Speaker Sherri Sharpe visits JROTC classes

“Jumping out of airplanes? Pretty cool. Waking up at 5am every morning? Not so cool.”

Lieutenant Colonel Sherri Sharpe is an instructor at the Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Not only is she a wife to another helicopter pilot, who she outranks, but she is also a mother to two children. She has a 22-month-year-old and a 1-month-old, who came along while she spoke to JROTC’s classes about her time in the Army.

Sharpe graduated from Mary Baldwin College and Virginia’s Women’s Institute for Leadership (VWIL).  She commanded a helicopter company in Afghanistan and Iraq, and later commanded an airfield in country. While speaking to the students, she recalled her experiences during that time and gave advice about those going into service.

Sharpe remembered back to her first deployment. Outside her tent, she encountered different animals like a python and even had a cow wander in one time.

“There was no Wi-Fi, Skype, or anything like that. My family couldn’t contact me and [they] feared a car was going to pull up any day and tell them bad news,” she said.

She encouraged students to not just join the service for the scholarship or money. Sharpe admits while it’s nice to have her education paid off, one must remember the work involved.

“When you’re deployed, there are no days off. Every day is a Monday. Friday is just two days closer to the next Monday.”

Her most repeated advice was “to not get discouraged during any certain deployment.” Sharpe wrote her resignation letter twice while serving, but never submitted it because she reminded herself that in eleven to twelve months her conditions would change. Another tip she gave was to not let mean bosses ruin the situation. She said people like that taught her what to do and what not to do in the time that would come next.

When asked the scariest moment of deployment, she talked about watching a cache blow up around her.

“The enemy usually attacks during the day since they don’t have the proper equipment for night,” she said.

Sharpe is also an Army helicopter pilot for the Chinook helicopter, which is a dual rotor helicopter that is the biggest in the Army inventory. She is jump qualified, too. While stationed at VMI, she was awarded the outstanding Army Senior ROTC instructor for the United States.

Sharpe finished by summarizing where her hard work has taken her today and said, “I have a dream job. I love my family. I love my life. But, there are sacrifices that were made and are to be made.”