stay at jobs that do not provide enough substance. In the military, we are forced to stay at our duty stations for an average of 2 years, tolerating more than what we’d like. Now as civilians, we have the option to leave and we do.

To begin, Sharletha switched U.S. coasts from her last duty station in San Diego, CA and moved all the way east to Virginia Beach with her then husband. Not only did the location hit differently, but the adjustment from military to civilian life was a complete 180° to what she was accustomed to. She reflects, “The military hands you everything. When I got out, I had to figure out things on my own.” This created hyper-independence within herself. School is often a great starting point for recent transitioning veterans with the ease of using their G.I. Bill. Therefore, she started going to school for her general associate’s until she could narrow down what to study for her bachelor’s. She was then hit with a family emergency and had to move to Little Rock, Arkansas. Not a place where she expected to be, but she made the best of it and decided to enroll in cosmetology school to get licensed to do hair, since it was her passion.

After her time in Arkansas, Sharletha moved back to North Carolina to regroup after her divorce and came up with a new plan to work at a salon in San Diego as a hairdresser. Of course, an unexpected pivot would arise and instead, Sharletha decided to move to Dallas, Texas. Little did she know a global life changing event was in store for many of us- the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic hit, she was laid off and fled back to North Carolina during those uncertain times. After ~7 months, things were not as they seemed and she felt called back to Dallas, where she later returned. Upon her return, she worked in the mortgage industry at Wells Fargo and continued going to school. It was when she took an accounting class where she finally felt like she found her calling. She is now on the road to obtaining her bachelor’s degree in accounting.

I asked Sharletha what advice she would give newly transitioning veterans. She shared, “I have advice for both active military and veterans. For the military- document everything that has happened to you. Go to medical! For those getting out- file for your disability claim! There is so much at the VA that we are entitled to and filing your claim is one of them. Use VA.gov to find out things you may need or could benefit from.”

Sharletha’s goal in the next 1-3 years is to start a veteran non-profit organization to help veterans better transition out of the military. She would like to facilitate a session with TAP’s (Transition Assistance Program) with better content on the realities of getting out versus the expectations troops are typically given. She would also like to own a chic & stylish thrift store that would promote professional clothing to help veterans secure jobs. The funds would circle right back into the veteran community for those that need scholarships, in case their G.I. Bill runs out, or those that need a quick loan when times get hard. Sharletha’s passion and road to veteran advocacy is all due to the unexpected pivots of life events.

In the words of Jay Samit, “Pivoting is not the end of the disruption process, but the beginning of the next leg of your journey.”