El Paso, TX (KVIA-TV) – Sergeant Major Janina Simmons says she was never really a big dreamer. ” I didn’t take anything seriously, I was very go home, chill out, and do nothing, I had zero ambitions for anything.”
She grew up in Germany. She and her sister were raised by her mother, who struggled with mental health. Her father was in her life, but traveled because of the military. At the age of sixteen, she moved to Colorado with her dad, a former drill sergeant. Simmons says she faced a new challenge, being one of the few black kids. “I was going through the motions, you’re a human being on earth, just go through the motions,” Simmons said.
She found new hope when she joined the U.S. Military. She’s traveled to Qatar, Kuwait, Japan, and served at Fort Bliss, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Simmons said, “What the Army did for me was give me something to strive for.” She didn’t set out to make history, but she did; she became the first black female Army Ranger. “When you do something crass like that, I’m not sure that your wants to make history will get you through something as hard as that,” Simmons said…