About Sally

Sally Drumm

Sally Drumm enlisted in the Marine Corps on 22 December 1977 and retired from active duty 3 February 1998. She was the first enlisted woman tactical air controller (MOS 7236). She graduated from the Top Gun AIC program and completed more than 2000 fighter jet intercepts. She also served two tours as a drill instructor and was involved in the transition of woman recruit training from a focus on image development in 1978 to a focus on warrior readiness in 1991. While in the military, Drumm was involved in developing recruit training curriculum and weapons controller training programs. Service connected injuries prevented her from pursuing a career in landscaping following retirement. While enrolled from 2001 – 2005 in the Veterans Administration’s rehabilitation program for disabled veterans, Drumm earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte.

From 2002 – 2006, Drumm served as editorial assistant, guest editor, and creative nonfiction editor of Apostrophe, the University of South Carolina Beaufort Journal of the Arts. She has taught middle school language arts and dual credit courses. She has served as an adjunct professor at University of South Carolina Beaufort and Technical College of the Lowcountry, and teaches basic composition, survey of literature and world literature courses.

Drumm’s writing has appeared in Gargoyle, The Gettysburg Review, Lowcountry Weekly, Mythic Passages, and Beaufort Art News. Jick’s Journey, a play written in collaboration with Dennis Adams and John Blair, was performed at the University of South Carolina Beaufort Performing Arts Center during March 2007. During May 2007, Mythic Passages, journal of Mythic Imagination Institute, published Jick’s Journey. Drumm’s essay, “Letting Go” (published in The Gettysburg Review) earned honorable mention in Best American Essays 2005.

Read Sally’s CWS Journal Entries

Read “Artifacts” an essay about writing the military experience.

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