4 minute read
Featured Veteran Marcia Smith
By Amanda Renkiewicz
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Ashlyn, Kevin, Jackson, Tiffany, Madisen, and Cooper. As her favorite quote above proves, our Veteran Spotlight Marcia Smith is a force to be reckoned with! Marci enlisted in the Air Force at just 18 years old in 1977. She spent the following 16 years at duty stations including Bitburg AB, Germany, Eglin AFB, FL, Kadena AB, Okinawa, Holloman AFB, NM, and Tyndall AFB, FL. She completed her degree in Aeronautics, attended Officer Training School, served as a commissioned officer in Space and Missiles, and then finished her service at the Pentagon on staff for the Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
“I had a very interesting, challenging, and enjoyable career. The best and unexpected benefit was the travel and living overseas,” Marci explains. “I was one of 4 Air Force Missile officers invited to tour a Russian Strategic Air Force base in Kozelsk, Russia. We spent a week with our hosts, and it was one of the highlights of my career. They were professional, personable, and proud to show us their country. We met with local civilians and toured a Russian missile silo. My husband (a retired Chief Master Sergeant), our Aussiedoodle Winston, and I now split our time between Arizona and Michigan!”
Travel, the military, and helping others are a theme that resonates through Marci’s life and family.
Her father was a WWII/Korean War veteran, and she loved his stories of travel, camaraderie, and patriotism. Her husband Fred served in Vietnam, and his family has a great legacy of serving in the Air Force. Fred’s son, Eric, is a retired Master Sergeant, and Eric’s wife Sharon served for ten years as Security Forces and Military Working Dog Handler. His daughter, Mary, and her family live in North Carolina, where she practices as a Doctor of Immunology and does fascinating work with cancer research and drug development.
When asked about her favorite memories abroad, Marci replied, “I would need an entire book! Living overseas was absolutely the best part of my career. I lived in Germany, Japan, and Ukraine. I lived ‘on the economy’ - which was off base. I was stationed in Germany during the first Gulf War in 1991, and there were often threats against military members because of our deployments to the war zone,” she recalls. “We lived in a tiny village and were the only Americans. One day, we were at our local gasthaus, and the owner came over and told us the village was keeping an eye on our house for us while we were at work to make sure no one was coming around that didn’t belong. To us, that meant they thought of us as part of the village, and it was heartwarming to know that we had friends so far from home.”
Marci’s philanthropic endeavors have spanned over many years. From 2009-2012, she was a Board Member with Project Sanctuary, which provides a wellness retreat in a camp-like environment at no cost to a service member and their family. The family can use the space to reconnect and re-energize after deployment(s). In 2017, she was a founding member and Membership Chair for the Northwestern Michigan Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) headquartered in Traverse City. Currently, she’s the Membership Chair for the Luke Chapter MOAA in Goodyear, AZ. MOAA is the nation’s largest and most influential association of military officers. It is an independent, nonprofit, politically nonpartisan organization with a mission of advocating for all members of the uniformed services to ensure they and their families receive the benefits they deserve.
Marci sees great hope and inspiration through the young men and women who have a desire to serve.
“As an instructor at the Air Force Academy, it was a great honor and privilege to spend my time in the classroom with these outstanding people. I felt the same when a new airman would be assigned to our unit and showed an eagerness and desire to be part of the team. They brought a new perspective and a new way of looking at old problems that kept the old, crusty veterans on our toes. Serving in today’s military has so many challenges that I didn’t experience, so I have a great deal of respect for these men and women, and I hope our country recognizes the sacrifices they make for the safety and security of our nation.”
With a life of stepping outside of the box, it’s no surprise that Marci’s advice is to get out of one’s comfort zone and be assertive. “Set a goal and make it happen. Take chances. Be memorable,” she recommends. And if that goes a little sideways, have no fear, since her second favorite cheeky quote is, “It’s always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission”.
