Lynn woman on Guard for 30 years

LYNN – Andrea Gayle-Bennett calls herself a pioneer but the road to becoming the highest-ranking African-American woman in the Massachusetts National Guard spanned 30 years and began with a postcard.”It came in the mail and asked, ?Are you interested in a part-time job?'” recalled Gayle-Bennett.In four decades, Gayle-Bennett has forged two careers: one that saw her advance through the ranks of Harvard Community Health Plan and another in the Guard that resulted in her becoming the first African-American woman promoted to colonel in the Massachusetts Guard in 2012 and the first non-physician to be named the Guard’s Army surgeon.She is also a 33-year Lynn resident who lives with her husband, Gladstone Bennett, and two of her four children on a small East Lynn side street.”I am a pioneer; there’s only one of me, but I sit in commander’s meetings and there are 40 people, including two women,” she said.The daughter of Jamaican-born Dudley Gayle and Delores Newman grew up in the Bronx, N.Y., with a constant reminder from her parents to give back to others. That “you-push-me, I-pull-you” spirit prompted Gayle-Bennett to supplement her physician’s assistant income by responding to the postcard.Once she joined, she found herself in the Guard’s ranks as a medical officer but outside “a closed group of guys. There was no overt racism, but there was an institutional disadvantage – I wasn’t in the circle,” she said.That changed when the Massachusetts Guard switched from a relatively limited warrant officer rank system for medical professionals to a commissioned officer rank system that allowed Gayle-Bennett to convert her rank to first lieutenant and start scaling the promotional ladder.Winthrop resident and Guard Col. Raymond Feeley became her mentor – advising her to take a particular course or expand her knowledge in a specific area of expertise.Gayle-Bennett rose into the managerial ranks at Harvard Community but altered her career course as her family grew. She now works as an overnight “telephone triage” professional, fielding calls that parallel some of the behavioral health challenges faced by her military comrades.By 2009, she was a lieutenant colonel when she received orders to deploy to Iraq for four months. She ran a battalion aid station, treating soldiers injured in combat, living in a constant state of vigilance and working at being a mother from halfway around the world to Aisha, Ashante, Ariella and their brother, Gladstone.”I was scolding him by email one day for something he did and he wrote me back and said, ?You can scold me when you come home, but – for now – concentrate on staying safe,'” she said.Her transition from the combat theater to home was difficult. Her family greeted her at Logan International Airport with a homemade “welcome” sign and the Guard presented her with an American flag in a case inscribed to “a true American hero.”But Gayle-Bennett felt on edge, depressed and unable to sleep. She missed the troops she served with in Iraq and spent time with other military personnel who had returned home “just to talk.”Talking helped, but she also discovered her medical experience and rank gave her a chance to address big concerns facing returning servicemen and women and the Guard as a whole, including behavioral health and sexual assault.The Guard reaches out to help returning members address emotional and other problems; ultimately – said Gayle-Bennett – the Veterans Administration has responsibility for the long-term care needs of troops returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.”It’s going to be our job to see these people get help. We are going to have tremendous strain on the system with people resolving issues,” she said.She called sexual assault a “significant problem” in the military and said military culture must change to acknowledge women serving in uniform.”There was always a perception of women in the military looking for a husband or being gay. That’s not true,” she said.Gayle-Bennett was named the