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Blaire Harms
Phil Quinn
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1990, B.A., International Relations
When Blaire Harms entered the ROTC program at Chico State,
her advisers were certain that she wouldn't survive even the first
week. She proved them wrong, and then some. After earning a three-year
ROTC scholarship and graduating Summa Cum Laude, Harms accepted
an Army commission in military intelligence at Fort Huachuca,
Arizona. Next she found herself stationed at Fort Bragg, North
Carolina, with the 82nd Airborne Division. Still at Fort Bragg,
Harms is currently a captain and the company commander of the
Headquarters Company, United States Army Special Operations Command.
USASOC is the Army Major Command for all of the Army's highly
trained special units, including the Rangers (black berets), Special
Forces (green berets), the 160th Aviation Regiment, Psychological
Operations, and Civil Affairs.
Harms has been Airborne-qualified for parachute jumps since her
ROTC days, and she completed Jump Master school last year to learn
how to put other jumpers out of airplanes safely. "The hardest
part is exiting the aircraft," she explains. "But once you're
out and the parachute opens, it's like flying." Her favorite jump,
she remembers, was from the tailgate of an Air Force plane in
Antigua. "I jumped from 1200 feet into the Caribbean while wearing
shorts, a T-shirt, and water wings. I'd do one of those every
day if I could."
The Army has provided Harms with opportunities to travel, and
she has worked in Iraq, Haiti, Korea, Panama, Ecuador, and other
locations all over the world, in addition to seeing much of the
United States. She is fortunate to have an encouraging civilian
husband and a young son who understand, though don't always like,
the military lifestyle she enjoys so much. Looking forward to
more training, Harms hopes ultimately to be assigned to the Washington,
D.C., area to perform strategic analysis, a form of intelligence
work.
To prepare herself for the eventuality of civilian life, Harms
is pursuing a master's degree through an independent study program
at Syracuse University. She admits that she misses California
and has even considered returning to Chico some day to teach.
For now, though, she says, "I plan on staying in the Army as long
as it is fun and rewarding."
Monte Hill, B.A., Liberal Studies, '88; Multiple Subjects Teaching
Credential, '89; B.A., Journalism, option Public Relations, '96 |
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