Carmen Fleischmann - Visual Information Manager, Florida National Guard Public Affairs
Mr. Ching Oettel, Florida National Guard Visual Information
Carmen is a federal technician for the Florida National Guard. In her full-time position, she’s the visual information manager for the State of Florida. As a soldier of the same force, Carmen is also an E7 platoon sergeant for the 146th Expeditionary Signal Battalion in Jacksonville, FL. She’s currently deployed with her unit overseas, where she’s responsible for the safety, training and welfare of more than 40 signal soldiers. We’re thankful for Carmen’s service and dedication to the people she serves in our home state and country at-large.
The Basics:
Hometown: Chipley, FL
Current city: Saint Augustine, FL
Alma mater: Florida State University
Degree: B.A., English: Creative Writing
Very first job: Salesperson at a prom and bridal store
Hustle: Visual Information Manager, Florida National Guard Public Affairs Office; Platoon Sergeant, Florida Army National Guard
The Interests:
Babe you admire and why?
Three specific ladies come to mind. First, a beautiful and creative English and Odyssey of the Mind teacher I had growing up, Mrs. Donna Deal. She opened my eyes to art and literature, pretty much setting me out on my career path at a very early age. Secondly is my current boss and one of the previously featured Babes, Maj. Caitlin Brown. She is so effortless is her public relations abilities and leads with a constant calmness that I shall never be able to emulate. Finally, J.K. Rowling, not only because I am a tremendous Harry Potter fan, but because as a woman and as a writer, I could not imagine any Babe more worthy of praise than a creative genius that overcame obstacles and now uses her fortune and fame to make the world a kinder and more fantastical place.
The Hustle:
Tell us about your hustle.
I’m a federal technician for the Florida National Guard, which basically means I serve two roles. In my full-time position, I’m the Visual Information Manager for the State of Florida. I supervise a creative team of three that produces a wide variety of internal products for the force including graphics, photography, videos, publications, coins and providing audio visual event support. As a Soldier of this same force, I am an E7, platoon sergeant for the 146th Expeditionary Signal Battalion in Jacksonville, FL. I am currently deployed with my unit overseas where I am responsible for the safety, training and welfare of more than 40 signal Soldiers.
What does your typical workday look like? Which various ‘hats’ do you wear throughout the day?
Back home in the Public Affairs Office, I come in at 7:30 a.m., receive requests for support through a system called VIOS and then have a quick morning huddle with my team to assign the photography, AV or graphics projects, or missions. I then meet with the customer and consult with them about their needs and provide suggestions. Typically we all work together on various projects and provide feedback, so it’s like a mini creative think tank. My favorite days are spent outside the office, when either the team members are already tasked out or it's a very large mission and I get a chance to venture out into the field. This might entail flying up in a helicopter to shoot video of a training exercise, or setting up a sound system for a speaking engagement attended by the governor. Currently while on deployment, my day is less glamorous. I pass down training requirements and check on the status of signal assemblages in the countries my Soldiers are providing services to, while doing an awful lot of sweating outside in the desert.
What led you to serve in the National Guard? What has that journey looked like for you, and how have your roles within it changed/evolved over time?
My dad was a recruiter for the Florida National Guard for more than 20 years. I grew up learning that this branch was one of the few states that paid 100% of college tuition—in short, I bought the propaganda. I had intended to do my six years of service and get out, but I fell in love with Public Affairs. For more than 10 years I was a print and broadcast journalist. I did two tours in Joint Tasks Force Guantanamo, shooting video, taking photos, editing a magazine and even hosting a radio show. Between those deployments I found my current job (I’ve been there for more than 10 years), which I also love dearly, and as a federal technician, I’m required to stay in the Army or lose this job. After my children were born, I really struggled with the decision to stay in, but I had already reached 15 years of service when I had my daughter. I couldn’t stay in the Army side of Public Affairs once I was ready to move up to E7, so I transferred to a signal unit in Jacksonville. Ironically, my husband is also in the Guard and we serve together. Serving in a relatively foreign field has helped me grow as a leader. I can’t step in and do the work for my Soldiers, but advise, guide and help them succeed from the back row.
If not answered above, what was the application/interview/boot camp process like for you? What advice do you have for women entering similar situations?
Some people are made for the Army. I am not. I knew before I joined that I never wanted to be “active duty.” People tell you where to live, what to eat, when to go on vacation, even when to clean your room. Even as a child I was very organized and self-sufficient, so this type of micromanagement never appealed to me. In basic training, I found myself surrounded by men and women that in most cases joined for that structure. It was maddening. To top it off, at the age of 17, I was the youngest person in my basic training. I used to get pushed to the side on Sundays when we got to use the phone since I didn’t have kids to call back to. One day I broke down and cried “but I’m the kid!!!” But with my military service those times of active duty life are fleeting. When I attend military schools or deploy once every five years or so, I still have to put up with the micromanagement, but I know that I have a house, a job and usually a welcome-home vacation waiting for me that I don’t have to clear with a single person before booking. My advice is simply that the military is not what it is in the movies. It’s an organization just like any other, with people from different backgrounds and unique skill sets. The Army needs journalists and IT specialists just as much as they need infantrymen.
How have your past professional and academic experiences and lessons prepared you for the work you do today? How have they not prepared you?
I never feel prepared on any given day. It’s the strangest thing. I’ve written dozens of articles on the Florida National Guard over the years and each time I sit down to write one I think, “this time I’m not gonna be able to finish it,” or “this time it’ll get rejected.” Of course that hasn’t happened yet. So I think each mission I’ve completed—from a photo I snapped outside a restaurant in Mexico Beach after Hurricane Michael that got retweeted by President Trump, to the same mundane spending report I produce each year that will only be seen my senior leaders and legislators—I’ve gained enough experience to talk myself into at least attempting anything my field can throw at me.
What would you say is your biggest career milestone to date and why?
I stopped being a journalist for the Army in 2017. The Public Affairs unit didn’t have any upward mobility so I did what I thought I would never do and left my beloved field behind for the world of Satellite Communications. I never wanted to just be in the Army. I wanted to do something I loved in the Army. A short time later, I was taking photos of this World War II reunion at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center and even though news articles are not part of my full-time position (since I handle internal information), I decided to interview the heroic survivors in attendance and produce a feature article. Later that year my article that I wrote on a whim, purely because I missed writing so much, won first place in the National Guard Media Contest. That proved to me that even though I felt like I had settled moving on to a foreign field to keep my full-time job, I could still find a way to do what I loved, and thankfully enough that I could still succeed in it.
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