McLaughlin Air National Guard Base, W.Va. -- The Charlie West Spotlight for April is Senior Airman Haley Ryan, an Aerospace Evacuation Technician assigned to the 167th Aerospace Evacuation Squadron.
Ryan is a 2013 graduate of Herbert Hoover High School in Elkview, W.Va. and has been with the 130th for three and a half years. She currently attends Marshall University and is slated to graduate from there in the Summer of 2019.
In her spare time, she enjoys snowboarding, cycling, running and spending time with her son, Hudson.
“Everything I do, I have Hudson in mind,” explained Ryan. “ He’s the best thing to have ever happened to me, and maybe one day he’ll fall in love with the 130th just like I did.”
The love for the 130th Ryan speaks about started as a young child, when her father, Col. Johnny Ryan, the 130th Airlift Wing Commander, introduced her to the military life.
“My favorite moment at the 130th is when my dad came home from deployment in 2003, I remember as a little girl being in the hangar which was decorated with everything red, white, and blue,” said Ryan. “My sister, brother, and I had patriotic tattoos stamped all over our cheeks along with red, white and blue beads around our neck. We were SO ready to see our Dad.”
“I remember sprinting to greet him off the plane and begged him to never leave again. It was amazing to see everyone that left 5 months prior come home safe to their loved ones, nothing can explain the joy and relief my family felt that day watching Dad land,” she said. “If I could, I would go back and relive that day all over again. It’s a day I’ll never forget.”
She credits her family for giving her the most proud moments of her life.
Her father is the current 130th Commander and a C-130 pilot, her brother is an Air Force Academy Graduate and F-15E Strike Eagle Pilot, her sister serves in the unit and is slated to convert to a C-130 Pilot and her mother has always been a “rockstar” stay at home mom.
Ryan reiterated how the 130th has always looked out for her and her family.
“I owe so much to this place for bringing my family back from deployments safe and putting a roof over my head for as long as I can remember,” she said.
Her goals in the unit are to become an instructor in her unit and eventually an examiner, continue her enlistment as long as she can and to just all around set a good example for new members who come after her.
Based off of how she performs, it's clear that she is headed in the direction to accomplish her goals. Ryan was selected for the spotlight by Maj. William Easter, 167th AES Vice Commander, because of her efforts in spearheading and organizing the AES’s mobilization and planning for the 130th’s FLARE exercise.
“I love fact that I never have to wake up and dread coming into work like previous jobs I have had, at the end of the day I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot, and that in itself is very rewarding for me,” Ryan explained. “I love the camaraderie I have with my squadron, even though I’m new, they welcomed me with open arms and I consider some of them my closest friends now. I love to fly and the 130th as given me the opportunity to do that.”