Life
For This US Army Drill Sergeant, Mother, And Entrepreneur, Having It All Was The Only Option
Welcome to the next generation of Soldiers.
For plenty of people, there’s no question about what life after high school will entail. Despite societal and familial pressure to attend a four-year university immediately after graduation, Staff Sergeant Brittany McCrea wasn’t sold on college life. Even though she graduated third in her high school class, she just didn’t feel like that trajectory was for her.
Nine years ago, though, Brittany found herself at Charleston Southern University to give higher education a shot. While she didn’t vibe with the school itself, there was one thing there that intrigued her: recruiters for the U.S. Army. After learning about the array of professional and personal possibilities available, Brittany began to view the Army as a place where she could find the structure and support she wanted, while working toward a purpose-driven life where she wouldn’t have to compromise.
The summer after her second year of college, Brittany decided to trust her instincts, and rather than returning to school in the fall, she enlisted in the Army instead. She quietly took her ASVAB, a test that measures current abilities and helps predict future success in the military. When her mom inquired about her upcoming move-in date for the fall term, Brittany broke the news about her new plan. While her mom was hesitant at first, Brittany felt strongly about her decision. “It was something I really wanted to do,” she tells Bustle. After acing basic training, she knew she had made the right choice. And at her basic training graduation, it was clear her mom felt the same way.
Today, Brittany serves her country as a Drill Sergeant at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence at Fort Huachuca in Arizona. In this role, she has a hand in shaping the next generation of Soldiers through a leadership style rooted in grace, understanding, and mentorship. And above all, she’s learned that a career in the Army means she’ll never be limited in what she can accomplish.
Keep reading to learn how a career in the U.S. Army allows Brittany to excel in all aspects of her life — without ever having to settle for less.
1. She’s at the forefront of change in the Army.
Today, as a Drill Sergeant and Soldier of the Year recipient, it’s clear Brittany is exactly where she’s meant to be. She’s also at the forefront of the Army’s training revolution, as Drill Sergeants shift away from using stress tactics and lean further into leadership styles that prioritize dignity and respect.
In the same vein, Brittany notes that the Army is also changing in other areas, like beauty and grooming regulations, and in doing so, building safe and equal opportunity spaces for all Soldiers to feel comfortable being themselves. “These days, there are even regulations allowing Soldiers to wear ponytails, dye their hair, and paint their nails.”
2. She balances motherhood and career like a boss.
While she’s balancing huge professional ambitions, Brittany’s success in her most important role — a mom to her young son — is made all the more possible by the constant support of her Army unit and fellow Soldiers.
“At first when I moved here, I was cautious [about being a single mom in the Army],” Brittany tells Bustle. “Originally, I had the idea that moms in the military were unicorns — I didn’t think you could actually work and be a great mom at the same time. But my unit is so family-driven and supportive. I bring my son to work with me, and everyone acts like his aunts and uncles. He even has a sweatshirt that says ‘Little Drill Sergeant DJ.’”
Beyond this family-oriented approach in her unit, Brittany also credits the immense progress the Army has made in recent years for making it possible to thrive as a working parent and an empowered woman on her way to the top. Regulations requiring new moms to maintain Army physical fitness standards have relaxed to give women a whole year after giving birth to return to their baseline, parental leave has doubled from six to 12 weeks, leave time has been standardized in the case of pregnancy loss, and stabilization has been created for those undergoing fertility treatments.
Firsthand, Brittany has seen more women taking on leadership roles in her own unit and beyond. After nine years in the Army, Brittany recently received her first female First Line Supervisor designation, an active leadership position in her unit that cares for Soldiers professionally and personally.
3. She’s building a business that makes a difference.
Brittany’s time in the Army has represented so much more than just a job — it’s allowed her to cultivate unexpected skills and feed her passion for connecting with other women. She’s even found a way to use these connections as a vehicle for entrepreneurship as she builds out a line of skin and hair care products for Black women in the military.
“It was easy to maintain my hair and skin care routine when I was at Fort Gordon in Georgia, but in 2018 I transferred to Fort Sam Houston [in Texas],” Brittany recalls. “That’s when I realized that the self-care products that work for me aren’t necessarily available everywhere the Army may send me.”
Brittany set out to create products that catered to Black Soldiers, so that no matter where they’re based, everyone would have access to essentials. Today, she ships her shea butter scrubs, body oils, lip scrubs, and hair oils to others in her network, and hopes to extend her offerings down the line.
As a mother, entrepreneur, and Soldier, Brittany uses her role to ensure high standards are honored and upheld, giving current and future Soldiers the support they need to truly have it all — so far, the force-wide change of approach in Drill Sergeant leadership is having outstanding effects on Soldier recruitment and retention. “Making sure that everyone is included in conversations [about inclusive standards] and everyone is taken care of is huge.”
