Standing near the Campus Lagoon at UCSB on Friday, Carolyn Wagnild easily could have passed for a student — she’s young, smart, athletic, and filled with a desire to know more about the world and make a difference.
But Wagnild, a captain in the Army, has gained a lifetime of experience in the six years since she graduated from UCSB, where she was active in its ROTC program.
A pilot who flies AH-64D Apache attack helicopters, Wagnild was the featured speaker at a luncheon sponsored by the Pierre Claessens Veterans Museum & Library. She met afterward with cadets in UCSB’s ROTC program.
Wagnild, 28, returned earlier this month from Afghanistan, where she completed her second tour of duty overseas. Addressing the group of veterans and supporters, she shared the path that took her into the service, as well as some of her life experiences and the lessons she’s learned from them.
Her father, she recalled, taught her the value of delayed gratification, and helped her find focus and overcome so-so grades and a lack of clear goals as a student.
Growing up in Boise, Idaho, she decided early on that UCSB was where she wanted to go to college, but she lacked the academic record for admittance as a freshman. So she attended Boise State University, where she got her first taste of the military by accident, inadvertently signing up for a physical education class that was part of the ROTC program.
An English major at the time, she said, she soon found herself intrigued by what the ROTC unit had to offer, and eventually joined the Ranger Challenge team.
“It was one of the first moments when I really felt alive,” Wagnild said. “I felt a part of something bigger than myself.”
Those experiences kindled a desire to serve, and growing feelings of patriotism that she wanted to nurture.
“At 19 years old, I could say that I knew what I wanted to do,” Wagnild said. “There are some people who find their husband or their wife early in their life — the love of their life. Well, I found the love of my life in the military.”
It was during a Ranger Challenge competition in the mountains of Montana that Wagnild learned a key tenet of being in the military — commitment to her fellow soldiers. A day of running up and down high-altitude trails had left her drained and on the verge of quitting, she said, noting that her fellow cadets were depending on her.
“It was my responsibility to put my needs aside and help them out,” she said. “I had to do some soul searching, in about one minute, and do some character building, within about one minute, and say, ‘I have to do this.” And it was not an option to quit, because of everything we had been through.”
She eventually found the strength to go on and finish with her team.
“When you think you are exhausted and have nothing more to give, you do,” Wagnild said. “The last mile up the hill, I ran in front of the team, and said, ‘Let’s do this.’”
That level of commitment has served her well as both a helicopter pilot and military leader, she said, recalling the awesome responsibility she feels toward the soldiers on the ground, whom she supports on missions, and those she leads as an officer.
Wagnild, who has served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, made it clear she relishes the role she plays.
“Throughout all this, I learned not to doubt myself, but to find myself, to learn about myself,” Wagnild said, “to lead others, and find a camaraderie unlike any other with my brothers and sisters in arms.”
Barely two weeks back from her last deployment, she’s eager to return.
“It was a mission that I loved,” she said. “It’s a mission that I hope to go back to next year. I thought we did a lot of great things out there.”
Listening to Wagnild, who graduated with a degree in global studies from UCSB, it’s clear that the pilot’s seat is where she wants to be. She speaks almost reverently about the aircraft she flies.
“You know when Apache gets on station,” she said. “It’s been described as an angel arriving overhead. Male or female voice on that radio, it doesn’t matter. When they see that Apache over head, it doesn’t matter. The Taliban, they’ll run. It’s a great feeling … and at the same time it’s the culmination of our training.”
In response to a question, Wagnild recounted a harrowing incident in which her helicopter and two others ended up mired in a sandstorm, with the flight crew struggling — literally — to know which way was up.
“This is the time I admitted I was probably most scared,” she said.
But again, she said, her training, teamwork and the shared commitment with her fellow soldiers allowed them to find their way to safety.
Wagnild said she plans to stay in the Army for at least the next few years, but hasn’t yet decided if she will make a career of it.
She already has achieved a lot, having served as squadron executive officer for Delta Company of the Army’s 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. She also assisted as battle captain for several months. She is based at Fort Hood in Texas.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
Barely two weeks back from her last deployment, shea href=
