‍

"As soon as someone says you're the first, then you have to be twice as good," says Rear-Admiral Jennifer Bennett, a naval reservist who has steadily risen to meteoric success over her forty years in the Canadian Forces. The first woman to ever achieve the rank of Rear-Admiral in Canada, Bennett calls herself a "reluctant starter" to a military career.

"My father was in the naval reserves, but at no point did he say that we must join the navy when we grew up," she explains. Instead, it was a colleague of her father's that nudged her into an eight-week summer Reserve program. "I was planning on working as a lifeguard that summer, getting at an and making a dollar an hour," she laughs. "But I started the program and really enjoyed what we were doing. It was so different from everything my friends were doing, working at stores and restaurants. And here I was, going sailing and learning new skills and doing some really interesting things. I got hooked."

After the program ended, Bennett continued accepting Reserve work as the chain of command offered her more opportunities and challenges. She was able to transfer Reserve units during university and continue her Forces work while completing her degrees in education at McMaster and Queen's. Soon, she was essentially balancing two very demanding careers: naval command and full-time teaching.

‍

"Balance is always a challenge," Bennett concedes. "Most Reservists work evenings and weekends, which means you work all day at your civilian job and then go to the armories and work from seven to ten at night, work weekends, and some holidays too." In spite of the demands, Bennett steadily continued her rise to success. "It's all about priorities, "she says. "Sometimes you have to say to yourself, 'Okay, I'm going to take my whole summer holiday to go on course, but that means that I can get promoted.'"

‍

And get promoted she did. She achieved the rank of Captain in January2000 and was appointed Director Reserves within the Chief Reserves and Cadets Division in National Defence Headquarters. Her other national appointments have been Director Professional Development and Director of the Ottawa Detachment of the Canadian Defence Academy, Director of Training and Education Policy, and Project Director for the Defence Learning Network.

‍

In 2007, she was promoted to Commodore. By 2011, she became the first woman to achieve the rank of Rear-Admiral and first female Chief Reserves and Cadets.