Female AW2 Soldiers and Veterans Making Headlines

• AW2 Veteran Jessica Clements was featured in an Akron Beacon Journal article about her injury, rehabilitation, faith, determination, helping others, and a new life. People helped her during her recovery, and she decided that she wanted to help others as well. She began classes at University of Akron with hopes of becoming a social worker. For her hard work and determination, she was named Ohio bachelor of social work student of the year by the National Association of Social Workers. She plans to attend graduate school and has applied for an intense 11-month master’s program that will start in May.
• AW2 Veteran Danelea Kelly, featured on Fox News, went to Washington, DC, to ask Congress to expand the programs that have helped her—the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program and Education Assistance for Veterans from the National Organization on Disability. Kelly discussed the challenges for Veterans in finding jobs. She asked that potential employers treat Veterans with respect, dedication, and patience because that is what they gave when serving the country.
• AW2 Soldier SGT Kisha Makerney, featured in Human Events, became the tenth Soldier—and the first woman—to return to a combat zone with a prosthesis. She served her first tour of duty in Iraq right out of high school with the Oklahoma National Guard. Back home, her leg was amputated after a motorcycle accident. She rejoined her unit and was a correctional instructor for the Iraqis. Currently, she is undergoing training with other wounded Soldiers and Veterans at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.  She is also waiting for either deployment orders or acceptance to flight school to operate Apache helicopters.

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