“Like other people with disabilities, I was thrilled to get the chance to prove that I had the Right Stuff then, and here I am, 30-plus years later, still being given the opportunity to make a difference.” Ms. Darcy Painter
I am a short person.
My dream, when I joined the U.S. Air Force, was to fly — in any capacity.
After qualifying in every respect for aircrew member training, there was just one more hurdle to overcome: the flight physical.
Sadly, measuring five feet three-and-a-half inches, I was disqualified as I did not meet the minimum height requirement of 64 inches.
Back in the barracks that night, devastated and using a flashlight underneath the bed covers, I penned a letter to the commanding general. .
It must have been a good letter, as a few days later a blue staff car pulled up to the barracks, took me to the flight medicine clinic and, lo and behold, I had grown another half inch overnight. A few weeks later, I was on my way to my dream assignment and neither the Air Force nor I ever looked back. I hope that Maj. Gen. Herbert L. Grills would have been proud.
While, in my case, a half-an-inch deficit in stature proved not to be a barrier to a long and successful military career, there are others who face and overcome much steeper obstacles and compellingly prove to have the “Right Stuff and make a difference.”
This is the story of one such amazing person, Mrs. Darcy Painter, as told by Bill Harrison,* a good friend and a veteran business writer and editor, writing for the Air Force Civilian Service (AFCS) as part of celebrating the 28th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
It is also the story of how a U.S. Air Force organization, AFCS, believes a diverse workplace is fundamental to success and makes available meaningful job opportunities for individuals with disabilities in virtually every career field, including STEM fields. Harrison notes that in pursuing this ideal, the Air Force increased the proportion of employees with disabilities from 6.1 percent to 13.3 percent from FY2010 to FY2017 and is working hard to hire more.
Bill Harrison:
Ms. Darcy Painter is committed to supporting and developing programs to provide support for differently abled employees at AFCS. A person with a disability herself, Painter is a staunch, career-long advocate for persons with disabilities. She is a new Equal Opportunity Specialist helping to apply Equal Opportunity (EO) rules, regulations, practices, and procedures in the Equal Opportunity Office of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Ms. Darcy Painter Her story is convincing testimony to the many opportunities a young person — or for that matter, a midcareer professional — with a disability can find at AFCS.
Painter was an Army ‘brat,’ an endearing term often used to describe children of service members. She was born in Germany and grew up living wherever her father was posted: Germany, Italy, England, Saudi Arabia, and, of course, the U.S.
Even in college, Painter was working toward a more diverse future. She worked as a co-op student at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. There she helped edit a monograph for Congress that argued for the fitness of women for service. “Project Athena, the Study of Women at West Point,” was mandated by Congress to ensure women could compete, succeed, and graduate to become Army officers.
Painter went to work for the Air Force as her “first, real, full-time job” out of college and has worked there ever since serving in an array of positions that are a testament to the kinds of advancement possibility at AFCS.
For the next 30-plus years, she excelled in a number of jobs, earning two masters degrees along the way. For example, she served as Chief of the Edwards AFB Professional Recruiting Office for five years. In later assignments she was the Configuration Manager and Supervisor for the B-2 Bomber Combined Test Force; Consultant Information Technologist for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management; Project Manager providing technical support to the STEM workforce at the 412th Test Wing; and then the Lead Management Analyst of the Management Innovation Division at Edwards AFB.
Her success is evident from the many awards she has received including the 2015 Air Force Achievement Award for Civilian Achievement and the Outstanding Professional of the Quarter for the 95th Communications Squadron. Perhaps most impressively is her being presented the Society of Flight Test Engineers International Director’s Award.
Painter, herself, has a visible disability. As a dwarf, she stands three feet, ten inches tall. She uses her stature to be an ardent and effective advocate for diversity in the Air Force. Painter is not timid about speaking her mind on important matters. And she’s not above giving advice to recruiters and supervisors who are considering hiring a person with a disability.
“It’s my view that it’s very challenging for a person with a disability to get a job — in private industry or the military. A supervisor goes out on a limb to hire someone new who doesn’t look or sound like himself or herself. And the supervisor goes even farther out on the limb if that person has a disability.
It’s kind of a double jeopardy. If the new employee fails, that’s a mark on the employee. But it’s also a mark on the supervisor. A supervisor has to be really powerful to overcome the risks that they may face in hiring a person with a visible disability.”
What advice would she give to a young person with a disability considering working for the Air Force? She says there is the aspirational answer and the pragmatic answer.
“The aspirational answer is, ‘Edwards Air Force Base and the Air Force is a great family to be with and to work for because they give opportunities to people like me.’ The pragmatic advice is, ‘Those opportunities don’t come simply by sitting on your laurels. Those opportunities are rare, and there is huge competition for them. You have to persistently fight for them. You have to have gumption and chutzpah and a huge positive attitude no matter what happens,’” Painter said emphatically.
There are no “typical” persons with disabilities, of course. Each person’s situation is unique. And each person has to navigate the challenge of living with a disability. In many ways, though, Painter’s experience shows that the differently abled can craft an interesting and meaningful career in the Air Force and make significant contributions to the Air Force and nation.
Harrison concludes with the following words of advice and encouragement:
Think you might have the “right stuff”? Find out more about the opportunities at AFCS. At 180,000 strong, we are diverse. With 800 occupations at over 60 locations across the nation and around the world, learn more about the possibilities at Air Force Civilian Service.
We all have the Right Stuff in us. It is just a matter of finding it and using it.
* Bill Harrison specializes in government and association communications. He has worked with the MarCom Group since 1997.
Lead image courtesy www.adaanniversary.org
Mr. Harrison’s article was originally published at afciviliancareers.com, here.
