By: Leigh Debord
Meet COL(R) Diane Ryan, a Command Purpose Foundation advisory council member and fellow veteran woman. COL(R) Ryan will be inducted into the Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame on March 22, 2022 for her many accomplishments over her 29 years of service in the Army. Women who have served in the Army or Armed Services and contributed extraordinary service are eligible for induction into this Hall of Fame.
COL(R) Ryan is an exemplar of humility, selfless service, and grit. She is a trailblazer for future generations of women in the military and a symbol of hope for the women she helped integrate into the Iraqi Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Reading her impressive list of accomplishments and accolades, you would think that she was born to be an Army officer. She will tell you that she was made, not born.
The defining moment of COL(R) Ryan’s professional life happened shortly after she was promoted to Captain and was stationed at Fort Bragg, NC, after serving her first duty assignment in Europe. She walked into her office one day and the phone was ringing. She answered and it was her Battalion Commander. He requested to speak to the Major in charge of the G6 shop. She explained that he was not there and asked if there was something she could help him with. He proceeded to ask her for every other person in the shop down to the Major’s driver, a private first class. She finally said, “Sir, there is no one else here, is there something I can help you with?” His response was, “Hmmm, guess they took all the heavy hitters with them, didn’t they?”
She could have agreed with his assessment that she added no value, hung up the phone, felt sorry for herself, and started looking for a new career but she didn’t. Instead she used it as a call to action. “What do I need to do to become a heavy hitter?” she thought to herself. When her boss returned from the exercise, she told him about the conversation with the Battalion Commander and she said, “I never want to feel like that again. What do I have to do to be on the team? I want more responsibility and I don’t want to just be here putting my head down working on stuff.”
Her boss invested in her development and helped her grow her influence and he really mentored her. He taught her how to build relationships, to be curious and ask questions, and show she could be helpful. His ability to develop her and help her internalize his teachings was a turning point. She was able to integrate that knowledge, execute, and hone her technical and interpersonal skills. By the time she entered her next job, she was ready to hit the ground running and understood what it took to be a heavy hitter. Every job since, she has been able to form relationships, anticipate needs and provide them before anyone asks for them. Her boss gave her tools for success but also showed her how to be a transformational leader.
“What do I need to do to become a heavy hitter?” she thought to herself.
COL(R) Ryan was motivated to become a “heavy hitter” because she felt a sense of duty to others — to other people she worked with and to other women. There were only a handful of women in the entire division headquarters and she was one of them. She believed that if she failed, everyone would notice and have this perception that women weren’t capable and shouldn’t be there. She needed to succeed not just for herself, but for the future of women in the Army.
When she was the Division Deputy G-6 (Chief Information Officer) in Iraq in 2003, her day job was working with tech but she moonlit as an advisor to Iraqi women. She started attending weekly meetings with the local population to provide representation for women, but in a conversation she had with the leader of the cohort of women trained to serve in the Iraqi Army, she realized she needed to do more. She partnered with the Iraqi women and organized other women within her unit to act as mentors. The American women mentored the Iraqi women on how to navigate male dominated environments and articulate and demonstrate the value they bring to the organization. They taught the women how to organize themselves, to have a voice, and connected them to allies within the Iraqi government, U.S. State Department, and NGOs that could advocate for them.
After that deployment, COL(R) Ryan decided to continue her education in psychology with a focus on community building, policy, and how that impacts people’s sense of agency. She went on to teach at West Point and spent nine years on the faculty there. She said she was hesitant to become a teacher at first but in Baghdad her chaplain asked her why she felt that teaching wasn’t service. The chaplain said teaching is still service, teachers are really important, and teaching is a really important job.
COL(R) Ryan feels her greatest contributions in the Army were during her time teaching at West Point and in the soldiers she influenced over the course of her career. She feels her greatest accomplishment is helping others achieve success.
COL(R) Ryan feels her greatest contributions in the Army were during her time teaching at West Point and in the soldiers she influenced over the course of her career.
COL(R) Ryan and her friend have a saying, “There are no bad soldiers, only those that haven’t had the right developmental experience yet.” She believes that every single person has value and it’s the responsibility of a leader to identify that value and help them cultivate it. She emphasizes the nurture side of the nature v.s. nurture argument, that if people are in a good culture and have the right opportunities to challenge themselves in a supportive environment, they can reflect and learn from it. She believes that you can increase and build your personal capacity, it is not something that is fixed.
After 29 years of service, she decided to retire because during her time at West Point, she found her calling. She transitioned out of the Army and moved into a position on the faculty at Tufts University. Professionally her transition was very smooth, but like all of us that have left the military, she missed the community. Her advice to women transitioning out of the military is to put yourself out there and join groups where people share your interests and hobbies. Be your authentic self and eventually you will find your tribe.
COL(R) Ryan joined the Command Purpose team because she believes that it is really important to conduct introspection and reflect on yourself, your beliefs and values, your career highs and lows and the impact they had on you.
COL(R) Ryan has a mantra derived from the best advice her First Sergeant ever gave her. “Don’t let the bastards get you down.” She never let other people define her. She is committed to her values, confident in her worth, she understands her purpose, and has devoted her life to developing others. Her dedication to helping others become their best is what makes her such an outstanding leader and why she has been able to impact the lives of so many. We are so honored to have her as a member of our advisory council and we are so proud of her as she becomes part of the history of women in the Army.