I have the greatest of admiration for women who manage make their way in a man's world. Let's not kid ourselves here, we may be created equal but the fact is women do face a glass ceiling.

When I see people like my sister Therese win an Emmy or my future daughter-in-law Jessica Fides encroach on the medical profession as a doctor, I never cease to amazed at their tenacity of purpose and commitment to a cause that these women have.

Another young woman I can't help but admire is the daughter of one of my employees, Wayne Sokalski. Wayne is a terrific insurance salesman and one of the top guns in our agency. His daughter, Rachel, has embarked on a career in the military and I believe is on a fast track to becoming a General one of these days.

Rachel is too modest to volunteer such ambitions, so I'll say it for her. Talking about a glass ceiling! There are only about a dozen female Generals in the US Army today and, for the most part, their stories of struggle to the top go untold and unrecognized. It's important to acknowledge these accomplishments. The Air Force has fewer than twenty Generals; the Navy only has a couple of Admirals as does the Marine Corps. Make no mistake, getting to the top is difficult for anyone, but more so for women.

"My mother says I never crawled," says Rachel, now a Captain who is the General's aide for the 21st Theater Support Commands Commanding General. "She says I simply started running."

Loaded with an abundance of energy and enthusiasm, Captain Sokalski has tried to live life to the fullest. "My family has had a long line of great American heroes that have fought in every war since the War of 1812," says Rachel. "I found myself called to the same vocation."

Being the first female in her family to aspire to a career in the military, Rachel knew she would have to make it on her own. There were no high ranking relatives to clear the path or light the way.

She received a four year Army ROTC scholarship to Loyola University in New Orleans. While dividing time between ROTC, academics, Theta Phi Alpha Sorority, Student Government and the Loyola Community Action Programming Board, Rachel earned a well-rounded education.

"I filled my summers as a backpacking instructor at Kahdalea Christian Camp for Girls, completed United States Airborne School and interned at the Pentagon," explained Sokalski.

After being commissioned into the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant, Rachel was sent to Fort Knox to run a visitors bureau and shortly moved on to Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina where she attended Officer Basic School.

Given orders to Germany, she packed her bags and crossed the ocean for her next challenge, working as the assistant S1 human resource manager for the 26th Support Group, supporting at one time four battalions.

Her next stop was Central Command to work as a Protocol Officer to a four star General. It was at this command that Rachel was awarded the Joint Service Accommodation Medal for work done with Ministers of Defense, Chiefs of Defense, Ambassadors, and sixty four countries senior leadership.

Upon her return to Germany, Captain Rachel Sokalski was selected to be the General's aide for the 21st Theater Support Commands Commanding General.

It's exciting to see what the future holds for this young woman. I truly believe that we may be looking a another female General one day, but then I guess you could say that I'm partial.

Ten-Hut… there's an officer on deck!