Hawaii Air National Guard Master Sgt. Roxanne Bruhn, left, encouraged her daughter, Senior Airman Hina Williamson, to join the Air Guard nine years ago for its educational benefits.
Drawn to serve
A mom and her daughter both see
benefits in joining the Air National Guard
For a mother and daughter, service in the Hawaii Air National Guard and the military seems a perfect fit.
Hawaii Air National Guard Master Sgt. Roxanne Bruhn's father, Army Sgt. 1st Class Elmer Solidum, is a retired Green Beret, and joining the military "just seemed like a natural thing for me to do."
Her uncles, Master Sgts. Sam Pacarro and Pete Espina, also were in the Air Guard.
"There's no getting around it," said Bruhn, a 1973 Sacred Hearts Academy graduate. "It affects how you think, how you perform. I think it's embedded in you."
"Military and sports runs in our family," Bruhn pointed out, noting her father was a stellar quarterback on the 1950 Saint Louis School football team.
Bruhn's daughter, Hina Williamson, was an all-star player on Iolani's 1995 soccer team that won the Interscholastic League of Honolulu title and also on the Raiders championship basketball team.
Bruhn said she also steered her daughter to the Hawaii Air Guard nine years ago because of the educational benefits. "She was able to use its GI benefits to obtain a degree from Hawaii Pacific University and is now working on her master's."
But Williamson, 27, said she also joined the Hawaii Guard because "I just wanted to serve and find my way."
Williamson enlisted in 1997 and was assigned to the 154th Security Forces Squadron. She got to travel since she was mobilized to fulfill the military's need for law enforcement specialists.
Williamson, now a personnel specialist with the 154th Mission Support Flight, said her past seven years in uniform has been "priceless."
"Because of the military," Williamson added, "there isn't anything I can't do."
In January 2002, Williamson was named Headquarters Pacific Air Forces airman of the quarter.
She acknowledged that her mother also has played a major role.
Bruhn, who was the first Air Guard's aerospace ground mechanic, is now the noncommissioned officer in charge of the command staff for both the 154th Maintenance Squadron and 154th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, which has more than 700 personnel, making it the largest unit in the entire Hawaii Air National Guard.
"I saw how hard she works ... she leads by example and I admire her -- all that hard work makes me believe I can do that, too," Williamson said.
Williamson calls herself "a lifer."
"The Guard has had such a positive impact on my life," Williamson added. "It has offered me an opportunity of a lifetime to travel and do so many things."
