5 Questions: Patricia Pullar

Patricia Pullar, who lives in Newburgh, is the chief master sergeant for the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart Air National Guard Base. 

Why did you join the Air National Guard?
After graduating from high school on Long Island, I joined the U.S. Army and served four years of active duty, mostly in Germany. Then I worked in marketing, public relations and banking in South Florida. But I missed the adventurous aspects of being in the military. That was 25 years ago. When I moved back to New York, I looked for a military connection and stumbled upon the Air National Guard unit at Stewart, which had an opening I was qualified to fill. 

What do you do as a Guard member?
I started one weekend a month, plus training days. I’m now full time, a dual-status employee within our wing. That is, I’m a civilian during the week, running data security programs. On the military side, I’m senior enlisted leader for our operations group, which has two squadrons. My job is to make sure both squadrons are running properly, that people get what they need to complete their training, that they get the education they need, that they develop as individuals and that they’re physically and mentally fit. Sometimes it’s administrative, but other times things come up on short notice, such as tasking for the aircrew or a deployment. The greatest challenge is to make sure everyone is prepared. 

How often have you been deployed?
The Guard falls under the governor of the state where you’re located, but when we’re called to service, such as during a conflict, we are federalized. I’ve had two interesting deployments to Afghanistan. On the first, I was part of a training team that assisted the Afghan police and army. On my second, I was an analyst. I found it interesting, as a woman, to navigate through that culture, trying to find the best way to do the job and relay the information necessary to build the relationships we wanted to establish. 

You’ve flown in a C-17 Globemaster transport. What’s that like?
It’s amazing. It’s a powerful aircraft, even when full of cargo. You don’t have the same comforts as a commercial airliner, obviously, but sometimes there’s more legroom. It depends on where it’s going, but there’s usually more than one pilot. And we have loadmasters, the aircrew members who load the jet, a complex process. There’s also usually a maintenance crew member on board. No navigator is necessary.

Earlier this year, in New Mexico, you completed your fourth marathon honoring the victims of the Bataan Death March during World War II. Why do you do it?
The 65-mile death march is part of our history; it was terrible. We don’t go through the same hardships in a 26.2-mile marathon, but it’s good to be reminded of the blessings and freedoms we enjoy by honoring the sacrifices of those who came before us. I did it the first three times 15 years ago. When I made chief, I wanted to go back for the fourth, representing my two squadrons. I had their patches on my camelback; there’s some pride in that. We run it in full uniform and boots. I had researched the best socks for hours, but halfway through the race, I couldn’t feel my feet. It’s just a struggle. About 5,000 people participated, mostly military. It was emotional, because we did it together, which is a big part of what the military does. It’s the camaraderie, the teamwork, helping each other push through challenging situations.