126 Years of Family Serving Family – Marsha Martin, Offutt Air Force Base
One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 126 years of family serving family
Marsha Martin, an Information Technology field technical supervisor at Offutt Air Force Base, has worked in different jobs at the Exchange for more than 30 years, but she still remembers getting quite a surprise when she first started.
“I learn something new every day,” says Marsha Martin, an Information Technology field technical supervisor at Offutt Air Force Base. “ IT is always changing, always challenging.”
“I had worked for about a week at Anthony’s Pizza when the base conducted a simulated robbery,” Martin said. “I didn’t remember what the suspect looked like, which didn’t make my husband (then a Security Forces specialist in the Air Force) very happy.”
But she persevered, and after working in different roles for about 15 years, including as a main store associate and a hardlines supervisor, Martin switched to serving behind the scenes in IT.
“One of the first things I had to do in IT was use a large floppy disk to reprogram a computer system,” Martin said. “I had just started working in IT, and I was scared to death.”
She accomplished the mission and wholeheartedly embraced her new career field, which she loves.
“I learn something new every day,” Martin said. “ IT is always changing, always challenging.”
When her husband, Corey, retired from the Air Force 10 years ago, they settled near Offutt to be closer to Blue Earth, Minnesota, where she’s from. During the first half of her career, Martin had only worked at Minot and Offutt, but her new career field took her to new places.
“I got a call at 5 p.m. on a Friday asking me to go to Germany on the following Monday,” Martin said. “It was my first time traveling to Europe with the Exchange, and I absolutely loved it! I’m so glad I took that call.”
Since that trip, she’s lived the Exchange mission of “we go where you go,” visiting Exchange locations worldwide to update Exchange computer systems. She helped install the electronic point-of-sale system Exchange-wide and assisted with setting up IT systems at the Germersheim Distribution Center in Germany and the Camp Humphreys store in South Korea.
Martin loves being part of the Exchange family.
“I get to do a wide variety of things,” she said. “And I get to meet and work with a lot of great people.”
