TV Star, PI, Navy veteran, Jennifer Marshall does it all while finding time to advocate and support the veteran community.
“The biggest thing I preach about is staying connected and knowing your own worth,” she said. “Veterans are very bad about knowing their own worth, especially female veterans.”
Marshall joined the Navy when she was a senior in high school.
“It was basically whichever recruiter called me first,” she said. “I really wanted to serve in the military early on and the Navy recruiter got to me.”
Marshall quickly signed her enlistment contract and went to boot camp six weeks after graduating. She served in the Navy from 1998 to 2003. Her assignments following basic training at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, included: Naval Base Ventura County, San Nicolas Island, California; and the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
“Honestly, it was just such a good decision for me. It really pushed me to give me the confidence to do whatever I wanted in life,” Marshall said of her decision to join the military.
Related
While on the Roosevelt, she deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, earning the enlisted aviation warfare designation.
“We were the first to launch strikes on Saddam Hussein’s regime,” she said.
Her duties aboard the Roosevelt included aircraft handler and aviation logistics. Marshall was also a member of the ship's security defense force team as well as the repair locker fire team.
She also worked as a representative for the Roosevelt's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program, advocating for sailors who had experienced trauma resulting from sexual assault.
After five years of service, Marshall left the Navy as a petty officer second class and used her G.I. Bill to help pay for college at Virginia Wesleyan University. She then earned a graduate degree from American Military University.
She became a licensed private investigator, which helped her character roles in the TV shows "Stranger Things," "Mysteries Decoded," and "NCIS."
“It’s really two different worlds and I’ve been really, really lucky with the opportunities of the things I’ve been able to do,” Marshall said of being an actress and PI.
Marshall is also active in the veteran community, volunteering with nonprofits like Pin-Ups For Vets, where she visits Veterans Affairs hospitals and raises money for rehabilitation equipment.
“Pin-Ups For Vets has helped fill a hole,” Marshall said. “When I left the military I had this hole, I could not recapture that camaraderie. I just missed it so badly.
“To be able to get out and spend time with fellow female veterans, giving back to veterans has been such a fulfilling and amazing experience.”
Marshall said her favorite veterans to visit at VA medical centers are the women who served during Korea and Vietnam.
“I never forget to thank them for paving the way for the rest of us,” she said. “As hard as it was to be a woman in the military in the late 1990s, early 2000s, it was probably nothing like it was for these first trailblazers.”
Marshall urged veterans to speak with confidence and to share with others what they did in the service.
“Know your own worth and never, ever back away from that,” she said.
To learn more about Jennifer Marshall, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
Related
