Fort Bragg Stories: Judy Betancourt
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Master Sgt. Judy Betancourt found her calling in the military.
\\nA self-described female warrior, she’s served 24 years in the Army and has deployed overseas six times.
\\nBut the job she loves has come at a personal cost.
\\nHer decision to remain on active duty after the birth of her son has meant months and years away from him.
\\n“Being away from my son has definitely been a stressor,” Betancourt said.
\\nOne way she copes with that separation is to look for aspects of her own child in the young men and women who report to her.
\\n“These soldiers are my children, and I’m their surrogate parent, and I have a responsibility not only to them, but to their own parents,” Betancourt said.
\\n“Their parents trusted us to take care of them, so I’m going to take care of them and teach them all I know as they maneuver and go to different places in the Army.”
\\n“That’s what has helped keep me focused on the mission and dealing with the struggles of being away from my child.”
\\nBetancourt has come to cherish her role as a mentor to young soldiers.
\\n“Maybe that’s my legacy in the military, ” she said.
\\n“So, if I die, my essence, and my knowledge base, and leadership skills can be passed on to other generations of non-commissioned officers and leaders.”
\\nHer son, Christian, now 14, is following in his mother’s footsteps, pursuing a future in the military through his high school’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program.
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