To
celebrate Veteran’s Day, we reached out to a Class of 2015 Wyoming High School
Alumni currently serving Active Duty Air Force, Sierra Hill. Sierra holds the current
rank of SrA or E-4, and she has served in San Antonio, Texas; Biloxi,
Mississippi; Hampton, Virginia; and was recently deployed to Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates.
 |
| Sierra was awarded the rank of E-4 or Senior Airmen. |
The
Beginning…
I entered
the service because I wanted to do something different and experience new
things in life all while traveling, continuing my education and serving my
country.
The
First Day of Service
My first
day was very long, hectic, and stressful, I got maybe thirty minutes of sleep
from flying into basic training. I was with people I never met before from all
across the country. The number one goal was to find a wingman, so I did. This
person and I became very grateful for each other once the day was over. Once we
got through our first briefing, we were taught how to make our beds. We did bed
drills for the next four hours; I never knew making your bed could be so
tiring. We all were very hot like we just ran a marathon and our fingers had
cuts all over them from tucking sheets into the metal bed frames. However, I
knew how to make the best hospital corners once we were finished. After bed
drills, we all lined up and went and got chow, nobody really got to eat because
we were being yelled at and told to hurry up. When I sat down to eat, I didn’t
even know what I had on my plate I was just happy to be eating a hot meal. We
went back to our dorm room and were assigned our jobs for cleanup duty. We
completed our dorm chores and showered and were in bed by 2100. The day went by
so fast I was just honestly happy to be getting a full night’s rest since I
hadn’t slept in the past two days.
The Most
Challenging Part of Service
The most
challenging part of being in the military is not knowing what tomorrow may
entail. One day you could be here and the next day you could be halfway around
the world depending on your mission. Missing holidays with family and friends
can be hard sometimes but some of the people you meet throughout your career
become life-long friends or even like family. Lastly making sacrifices and
remaining resilient.
The Most
Rewarding Part of Service
The most
rewarding part of being in the service is making my mom and loved ones proud.
My mom made many scarifies for me throughout my life so I always wanted to do
something that would make her happy.
A
Military Reflection
Many
people think of the military like the old war movies you may see on TV, and
that it is scary or you’re going off to fight in a war. I can say that I’ve
learned for myself why people think of the military like this, and it can be
scary, and if you join you may one day have to fight for your country. However,
it is much more than that. I work a regular job just like people in the
civilian work force, but I’m working towards a mission for the Air Force.
Everything we do is for something bigger than ourselves. It is to help one and
another and achieve our mission to Fly Fight and Win!
Wyoming
Students and Finding the Next Path
The advice
I would offer to current Wyoming students is, your education is very important,
and no one can ever take away what you learn. Whether you chose to continue
your education in college or where it may be, or start working right after high
school, make sure you take advantage of every opportunity to better yourself,
meet new people, and network. You never know who you may meet now that can help
you in the future.
If you are
interested in contacting Sierra to ask her more information about life in the
service after high school, she is happy to connect by email Sierra.hill@us.af.mil.
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