Mustang major shares love of mentoring on, off rugby pitch

Army News Service

SAN DIEGO - As one Army major helped her team take gold at the Armed Forces Women's Rugby Championship here at Nobel Field July 13, she reflected on why she serves in the Army and loves rugby.

Call to serve

Maj. Dani Deshaies, battalion operations officer, Fort Bliss, Texas, grew up with two uncles who served in the Army. One served as a doctor in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In 2009, she said she went to a recruiter and asked for the quickest way to join the Army. After two years, she went through the Green to Gold program. The Army paid for her to finish college, and she commissioned through ROTC.

"When I was enlisted, I did become a human intelligence collector and did a strategic debriefing in a deployed location," she said. "It was a learning experience. I was interacting with senior officers while I was a private first class. It was cool to be able to do that."

Almost 14 years later, she continues to take what she learned along the way to be a better officer and leader. Mustangs are officers who were previously enlisted.

"Having gone from enlisted to officer gives you an understanding that you treat everybody with dignity and respect," she said. "Nobody's better than anybody else. You try to empathize and put yourself in everybody else's shoes, be more understanding. You don't forget where you came from."

Rugby

Deshaies said the best part of Armed Forces rugby is that the teams consist of a mix of enlisted and officers who can mentor each other as they progress in their careers.

Deshaies said she's become an organizational leader and loves to mentor.

"My main goal, my purpose, is to give back and to provide mentorship because one day, the junior officers are going to be where I'm at. I want them to at least have one example to reflect on of a leader who cares and who genuinely wants to do what's best for them and for the organization."

She mentors both officers and enlisted Soldiers, on and off the pitch.

"She's my idol. I've been telling her since 2019 that I want to be like her," said Staff Sgt. Lolita "Lo" Galdones, combat camera, Fort Liberty, North Carolina, team co-captain. "She keeps us in check but she's like the mom of the team too. She's the first person I talk to when I excel in life."

The Army rugby team wears, "For those who can't" on their team shirts, honoring female service members.

"Each year, we wear the name of a service member who is no longer here, but also for those who can't, family members, or teammates who couldn't join us or can't be here," she said. This could be due to mental or physical injuries.

This year, she's honoring Spc. Kennedy Sanders, one of three Soldiers who passed away in January from a drone strike.

"What stood out to me about her was her passion, her commitment, her dedication to her Soldiers and to the mission," she said. "That resonated with me because I'm very passionate, not only about this team but about the military, about mentorship, giving back and the mission."

The major found rugby in 2013 and has been playing on and off for 12 years. She recommends any intramural or competitive sports to female Soldiers for quality of life.

"I'm sort of biased toward rugby, but sports give you a network; it gives you a community," she said. "I can go to any installation, any city, look up the local rugby team and visit. It's like a family. They're very welcoming. You stay active, you meet great people, it gives you something to do, and you make great friends."

Since women's rugby is such a small sport, she stays in contact with her competitors from the Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. Members from each other the branches also competed at the International Military Sports Council, or CISM, Women's Rugby International Challenge in the Netherlands with France, Ireland and the Netherlands rugby players.

"It was a phenomenal experience, not only getting to share it with some of the sister services but getting to interact with our NATO partners," she said. "We came together, played some rugby, had a good time, learned about the different cultures. It was really an amazing experience."

While Deshaies may show drive on the rugby field, she said everything she does is bigger than her.

"When you think about your purpose and legacy, I want people to remember me as a good person who cared, who took care of others," she said.

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