Soldierly Example

June 24, 2005

LYNSEA GARRISON/Frontiersman reporter

Jousette McKeel knows what it's like to live in a man's world. And she not only lived in it, she excelled in it.

McKeel, who is almost 25, spent five years in the military, starting when she was 18. She was born in Bemidji, Minn. and was 4 years old when she and her family moved to Alaska.

She lived in Kodiak Island for four years and then in Palmer until 1998, when she moved to North Dakota for a year and a half. She then returned to Mat-Su and graduated as valedictorian at Mat-Su Correspondence School.

After she graduated, she began her military career, leaving Mat-Su for Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., for basic training. She was there for three months and recalls the experience as a good one.

"Basic training was the best part because it put me at an even playing field with the guys," she said. "I enjoyed beating the guys; that was always my goal."

After McKeel completed basic training, she moved to Fort Sam Houston, where she completed 16 weeks of medical training. When she finished, she was qualified as an emergency medical technician.

McKeel returned to Alaska and spent a year in Fort Richardson in Anchorage with the National Guard. She decided to become a full-time soldier because she wanted to make "more of a contribution."

She enlisted for active duty at age 20 and was stationed in California, where she was a medic for the National Training Center. She also worked at the emergency room and various other clinics.

It was while she was in California that McKeel received the Spirit of Service Award, an award that recognizes one soldier from each division of the military for his or her outstanding performance and service. Out of all the soldiers in the nation, McKeel was selected for the Army division.

"I was in shock for days," McKeel said. "It was an opportunity of a lifetime. I met President Bush, Laura Bush and Colin Powell. I appeared on CNN and I bought all the tapes."

Even before McKeel earned the Spirit of Service Award, she was chosen to be an Honor Guard and went to Washington, D.C. There, she was a Color Guard at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on Veterans Day in 2001.

"I got to lay the wreath down," she said. "It's one of my most heartfelt memories because I got to honor the soldiers who came before I did."

McKeel was also able to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, John F. Kennedy's Flame at the Arlington Cemetery, the Freedom Bell and other monuments.

That wasn't the end of McKeel's success as a soldier. She was named Soldier of the Regiment, Soldier of the Quarter, and Soldier of the Month three times. She had a perfect score in physical training, besting many of the male soldiers' scores.

"It's still a man's world in the military," she said. "As a woman in the military it was hard to work and earn the respect to be treated like one of the boys. When I finally earned that respect from my fellow soldiers and commanders, it was an honor. Once you earn that respect, they'll go to bat for you in a heartbeat."

In 2002, McKeel was transferred back to Fort Richardson, where she worked at the medical clinic. In June, she married Michael McKeel, a soldier from Fort Campbell, Ky. McKeel worked in the medical clinic until a month before she had her child, Brianna. Because she took some college classes in California, she picked up her studies at UAA. McKeel's work ethic in the military didn't wear off, as she has a 4.0 grade-point average and is set to graduate in December with a bachelor's degree in education and a minor in psychology.

McKeel plans to teach in rural Alaska for a couple of years and get involved with volleyball coaching.

Lynsea Garrison can be reached at 352-2250.