Lisa Jaster knows a thing or two about hard work and commitment. The first female reserve soldier to graduate from Army Ranger School, Jaster trained relentlessly to be in top physical and mental shape.
“I am a class of 2000 West Point graduate,” Jaster told We Are The Mighty. “Did seven years of active duty, had a five-year break in service, and that’s when Ranger school became an option. Being a woman at that school wasn’t nearly as important or as unique as being 37 years old. I was physically fit in a way that was unexpected by most of my peer group.”
The average age of Ranger candidates is 23. When Jaster graduated, she had 7 and 3-year-old daughters at home. Being a role model for her girls and young women everywhere was a motivating factor for Jaster.
“If I had the opportunity to give young women who want to do traditionally male jobs any advice, I’d give them the exact same advice I’d give a young lady who wants to be a stay-at-home mom or a traditional female role, and that’s be all in,” she explained.
Jaster continues to be all in with Team Red, White & Blue, an organization dedicated to veteran health and wellness.
“RWB is a community of veterans and those who support veterans who are looking to have a positive lifestyle, and it’s that same mentality as the military,” she said. “We grow together. These veteran organizations are the avenue that gives us the means to execute and to build those communities.”
This Veterans Day, USAA announced Honor Through Action, a $500M commitment over the next five years to champion and strengthen the military community alongside organizations like Team RWB. USAA CEO Juan Andrade explained why the move was important to the company and the people it serves.
“For us, this is about really inspiring and motivating the public and the private sector to focus on improving the quality of life for our military community,” Andrade said. “We’ve served over 14 million members to date, and a lot of them—most of them—have worn the uniform. The real simple truth for us is that these folks have already sacrificed for their country. Now it’s our time to serve. For me, this is really important. When I became the CEO, a commitment that I made to our members and also to our employees was that I would listen, and I would listen actively. And what our members have said is that the three things that they care about is what Honor Through Action is focused on.”
Honor Through Action will position military families to thrive by focusing on three areas: meaningful careers, financial security, and well-being.
Watch this video to hear Lisa’s story and learn more about Team RWB and Honor Through Action:
Learn more about the Honor Through Action campaign at usaa.com/veteransday and follow the conversation using #HonorThroughAction.
