"I’m just doing my job--it’s a difficult job and I love it, but I’m just doing my job." (Video interview 32:20)

Lauren Arnett Campbell

Lauren Campbell [detail from video] War: Afghan War, 2001- Branch: Air Force Unit: 301st Rescue Squadron, 920ths Rescue Wing, 10th Air Force; Air Force Reserve Service Location: Patrick Air Force Base, Florida; Helmand Region, Afghanistan; Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico Rank: Staff Sergeant

Staff Sergeant Lauren Arnett Campbell joined the Air Force Reserves because she wanted to make a difference, pure and simple. She fulfilled this goal many times over during her deployment to Afghanistan, where she flew over 145 combat sorties with a helicopter rescue unit. In her oral history interview, she describes the grueling schedule she and her comrades faced, flying alternating twelve-hour shifts, and the accompanying challenges and rewards of her daily routine. She also details her experiences as the first female aerial gunner in the Air Force Reserves.