JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON– An Alaska Air National Guardsman from the 176th Communications Flight exemplifies someone who had a difficult childhood but refused to give up in the face of their struggles by using her military career and available resources to overcome adversity and achieve success.

U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Jaymie Herbert was born to a teenage mother who struggled with drug addiction and trauma of her own. Jaymie had three other siblings by the time she was seven, and they were in and out of the foster-care system until they were eventually removed from their mother’s custody. All the siblings were adopted into the same family.

“Unfortunately, my adoptive mother adopted 14 children for financial stability, and we were known as the ‘Cheaper by the Dozen Clan’ within our community,” Herbert explained. “Behind closed doors was emotional, medical, physical and sexual abuse.”

Her long-lasting friend, Crystal Nguyen, said, Jaymie was adopted into a home that was in it for the money. Out of all the children, only two [including Jaymie] appear to have made it out alive, out of jail or with little emotional impact.

Before graduating from high school, she was given the option to join the military or be kicked out at 18 and face homelessness. The Lakeside, California, native chose to enlist. Jaymie first wanted to join the Navy, but the recruiter was too pushy, so she approached an Air Force recruiter instead.

“I had to lose 40 pounds in order to get into basic training,” she said. “I made it into the Air Force, and it was the best stepping stone I could have had.”

After the abandonment issues from her adopted family occurred, she married a “tech school” boyfriend who provided her with the attention she craved. Unfortunately, her 20-year-old emotional vulnerability was exploited by her marriage, leading her to consider suicide for the first three months after the joint spouse assignment was approved. In reflecting on her early military career, Herbert stated that the Air Force gave her the opportunity to address her mental health issues. Herbert was dealing with the emotional scars left by years of abuse from her adoptive family and her first marriage.

She saw herself as fortunate to have a supervisor who showed her compassion, supported her in her weak moments, was her cheerleader, and ultimately saved her life during one of the lowest moments in her trauma-healing journey.

“For the next eight years, I was able to turn to mental health services to help me get through some pretty difficult times and move to a place of healing and personal growth,” Jaymie continued. “Without the Air Force, I would not have had those very important resources to transform my life – without my desire to transform my life, those resources would not have been used. It is important for all service members to know the resources and utilize them if they want to be the best they can be. I am glad that mental health is being discussed more openly within our force.”

School was her escape growing up and she aspired to be the first in her family to earn a college degree. She got her first associate’s degree through the Community College of the Air Force; then, she continued to chip away at her bachelor’s degree and finished it just eight months before reaching her six-year contract on active duty.  After transitioning to the Alaska Air National Guard, she obtained her second CCAF degree and used her G.I. Bill to pursue a master’s degree. Throughout these years, she married her second husband of 10 years and became mom to a son and daughter.

Nguyen said Jaymie is one of the most energetic and motivated people she has met, working hard to break the cycle of abuse and overcome trauma while still having the energy and desire to serve and regard people as assets to the world and organizations for which she has worked.

Herbert, 32, was selected as one of the Class of 2023 Top Forty Under 40 by the Alaska Journal of Commerce and the Anchorage Daily News out of 262 nominees statewide. This award recognizes Alaska’s best professionals under 40 who have proven professional excellence and dedication to their community. Jaymie was nominated by a few of her coworkers.

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  176th communications, air National Guard, Alaska, jaymie herbert