From the Navy to the Army

Virginia served in both the US Navy and Army. At the age of 18, she joined the Navy and became a journalist. After a break in service due to her mother's death, she rejoined the Navy and became an intelligence specialist in the Reserves. It was her lifelong goal to be an officer, but by the time she earned her Bachelors Degree and qualified for being an officer, she was older than the Navy allowed. Fortunately, she was able to qualify to be an officer under the Army's cutoff age. She commissioned into the California Army National Guard while on full-time status with the Fort Irwin National Training Center.