Airman 1st Class Brooke Goose poses for a photo Aug. 24, 2012, at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Goosen is with the 7thEquipment Maintenance Squadron and the only female out of 28 Airmen in the Dyess metal shop. She has more than seven years experience with welding. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jonathan Stefanko)
Airman 1st Class Brooke Goosen, 7th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, positions an abrasive nozzle onto a sheet of metal Aug. 14, 2012, at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. The cut metal will be welded onto a Y-stand used to hold munitions. Goosen is the only female out of 28 Airmen in the Dyess metal shop and has more than seven years experience with welding. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jonathan Stefanko)
Airman 1st Class Brooke Goosen, 7th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, welds a Y-stand for holding munitions Aug. 14, 2012, at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Goosen is the only female out of 28 Airmen in the Dyess metal shop and has more than seven years experience with welding. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jonathan Stefanko)
Airman 1st Class Brooke Goosen, 7th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, welds a Y-stand for holding munitions Aug. 14, 2012, at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Goosen is the only female out of 28 Airmen in the Dyess metal shop and has more than seven years experience with welding. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jonathan Stefanko)
Airman 1st Class Brooke Goose poses for a photo Aug. 24, 2012, at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Goosen is the only female out of 28 Airmen in the 7th Equipment Maintenance Squadron Dyess metal shop and has more than seven years experience with welding. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jonathan Stefanko)
by Airman 1st Class Jonathan D. Stefanko
7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
8/27/2012 - DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- (This feature is part of the "Through Airmen's Eyes" series on AF.mil. These stories focus on a single Airman, highlighting their Air Force story.)
A dim room, a single blue light and a heat source hot enough to melt metal may not sound like an ideal work environment for a women, but for one Airman this is as close to home as it gets.
There are currently 28 Airmen assigned to the Dyess metals shop, but of those 28, Airman 1st Class Brooke Goosen, an aircraft metals technician with the 7th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, is the only female.
"My father never had any boys, so being the baby of two daughters he wanted to show me everything," the Michigan native said. "He would take me out to the garage and teach me what he knew including how to weld -- I fell in love with it instantly."
After furthering her education in welding during high school, Goosen decided to use her skills for the military.
"A lot of my family is prior military and they always told me how joining would be a great experience," Goosen said. "After graduating high school, I went to the recruiter's office and asked if there were any job openings that dealt with metal. Lucky for me there was."
After completing basic military training, she was stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, to start metals 96-day training before arriving at her first duty station here.
When she first arrived, her coworkers were a little surprised when they found out they would be working with a female welder and were not sure what to expect, Goosen said.
"We've had people in here before who said they have welded in the past but their work doesn't reflect that," said Staff Sgt. Denson Adams, an aircraft metals technology supervisor with the 7th EMS. "Goosen on the other hand says she has welded before and it definitely shows in her work, even with equipment she doesn't know how to operate, we show her once and she's good to go."
Even though she was welcomed with open arms, she still needed to prove that she was just as good as any guy.
"I already knew a few people I would be working with from technical training, but when I first arrived I still had to prove myself," Goosen said. "Noone wants to be outdone by a girl and I don't want to be outdone by anyone, so in a sense we constantly help each other improve."
Goosen encourages everyone to follow their heart and not worry about what people might think.
"If there are any other ladies out there who want this type of job or enjoy this type of work, don't be afraid to go out and get it," Goosen said. "You might get a little teasing at first, but in the end it's worth doing what you love."
Comments
8/31/2012 4:23:19 PM ET Oh and to the women down below getting all defensive about comments relating to her being a girl everyone here is saying she's doing a great job nobody is saying otherwise. Stop getting all stuck up about it. It's the fact that the article had to point out that she was the only female in the shop. That alone makes the rest of this article seem like nothing more than a girl getting recognition because shes a girl. IM NOT SAYING THATS WHAT IT IS just something for the author to remember.
Joe, Arizona
8/31/2012 12:34:44 PM ET The article writes about a girl in a job that is not often held by women. That is highlighted. Why do you have an issue with that This might inspire other women to follow and as the article said pursue what they want regardless of sex. The article also states that she is good at what she does. I hope the Airmen in the shop are more professional than the comment posters here and actually appreciate one of their own being highlighted no matter why. Great photos too as well as a great message the Air Force team is for everyone and we're proud of that.
SSgt. Sykes, Down to earth
8/31/2012 10:24:33 AM ET A1C Goose- congrats on being featured for doing a stellar job. You are an inspiration to other girls who may be considering getting into a male-dominated field. Keep the positive additude continue to embrace Excellence in All You Do don't worry about what these sad individuals hiding behind the internet have to say about it. Thank you A1C Stefanko for the positive article. Keep it up.
SSgt Becca Jones, Dover AFB DE
8/30/2012 6:19:58 PM ET If she works hard and is a step above the rest than she deserves all this praise but if the reason for this article was to say oh hey look women can do this too HAHA MEN then that's pretty worthless. I'm not saying that's why it was written but considering it brings attention to her being the only female make it seem that way. Props to her for the hard work either way keep it up. To Airman Stefanko make sure you focus on important parts like the fact that she's a hard working airman that does her job to the best of her abilities and embodies the core values that all airmen should follow not the fact that she's the only woman.
Joe, Arizona
8/29/2012 3:43:00 PM ET What an amazing accomplishment for this fine young Airman to be able to do this job despite the fact that she is female. Yes that was sarcasm. Did the Air Force forget that gender doesn't matter. It's the result that counts.
Maj, home for a change
8/28/2012 10:57:35 AM ET Great for Airman Goose. It appears she does a hard job very well. But bad for the Air Force news website. It appears she is in the article because as it states an aircraft metals technician with the 7th Equipment Maintenance Squadron is the only female. Why make this point It makes it seem the only reason the article was written is she is female. It is bound to cause some friction in the shop where she works because it seems special attention is paid to her because she is female. This is unfair to her and should not have been a part of the article.
