Coming of age, Suzanne Devlin “wanted to be something other than a secretary, a nurse, or a teacher.” She tried college, but felt restless, so she joined the Marine Corp because “it was hardcore.” She describes boot camp in Parris Island for Women Marines (WM), and the respect she had for women leaders as her role models. She mentions Women Marine recruits wore ill-fitted uniforms designed for men, and much like finishing school, Women Marines were taught to host parties and the proper way to smoke “like a lady.” Assigned to MCAS Cherry Point as an air traffic controller after training in Memphis, Devlin describes the duties of an air traffic controller, and the social nuances of men and women Marines in a society where Marine grooming standards made them stand out. She says Marines, men and women, often wore wigs. Her best days were as a drill instructor when her recruits marched in their graduation parade, and she was filled with pride. Her worst day was as an air traffic controller when a pilot died in a plane crash. She describes running into former recruits after the Marine Corps, the difficult time she had adjusting to civilian work environments, and the atmosphere of sexual harassment for women in the workplace in the 1970s. She explains how that and her Marine Corps experience drove her to become a police officer, where she achieved the rank of acting chief of police, in an era when there were only ten women police chiefs in the entire country. She retired as the deputy chief of police in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Key words: Woman Marine (WM), air traffic control/controller, MCRD Parris Island, wigs, drill instructor (DI), MCAS Cherry Point, dating, smoking