By Captain Paulina M. Ali
United States Air Force
I am often asked why I joined the U.S. Air
Force, simple, a college scholarship. A
more important question is why I choose
to stay. Our service, much like society, has its
challenges. I love the Air Force, so it is
incumbent upon me to improve it and help it
grow.
As a Mexican immigrant, I never had
hopes, dreams, or aspirations of becoming
an officer in the world’s greatest Air Force.
That is not what little girls from San Felipe
did. My parents instilled in me the importance
of education. College was the epitome of
the American Dream to them but it was
my job to figure out how to get there.
Additionally, I had to find some semblance of
being the quintessential Mexican daughter
and inculcating in me the American
entrepreneurial spirit. This was no easy task
as I was faced with the cultural expectations
Latina Letters From the Front
of marrying early, having children, and being a
good wife versus being independent and having my
own career. Immigrants are often called to balance
the duality of both cultures, sometimes with
devastating effects on their mental, emotional, and
physical well-being.
In my junior year of high school, I learned about
ROTC. Little did I know this would be the first step
towards a rewarding but challenging path in life.
ROTC provided me the opportunity to be the first
in my family to go to college and commission, but
it also presented several obstacles. After
commissioning, I had a career to call my own but
struggled with cultural expectations. I aspired to lead
and be assertive, but at the same time keep my
head down and not “rock the boat”. I would accept,
like immigrants before, that I should just be
grateful for being here. Little did I know that this
balancing act had effects. It led to abusive
relationships, missed opportunities, and exhaustion.
Before I was even 25, I was divorced, devastated,
and staring at my shattered life.
In hindsight, the devastation was an awakening.
It afforded me growth and self-realization that
being strong, assertive, and independent did not
mean I was selfish, arrogant, or any less of a
Mexican woman. On the contrary, I learned never
to be satisfied with only opportunities, but strive
for the highest levels of leadership like my
colleagues born and raised in America. With this
new mindset, combined with meeting great
women and mentors, I have truly found myself in
a rewarding career.
Capt. Paulina Ali (center) with her father Jose Montaño, and mother Patricia Montaño.
College Graduation, 2011.
Three generations. (Clockwise from
bottom): María del Carmen Navejar
(grandmother), Patricia Montaño
(mother), and Capt. Paulina Ali.
2016.
As I grow older and promote in rank, I refuse to
assimilate and shed my Mexican background, I
refuse to hide my femininity, and I refuse to stay
silent about the problems within my own service
and society writ large. I am proud to be a Mexican,
Muslim woman. I will not hide any of these parts of
my life to make others comfortable. Furthermore, I
will make it my mission to mentor and impart my
knowledge so the next little Mexican girl doesn’t
have to do it on her own. LS
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Capt. Paulina Ali with her spouse
Capt. Mika’il Ali, USMC. Air Force
Memorial, 2020.
36 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle V ol. 26, No. 5, 2020
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