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| Photo courtesy Rhonda Rollz |
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| Today, Mallory Rolz is 20 years old, the same age as her mother Rhonda was when she joined the Air Force and served for 12 years. |
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Maryland. Germany. Nebraska. Utah. Idaho. These are all of the places Mallory Rolz, a freshman from Pocatello, Idaho, has lived because her mom was in the Air Force.
Mallory does not remember anything from her mom’s years in the service; she was too young, but her mother has a story to share. As a young woman at Rick’s College she did not know where her life would lead.
“I went home for the summer and visited my friend who was stationed in Indiana,” said Rhonda Rolz, Mallory’s mother. “The recruiters did a good job of flattering me.”
She joined the Air Force at age 20 and went through basic training in San Antonio, Texas. She was given a language test and later sent to Monterey, Calif. for technical language training. She learned Czec.
Later, permanently stationed in Augsburg, Germany, Rhonda auditioned for an entertainment group and made it. She traveled around Europe performing for the military. “It was amazing,” she said.
She made another elite performance group and was traveled around the world including Rome, Cecily, Portugal, Peru and Greenland. “I was only 1000 miles from the North Pole,” Rhonda said.
She met her husband Eckhardt Rolz, a native German, at a youth conference in Germany. They were married in the Swiss Temple and started a family.
Mallory was their first child, born in Maryland, where Rhonda was stationed. Two more sisters followed in Maryland and Germany. Eckhardt had the opportunity to stay home and raise the young girls while Rhonda finished her service.
She was in the Air Force for about 12 years. “It was a hard life,” Rhonda said. She knew she could not stay home and raise a family, even though she was close to retirement. “I was like a fish out of water,” she said.
Rhonda considers herself very patriotic, but does not view the military as a lot of others do. She had a brother killed in Vietnam and her other brother joined the Marines. “People look at me differently when they find out,” Rhonda said. “I see the military as a lot of scared individuals.”
Her time in the Air Force was a time for growing. “It’s like college,” Rhonda said. “It’s a time for just you.” She treasures the many experiences she had traveling the world. “If you take the opportunities that are offered it can be an amazing experience,” she said.
As for the difference between men and women in the military, “There is definitely a difference. But the training was similar,” Rhonda said.
Things have changed somewhat since Rhonda trained to be more intense now. But she said probably 75 to 80 percent of the training was the same for men and women.
“I think women have a place in the military,” Rhonda said. “It’s up to each woman to determine that place.”
Mallory may have been too young to remember her mom in the Air Force, but she is glad her mother didn’t stay in the service. “I don’t know how my life would have been different,” Mallory said. “But I liked it how it was.”
Her mother’s experiences have helped her in her own life. “I’m learning a lot about myself right now,” Mallory said. “And I don’t plan on joining the Air Force.”
