Jennie Jackson Werner, CW5 (Ret) U.S. Army
CMC Veteran Recognition Program - Alumni Weekend Speaker
Jennie’s life was not all roses and honey, and on one occasion she was called on to be a Casualty Notification Officer, informing Indian parents of the death of their son in the Afghanistan turmoil. This is truly one of the most demanding assignments an officer can have in her career. Her military training and its structure helped her get through some difficult times. Above all, she is proud to have served her country.
In 1989, at the age of 30, Jennie Jackson Werner, Scripps ‘81 and her husband, Derek, CMC ‘80 decided to uproot their comfortable Newport Beach lives and embark on a bold new adventure. They decided to enlist in the Army!
They both put their promising and profitable careers on hold: Derek as a Trammel Crow real estate developer and Jennie as a Territory Manager in medical sales. But the pair loved to travel and wanted the thrill of new adventures. This opportunity would surely be an unusual plan with extensive international travel guaranteed! So, as a first step, in February 1989, the couple headed for Basic Training at Ft. Jackson, S.C. The Army had agreed to train them as Polish linguists and send them to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey CA. The Werners followed this training with Advanced Intelligence School (Signals Intercept) at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo TX.
Almost by accident, the Army discovered the existence of this unusual husband-and-wife team and decided to use them for public relations purposes with the aim of bolstering recruiting goals and expanding the married soldiers program. The Werners turned out to be perfect spokespersons to fulfill the Army’s objectives: attractive, well spoken, college educated, poised and articulate. Media training and a ten-city tour ensued where the couple participated in hundreds of newspaper, radio and TV interviews addressing such topics as patriotism, training and educational benefits.
The Werners were a patriotic couple to begin with and the opportunity to spend more time together as part of the married soldiers program was ideal. Becoming fluent in foreign languages was also a big plus. In discussing their media tour, Jennie is quick to mention that “you had to be quick on your feet when answering questions” as reporters would frequently try to get them to go “off script.” Major news and TV appearances occupied the couple’s attention for three weeks with national interviews on CBS This Morning, Cable News Network (resulting in a CNN Feature) and interviews by notables such as Matt Lauer, Harry Smith, and Roger Hedgecock.
“Our lives took a 180-degree turn,” comments Jennie, “and suddenly we became recognized with people asking for our autographs.” The schedule was exhausting with newspaper and radio interviews lined up back-to-back throughout the day and live TV appearances in the evening. “The call–in shows” were most amusing,” said Jennie. “We encountered people from all walks of life with some of the most unusual and very personal questions being asked.”
The Werners spent the next three years in Augsburg, Germany, with front-row seats to the changes going on all over Europe because of the recent end of the Cold War. They spent a summer in Poland, facilitating a visit by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell, as well as assisting both the Ambassador and Naval Attache with the first ever American Navy Ship to visit Poland since the falling of “The Walls”. The highlight of their time was greeting Air Force One as President HW Bush returned the remains of composer, pianist, statesman and ex-Prime Minister of Poland, Ignacy Paderewski. He died in the US after escaping Poland during the Soviet invasion and requested his remains be returned to a “free Poland”. This experience convinced Jennie to apply for service in the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Attache Service, and she never looked back.
Ultimately, Jennie pursued a commission as a Warrant Officer and remained in the service for 26-1/2 years. She enjoyed U.S. Embassy assignments in Philippines, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Colombia (twice), China, India, Austria, and the UK, with shorter-term assignments in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Moldova, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Slovakia. She trained in several languages to support her work. Her assignments brought her in touch with embassy personnel from many nations. She learned to be creative in resolving problems and keeping an open mind for new ways of doing things. Her life was not all roses and honey, and on one occasion she was called on to be a Casualty Notification Officer, informing Indian parents of the death of their son in the Afghanistan turmoil. This is truly one of the most demanding assignments an officer can have in her career. She retired as a Chief Warrant Officer 5 in 2015.
Reflecting on her military service Jennie was happy to have been able to share so much time with her husband up until his passing in 2023. Her military training and its structure helped her get through some difficult times. Above all, she is proud to have served her country. She cites several life-lessons learned that have helped her to grow and have given her strength and maturity:
- Resilience comes with time and experience, and failure. Challenges helped her grow and make the best management and other decisions. What didn’t kill her, made her stronger.
- Don’t be afraid to follow unexpected paths and step out of your comfort zone to do something different. Making changes in your life can be richly rewarding.
- She was fortunate to have the opportunity to manage people from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities, learn from them, and to analyze and synthesize challenging problems. These experiences were beneficial throughout her career.
- She credits her liberal arts education at CMC (where she did most of her management psychology major) and Scripps as helping her succeed and to have fun doing it. In addition, her time on the Athena volleyball team and the Claremont Colleges Ski Team, gave her a competitive edge and an appreciation for teamwork and team building.
- Participation in the Four College Choir and a theater production gave her a foundation to appreciate the cultural elements of her life’s journey. Today she is dedicated to the cultural arts via volunteer ushering and numerous concert and theater venues around San Diego as well as supporting the arts however she can.
Jennie currently lives with and cares for her 95-year-old father, a Korean War veteran with Silver Star and Purple Heart awards. She is so thankful for this time in her life, which she will always cherish. Her father is proud of her service on the Board of Trustees for the Mt Soledad National Veterans Memorial in La Jolla CA.