Photo By Senior Airman Eduardo Figueroa Varela | Senior Airman Alisha Sargent poses for a photo in the weapons hangar at Portland Air...... read more read more
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PORTLAND, Ore. — At 36 years old, Alisha Sargent was exactly where she felt she belonged: leading her flight as dorm chief at Basic Military Training. She was just days away from receiving her first set of uniforms when a medical exam changed everything.
“They told me while I was at basic that I would have to go home and get a hysterectomy,” Sargent recalled. A severe case of anemia, driven by undiagnosed uterine fibroids, hadn't just stalled her training, it had triggered a military discharge process that seemed final.
While a medical discharge at age 36 would lead many to close the book on military service, Sargent’s story was only beginning.
“No one here knew how to handle my case because they’d never heard of someone wanting to come back so badly,” she said.
She wouldn't let her career end in paperwork. During the peak of COVID-19, she worked with Salem’s Judge Advocate General (JAG) to navigate a difficult appeals process. She wasn't looking for a payout; she was fighting to fix her discharge status so she could have a fresh start.
When she finally earned her re-enlistment code in April 2022, she returned to BMT at age 39. This time, the feeling was different.
“My second basic... it felt like I made it,” she said. “I felt right. I don’t think it’s something you can share with anyone who hasn't experienced putting on the uniform. I was prouder.”
Despite the age gap between her and her peers, she excelled in the physically demanding weapons loading career field. Her father, a retired Air Force crew chief, joked about her choosing weapons over maintenance, but her performance spoke for itself. Within two years, she was named Airman of the Quarter, 142nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Airman of the Year, and helped her team win Load Crew of the Year.
The 18-month struggle also gave Sargent a new mission: advocacy. With uterine fibroids affecting up to 80% of women in the U.S. by age 50, and endometriosis impacting 1 in 10 women nationwide, these conditions represent a significant, often silent, hurdle to military readiness.
Sargent now speaks openly about her health journey to ensure other female Airmen don’t simply accept chronic fatigue or debilitating pain as “part of life." Her message is simple: early treatment is essential for career longevity. Her own return to the flightline proves that a diagnosis isn’t the end of the story.
Today, Sargent’s dream has become a reality. She was recently selected for a permanent, full-time technician position within the 142nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. As she looks forward to promoting to Staff Sergeant and leading her own crew, she remains grounded by the memory of the 500 days she spent fighting just to get back to the starting line.
“If you dream about something and you want to do it,” Sargent said, “stick to your guns and get it done.”
| Date Taken: | 03.08.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 03.20.2026 11:56 |
| Story ID: | 561014 |
| Location: | PORTLAND AIR GUARD STATION, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 17 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, A Second First Day: An Airman's Fight to Serve, by SrA Eduardo Figueroa Varela, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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