Vivian Dennis Oral History

Details

Who's responsible?: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries (Repository)
How much has been digitized?: Digitization of this collection is still in progress.
Where can I find more information?: https://uncg.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/1194
What's in the full collection?: February 2021 oral history transcript
Full biography: Vivian Dennis (b. 1959), of Greensboro, North Carolina, served in the United States Air Force Nurse Corps from 1988-2018. Vivian Dennis was born December 30th, 1959, in Greensboro, North Carolina. She grew up in Gastonia, North Carolina and graduated from Hunter Huss High School in 1978. Dennis then decided to go to The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) to purse nursing. Dennis graduated in 1985 and then got a job at the University of Virginia’s Medical Center. After working there for three years, Dennis met a military recruiter decided to join the United States Air Force Nurse Corps. In June 1988 Dennis completed her officer training at the Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas. Dennis was next stationed at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas where she was a nurse at the hospital on base. After four years, Dennis then deployed to Okinawa, Japan where she was a nurse in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) at the naval hospital on base. Then, in 1994, she was stationed at Lakenheath Air Base in England where she was an obstetrics (OB) nurse. After two years, in 1996, Dennis returned to the United States and was stationed at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, where she was a recruiter. She worked a recruiter for three years before transferring to Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, where she worked as a pediatrics nurse. After this Dennis worked at Falls Church, Virginia with TRICARE. While she there she worked in the Information Technology (IT) department helping with appointments. Dennis was deployed to Afghanistan twice during Operation Enduring Freedom where she oversaw the intensive care unit at Bagram Airfield in Kabul. Dennis was then stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia before leaving the military in 2018. As of 2019, Dennis is working as a business consultant for a local business in Raleigh.
Topics: Women's History
Military
Branch of service: Air Force -- Air Force Nurse Corps
Conflict: Post-Vietnam, Panama, Grenada (1975-1989)
Gulf War (1990-2000)
War on Terror, OEF, OIF (2001-Present)
Subject headings: United States--History--1945-
United States. Air Force
Contributing Institution: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries

: Oral history interview with Vivian Dennis; Primarily documents Vivian Dennis thirty years in the air force nurse corps. Dennis talks about her experience at UNCG in 1978-1985. She goes into detail about her deployments overseas and some of the hardships she faced while being in Afghanistan. Dennis also touches on some incidents of racial discrimination and changes in gender equality over her thirty-year employment in the military. She also discusses issues such as PTSD, the "Donâ€™t Ask, Donâ€™t Tell" policy, woman serving in combat, and the treatment of veterans.

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Women Veterans Historical Project

Vivian Dennis Oral History

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