Jennifer Carter (b. 1981), of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, served in the United States Navy from 2000-2009. She worked as a personnel specialist. Jennifer Carter was born 5 September, 1981 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She graduated from Walnut Grove’s South Stokes Senior High School in 1999 and then enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After spending a semester studying Biology, met with a recruiter for the navy and signed up after finishing her first year of college. Carter joined the navy on 26 May, 2000 and completed her boot camp at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Chicago. She was first stationed at the Naval Air Station in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania as personnel support detachment. Carter’s responsibilities were assisting with personnel coming on board, helping with transitioning people when their station changed, and dealing with paperwork for pay records, retirement, and discharges. Carter’s next assignment was at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, Louisiana where she worked with Special Warfare to make sure the special boats were manned properly for deployment. Carter was stationed there until 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit and she had to be moved to Tennessee. After being temporarily being placed in Tennessee, Carter went into the Naval Personnel Command and was a part of a helicopter squadron in Naval Station Mayport in Florida. Her job was as education service officer, and she administered exams and typed up evaluations. This was Carter’s last assignment before being medically discharged in 2008. When Carter left the navy, she went home but the transition from military to civilian life was very difficult. For a while Carter was homeless and unemployed before getting assistance from the Veterans Administrations Office. In 2016, she got a part-time job at Goodwill with the veteran’s program. As of 2021, Carter has a permanent position and helps veterans transition into civilian life, find jobs, and provide things like food, housing, clothes.
