Cherise Miller-March (b. 1964), of Brooklyn, New York, served in the United States Air Force from 1985-2000. Cherise Miller-March was born 19 June 1964 in Brooklyn, New York and moved to Fort Worth, Texas in 1979. She graduated from Boswell High School in 1983. Miller-March attended Oklahoma City Community College, before enlisting as a security specialist in the United States Air Force in 1985. In August 1985, Miller-March was sent to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for basic training, which, at the time, also included lessons on hair and makeup standards. Afterwards, she was assigned to Lackland Meridian Training Annex for technical school, where she received security specialist training, and completed the security force firing range qualification course. In November 1985, Miller-March was assigned to her first duty station at Carswell Air Force Base Reserves, and then in 1986, she was assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana, where she worked with the reserve unit 917th Tactical Fighter Wing Police. As part of this unit, Miller-March had the opportunity to participate in Wild Stallion, a search and rescue mission in the Michigan forest. After returning from a temporary duty assignment in Alaska in 1990, Miller-March was informed she would be transitioning into an active duty position, due to the need for more personnel for Operation Desert Storm. She was moved to the 2nd Bomb Wing and began working twelve-hour shifts in a nuclear weapons storage facility. Eventually, Miller-March cross-trained into Airfield Management, and worked as a flightline driving trainer. While in this position, she was named Airman of the Quarter, and received an incentive flight in the T-38, a twinjet supersonic jet. In 1996, Miller-March was assigned to Misawa Air Base in Japan, and her children were able to accompany her. She was assigned to the bombing range, and also worked with the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force. In 2000, Miller-March was assigned to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, and shortly after, she was medically separated from the U.S. Air Force. She left as a Staff Sergeant, E-5. Once she had obtained her Veterans Administration (VA) disability, Miller-March began occupational therapy school. In 2007, she moved to North Carolina, after she received a job a Fort Bragg, working with active duty soldiers in the occupational therapy clinic, the traumatic brain injury clinic, and the inpatient psychiatric clinic. When Miller-March's husband received a job at Fort Eustis in Virginia, in order for her to follow him, she had to take a year of leave-without-pay to show her commitment. During that year, Miller-March traveled to Kirkuk, Iraq, to work as a contractor in Airfield Management. When she returned to the United States, Miller-March had not heard from Fort Eustis, so she returned to Fort Bragg. Her husband was then able to obtain employment at the Veterans Administration in North Carolina. Miller-March eventually received a position as a peer support specialist at the VA, helping soldiers with their transition back into civilian life.
