Photo By Staff Sgt. Lauren Cobin | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tessa Hickerson, an aircrew flight equipment technician...... read more read more
Subscribe
It starts with a silly little dance.
A quick shimmy of the shoulders, a bounce of excitement, and then Tessa runs full-speed into her parents’ arms. She always gives her dad the biggest squeeze. It’s their thing.
This week, they’ll get to do it again. This time in Brunswick, Georgia, where Tessa will return not just as a daughter, but as a member of the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptor Aerial Demonstration Team.
Brunswick is more than a tour stop. It was Staff Sgt. Tessa Hickerson’s very first home.
“This one feels different,” she said. “I say Raybun is my hometown, because it is, but I’ve lived all over Georgia. Brunswick was actually where I first lived as a baby. So being back here with the team… it really brings it all full circle.”
As an Aircrew Flight Equipment (AFE) technician, Tessa plays a crucial behind-the-scenes role in keeping pilots safe. But for her, this show isn’t just about jets or gear. It’s about people, especially the ones who’ve cheered her on since day one.
The visit will be a homecoming in more ways than one. Her parents, Steve and Sheila Patterson, along with their longtime family friend, will be attending the show to see her at work and welcome her home, back to where it all started.
Back to the girl who was always training, always competing and always chasing the next season of sports. Back to a family rule: if you start something, you finish it. No quitting. No cutting corners. Just commitment and humility: two values that stuck with her long after leaving home.
Tessa didn’t always plan to join the military though.
Having earned scholarships for track and field, and cross-country, she completed her degree at the University of North Georgia. She soon found herself working a civilian job, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit she was furloughed. That was when her sister, Taylor Ward, already an Air Force First Sergeant, planted a seed.
“She’s been in since 2010 and has always been my guiding light,” Tessa said. “One day she called me and asked if I’d thought about the military. That’s when I started to really picture it. I wanted more.”
Now, Tessa travels the country supporting one of the Air Force’s most elite teams, but she never forgets where she came from.
April 17-18 she will return to Brunswick for the highly anticipated airshow, along with a visit to Brunswick High School to meet with student athletes and Junior ROTC cadets.
An athlete herself, she knows how much sports shaped her character, and she hopes to pass that on.
“Being on a team teaches you how to think fast, make decisions, and own the outcome,” she said. “In sports and in the military, your decisions affect everyone around you. You stand on your own, but you always play for the team.”
She wants students to see that there’s more than one path to service and success.
“I want them to see me and think, ‘If she can do that, maybe I can too,’” she said. “Even if it’s not the military, I want them to go after their goals with everything they’ve got.”
Her mom, Sheila Patterson, always saw that spark.
“Tessa’s always been a go-getter,” Sheila said. “From a little girl she has always been driven to go after something she really wanted, even if she knew the odds would be against her. If she wanted something and the door didn’t open, she’d find another way in.”
“She does everything with a smile, and she gives it her all for the team!”
Team. That word comes up a lot with Tessa.
Whether she’s talking about the Air Force, the F-22 Demonstration Team, and of course, her family who never miss a chance to meet her wherever she lands.
“We’ll drive hours if we have to,” Sheila laughed. “We’re a close-knit bunch.”
And when they see her again, the same ritual will play out.
A silly little dance. A full-speed hug.
And a Georgia girl who chased her dreams and brought them home.
| Date Taken: | 05.12.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.12.2025 15:14 |
| Story ID: | 497706 |
| Location: | BRUNSWICK, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 59 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, From Georgia Roots to Air Force Heights, by SSgt Lauren Cobin, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
