{"id":234309,"date":"2024-07-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=234309"},"modified":"2024-07-24T21:34:51","modified_gmt":"2024-07-24T21:34:51","slug":"drill-sergeant-proud-to-serve-play-rugby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=234309","title":{"rendered":"Drill sergeant proud to serve, play rugby"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Army Staff Sgt. Erica Myers fends off a tackle during the 2024 Armed Forces Women\u2019s Rugby Championships in San Diego, Calif. July 12, 2024. (DoD photo by EJ Hersom)
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Army News Service<\/p>\n

SAN DIEGO \u2013 Shaking, adrenaline pumping, the excited staff sergeant runs in to congratulate her fellow Soldiers as Army wins gold at the Armed Services Women\u2019s Rugby Championship here at Nobel Field in San Diego July 13.<\/p>\n

For Staff Sgt. Erica Myers, it was another proud moment for her to represent the Army and serve her country.<\/p>\n

She was named the female Army Athlete of the Year in 2021.<\/p>\n

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\n Staff Sgt. Erica Myers, the reigning female All Army Athlete of the Year, Military Police Officer and an Operations Advisor with 3rd Squadron, 5th Security Force Assistance Brigade, was featured in a Salute to Service game at Lumen Field in Seattle during the Seattle Seahawks\/Arizona Cardinals game, Nov, 21, 2021.<\/p>\n

This year’s Salute to Service game featured female service members from the Navy, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard and the Marine Corps.
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Family tradition<\/strong><\/p>\n

Her great uncle served in the Army in World War II, her great grandfather, grandfather, uncle and father all served in the Army.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family has been in the military for a long time,\u201d the Beaumont, Texas, native said proudly. \u201cEverybody\u2019s Army. We\u2019ve been in conflicts such as World War II, the Persian Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myers, a military police noncommissioned officer (NCO), volunteered for drill sergeant duty. Upon successfully completing the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy, Myers now instructs the next generation of Soldiers at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.<\/p>\n

\u201cI start out with tough love but as time goes on, I treat them like my own kids, because it\u2019s important to remember yes, we\u2019re Soldiers, but we\u2019re people,\u201d she said. \u201cI get an amazing result. There\u2019s no better job in the Army.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Staff Sgt. Erica Myers, an Operations Advisor with 5th Security Force Assistance Brigade, mentors a Soldier from 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Nov. 10, 2020 during Joint Readiness Training Center Rotation 21-2 at Fort Polk, Louisiana. The rotation featured opportunities for SFAB Advisors to Advise, Support, Liaise and Assess from the Brigade down to Platoon level with 1-2 SBCT.
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She said she loves seeing them graduate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing compared to the way it feels when somebody\u2019s mom comes up to you on graduation day and tells you the positive comments your Soldiers were telling them about you,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome to hear parents tell you that you made an impact on their children\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

She encourages the younger generation to consider joining the Army.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the day I joined the Army 13 years ago, I haven\u2019t had to worry about food in my mouth, clothes on my back or a roof over my head,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen some of the most beautiful places in the world. I\u2019ve met some of the most amazing people in the world. It\u2019s something I would choose a thousand times over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rugby<\/strong><\/p>\n

Throughout high school in Beaumont, Texas, Myers played softball, and basketball, and ran track and cross country. She went to state nationals her freshman year for basketball.<\/p>\n

While stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, she found out about rugby.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know anything about rugby,\u201d she said. \u201cNobody knows about it until you go out and try it. I was a young private wanting to get out of the barracks. I was a natural.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Army Staff Sgt. Erica Myers passes the footie during the 2024 Armed Forces Women\u2019s Rugby Championships in San Diego, Calif. July 12, 2024. (DoD photo by EJ Hersom)
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Almost 11 years later, she\u2019s helping Army win gold at the Armed Services championship or competing in the 7s tournaments.<\/p>\n

As one of the rugby team\u2019s forwards, Myer\u2019s said, \u201cI play hooker because I\u2019m sturdy, strong and retain possession of the ball. I\u2019m in the middle of the scrum. I use my foot to hook the ball back to our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the rugby team is like a family.<\/p>\n

Staff Sgt. Lo Galdones, an Army visual information specialist assigned to Fort Liberty, North Carolina, said Myers saved her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s my best friend,\u201d Galdones said. \u201cShe saved my life. There were moments when I was battling with my mental health. I called my mom, and she told me to call Erica. She always has my back through anything. I would face whatever adversary we have one-on-one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myers said Armed Forces sports brings cohesion across the services.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have friends on the Air Force team I have seen overseas,\u201d she said. Myers said the CISM International Military Sports Council motto is friendship through sports.<\/p>\n

She was on the US team comprised of female representatives from Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. They competed in the Netherlands against the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands and France last month. She said the facility where they played had every country\u2019s flag displayed.<\/p>\n

It was the first time in history that the Armed Services had a DoD women\u2019s rugby team at a NATO competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never had a moment in my life where I soaked up the moment, lived in that moment, enjoyed it so much and felt so privileged,\u201d she said emotionally. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to put into words. It was the most amazing feeling ever. The moment I stepped on the field with USA across my chest, I could have cried.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Army Staff Sgt. Erica Myers fends off a tackle during the 2024 Armed Forces Women\u2019s Rugby Championships in San Diego, Calif. July 12, 2024. (DoD photo by EJ Hersom) (Photo Credit: EJ Hersom) VIEW ORIGINAL Army News Service SAN DIEGO \u2013 Shaking, adrenaline pumping, the excited staff sergeant runs in to congratulate her fellow Soldiers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234311,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-234309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=234309"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":234316,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234309\/revisions\/234316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/234311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=234309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=234309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=234309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}