Voices of our Veterans: Renee Myers

HUNTINGDON, TN (WNBJ)-

Renee Myers devoted twenty-seven years of her life to the united states Army.

Her father, uncle, and stepbrothers were all in the navy but Renee decided to join the army because there was more opportunity for her.

“the Navy, of course, had been my blood it’s what I knew…but the navy didn’t have all the opportunities for a female at that time…but the army offered me you know; all kinds of assignments, and I went in as a combat medic. I just thought that was the coolest thing to do,” says Renee Myers.

Myers enlisted straight out of high school and was sent to Hawaii. She says this is when she discovered how competitive she was against her fellow service members and family,

“I won trainee of the cycle out of basic training, I was the honor graduate out of my combat medic course…so my dad put twenty-six years in the navy and was an E8 when he retired, I was an E9 with twenty-seven years because I just had to beat dad.”

Myers began her service as a private and worked her way up to command sergeant major. Her service took her all over the world Serving in Iraq, desert storm, Egypt, and Germany.

During dessert storm, the hospital she was working in was converted to an enemy prisoner of war hospital. The hospital was in the active war zone of Kuwait

“I never felt scared you know, a little bit more alert than normal, but I just got to contribute that to the training. That’s one thing about the service the training is just continues. It doesn’t matter what your rank is it's still always going back to the basics and training on it,” says Myers.

Out of her twenty-seven years of service, Myers says that the best thing the Army gave her is the love of her life.

She met her husband when they were both drill sergeants.

Years later they both retired from the service and lived in an RV for a year. Nine years after their retirement they found themselves in Tennessee. Myers couldn’t stop herself from continuing to help others. She accepted the role of Carroll county veterans service officer,

“It’s all about veterans helping veterans, so getting them their benefits is my role. Health care, compensation, pension, education, burial benefits,” she says.

She says her last job in the army, working with the wounded warriors, prepared her for this job. Myers says she enjoys connecting veterans and their families with the benefits she says they deserve.