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Face of Defense: Airman Balances Guard Service, Civilian Job

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I pulled up to the parking lot of the Torrington police station, which is about eighty miles northeast of here, near the Nebraska border. It is an understated brown building.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Rebekah Miller stands in front of the Torrington police department in her police uniform, Mar. 10, 2017 in Torrington, Wyoming. Miller has been with the Wyoming Air National Guard for six years and is serving as a command post specialist. She has also been an officer with the Torrington police department for two years. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Charles Delano/released)
Air Force Staff Sgt. Rebekah Miller stands in front of the Torrington police department in her police uniform, in Torrington, Wyo., March 10, 2017. Miller has been with the Wyoming Air National Guard for six years and is serving as a command post specialist. She has also been an officer with the Torrington police department for two years. Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Charles Delano
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Rebekah Miller stands in front of the Torrington police department in her police uniform, Mar. 10, 2017 in Torrington, Wyoming. Miller has been with the Wyoming Air National Guard for six years and is serving as a command post specialist. She has also been an officer with the Torrington police department for two years. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Charles Delano/released)
Wyoming Airman picks two challenging careers as a civilian and military
Air Force Staff Sgt. Rebekah Miller stands in front of the Torrington police department in her police uniform, in Torrington, Wyo., March 10, 2017. Miller has been with the Wyoming Air National Guard for six years and is serving as a command post specialist. She has also been an officer with the Torrington police department for two years. Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Charles Delano
Photo By: Senior Master Sgt. Charles Delano
VIRIN: 170310-Z-PA223-1009

The words, POLICE STATION, are displayed prominently in black block letters over the glass doors at the building’s front entrance.

Officer Rebekah Miller is waiting for me at the station’s front entrance. She is wearing a hat with the Torrington police patch above the brim, which slightly shades her eyes. Her police uniform is black. It’s a stark contrast to the Air Force battle dress uniform with staff sergeant’s insignia she wears during the weekends when she is working as a command post specialist with the Wyoming Air National Guard. We exchange greetings and enter the building as she starts an informal tour of her department.

We walk toward a large security door where she leans down so the card in her pocket can disengage the electronic lock. We walk past the dispatch area, which incorporates dozens of screens linked to cameras feeds, computers and radios. She introduces me to the dispatcher and tells me that she has performed dispatch duties when she was healing from an injury. We move on down the dimly lit hallway, and I ask her how many officers work at the department.

Distinguished Service

She points to a wall where names of past and present officers are written on cards and framed with brown wood. Next to her name is a gold medallion hanging from a blue ribbon. She explains that whenever an officer does something outstanding an award is placed around the wooden frame that surrounds his or her name. Miller had stopped a person from committing suicide. I adjust a few settings on my camera and snap a few pictures of Miller next to her name and medallion.

We move on down the hallway past a training room then past an interrogation room with a large one-way mirror, a small desk and a scarcely padded metal chair. We walk a little further and stop at a room with three desks and a half-dozen chairs. Miller walks toward the one on the far left. Stacks of papers are lined up in neat piles next to a keyboard and computer screen. She explains that the desks are shared by all the officers on duty and that the papers consist of warrants she has processed and ongoing investigations. She carefully organizes the stacks and puts them away in her desk for the interview.

Miller starts off by letting me know that she has been in the Wyoming Air National Guard for six years and has worked as a traditional guardsman in the command post with a two-year, full-time tour in the finance department. I ask her why she chose to pursue a career in law enforcement.

Job Satisfaction

“I couldn’t think of a better job where you get to go to work every day and do something different and never know what is going to happen,” Miller said. “What other job can you go to the range and shoot or run traffic or start an investigation? I love the variety and the excitement.”

After we talk about some of her personal background and experiences in the police department, I ask her about why she picked such challenging jobs and if there were similarities of her job as a peace officer and a command post specialist.

“I picked jobs that were challenging because, in the military, there is such a solid base, so much structure and I felt like I wanted that with my civilian job, too,” Miller said. “I wanted something that was going to help me grow in my career.”

She laughs and asks if I could repeat the second part of the question. I laugh as well and ask her how both jobs are similar. “Both jobs taught me so much about leadership and teamwork and things that are important to me,” Miller explained. “In both jobs, you can be very stressed at times. Both jobs teach you how to handle things that are hard to handle.”

Gender Isn’t An Obstacle

I tell her that March is Women’s History Month, and ask her if she has had difficulty as a woman in either the police department or the Air National Guard. “I wouldn’t consider being a female has caused any roadblocks in my career,” Miller replied. “It is always different on a call, me versus the guys, but it doesn’t change anything. I’m their backup or they are my backup. We get the job done, either way.”

We move on the subject of career aspirations. “I think I’m going to stay in the guard for my entire twenty,” Miller said. “I love it there. I want to keep promoting, keep learning and eventually become supervisor and take care of people like the people who took care of me.”

Miller looks at me as if in deep thought. “I want the same thing with my job as a peace officer,” she said. “Every day it is something different. You are always growing. I think both jobs have made me into something different than I thought I would ever be.”

I ask her about any advice she would give to a young woman wanting to pursue challenging jobs like law enforcement or military. “I would tell her that it is challenging but the reward is so much bigger because you go through the tough things like the academy or basic training,” Miller said. “When you finally get to the point where you graduate and you feel the pride in it -- it makes it all worth it.”

We are interrupted by a squawk on the radio. There is a domestic disturbance in town and Miller runs out the office toward her vehicle.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Rebekah Miller (second from the left) stands with other members of the Rising 6 Council as they make a presentation to retiring Chief Master Sgt. Michael Abbott, Mar. 10, 2017 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Miller has been with the Wyoming Air National Guard for six years and is serving as a command post specialist. She has also been an officer with the Torrington police department for two years. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Charles Delano/released)
Air Force Staff Sgt. Rebekah Miller, second from left, stands with other members of the Rising 6 Council as they make a presentation to retiring Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Michael Abbott, in Cheyenne, Wyo., March 11, 2017. Miller has been with the Wyoming Air National Guard for six years and is serving as a command post specialist. She has also been an officer with the Torrington police department for two years. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Charles Delano
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Rebekah Miller (second from the left) stands with other members of the Rising 6 Council as they make a presentation to retiring Chief Master Sgt. Michael Abbott, Mar. 10, 2017 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Miller has been with the Wyoming Air National Guard for six years and is serving as a command post specialist. She has also been an officer with the Torrington police department for two years. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Charles Delano/released)
Wyoming Airman picks two challenging careers as a civilian and military
Air Force Staff Sgt. Rebekah Miller, second from left, stands with other members of the Rising 6 Council as they make a presentation to retiring Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Michael Abbott, in Cheyenne, Wyo., March 11, 2017. Miller has been with the Wyoming Air National Guard for six years and is serving as a command post specialist. She has also been an officer with the Torrington police department for two years. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Charles Delano
Photo By: Senior Master Sgt. Charles Delano
VIRIN: 170311-Z-PA223-3039

Later on, I ask her if anyone influenced her decision to pursue law enforcement.

“I don’t have any family members that were in [law enforcement], but my father, who was in the military, spoke highly of law enforcement,” Miller said. “Everyone whom I’ve met who was a cop has had such a command presence, and it seemed like something I would really enjoy.”

Later, I sit down with Air Force Master Sgt. Zach Palmer, who works with Miller in the Air Guard. I ask him what it’s like working with her.

Team Player

“She brings in quite a bit to the team,” Palmer said. “She brings enthusiasm, creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.” I ask him whether or not it makes a difference in the command post that she is a female. “I don’t think it makes a difference at all that she is a female, “Palmer replied. “It is her personality, the enthusiasm, how outgoing she is and that she doesn’t back down when things get difficult. She is someone who we can count on in the command post.”

I also ask Miller’s Air Guard supervisor, Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Michele Henning, what it is like having Miller in the command post.

“Staff Sergeant Miller excels at whatever she does,” Henning said. “She is a born leader who takes on the tough challenges whether she’s wearing a law enforcement uniform or an airman’s battle uniform. I think she will continue to inspire airmen to go after what they want -- no matter how difficult the obstacles.”

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