“I never thought that it would have happened. I was one woman among six men from the Constabulary and other military services who applied for the position…I wasn’t pushy, I didn’t have nice words to tell the interviewers, so I never dreamt that I would have been the person chosen.”By Sharmain CornetteBy proving her worth in a world that was then and even now regarded a man’s arena, one woman, Gail Loretta George, has stood out. Today she is nothing less than a role model to several women even though most may never have the courage to venture the path she did.There is no mistaking the fact that she came through the ranks and has been able to secure an outstanding place for herself in history. George has for the past 13 years held the position of Chief Constable of the City of Georgetown; a position that no other woman before her has held in this country.? She has been credited with single-handedly training the largest amount of persons entering the constabulary, a figure that surpasses 60 to date.Assistant Commissioner, Gail GeorgeBut George’s tenure in the capacity she has held for more than a decade is drawing to an end thus her story must be told, even if merely in concise form in a newspaper article.Born to Winston and Florizel George in the West Bank Demerara community of La Grange, on October 6, 1955, Gail was the eldest of nine siblings. With a home-maker for a mother and a doctor’s assistant for a father, it was no easy task for such a large family to thrive financially.She remembers growing up in the village of Bagotsville, also on the West Bank of Demerara, with her five sisters and three brothers. And it was while they were all still young she recounted that her parents separated, putting an even greater strain on the family’s wellbeing. But support, she revealed, was forthcoming from her maternal grandmother and other relatives who helped with her upbringing. Her father still contributed to some extent.George attended St Thomas’ Anglican School in Bagotsville and remembers attending a private school as well. However, a secondary education would not materialise for her, a situation which was caused by no fault of the young lass.“After Common Entrance I did not go to secondary school because I had some problems. The results came that I was the third successful student at Common Entrance but I don’t know how they did it…but somebody saw some scratches and that was it. It was as if it was tampered with.”Understandably she was terribly disappointed at first. However, George’s first move at overcoming the odds became evident when she became a member of the Trade Union Youth Movement (TUYM). It was through this very avenue she was able to blossom academically. She was exposed to several courses like effective speaking and communication. She also undertook a course in Youth Work which did well to boost her morale as a developing young woman.And as was expected she was channelled into the world of work at a very young age.“…I was still in my teens. My first job was as a staff trainee in the Guyana National Service (GNS). I saw an advertisement in the newspaper and I applied and was taken on as a trainee,” George recalled.? As a trainee she was exposed to a wide range of training and gained immense knowledge about arms, ammunition, drills, national policy and culture.Having learnt a great deal, George as a GNS staffer was sent to the Papaya Training Centre where she helped to train pioneers.? As part of the GNS, she was among some of the best products of society including teachers,Derrick Rose Jersey, soldiers and even policemen.“It was challenging but it wasn’t difficult for me because I applied myself and having been the first of nine siblings I was able to cope with supervising a billet full of 30 pioneers or more. But I was very shy…”But even though she enjoyed what she did in the GNS, George hadn’t a clear idea of which career path she would embark on.? In fact she remained at Papaya for a number of years before returning to Georgetown. Though she never did get married, she became romantically involved and became pregnant in 1976 and opted to stop working at that point. After giving birth she did the unthinkable and returned to GNS.“They never would reemploy people like that but my record was good. I was reemployed and was at the Secretariat which was housed where the Bourda Outpost is.”She would continue there until 1978 when she was transferred in 1978 to Konawaruk Training Centre where she was a Registry Supervisor. Soon after, she was sent to Loo Creek on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway where she was exposed to one year of ideological studies.? From there she worked at the Broad Street Centre of the National Service where she was responsible for organising national policy lectures for the staff.Lectures were also undertaken at the time by Ms Mavis Benn, a former Mayor of Georgeto