UTAPAO, THAILAND –
For Lt. Misheleialoha Morrison, information operations officer for the 156th Information Operations Battalion, being in the Washington Army National Guard requires more air travel than the average person.
“I currently live in between Hawaii and Virginia,” explained Morrison. “I’m traveling back and forth right now. My husband is active duty, so he’s stationed in Virginia, but my older girl is in Hawaii at the moment.”
Mother to two daughters, Morrison said the decision to join the National Guard in 2016 was prompted by curiosity and some sibling interest.
“I initially joined because I wanted to try something different,” Morrison said. “I was curious what being in the Army felt like. I actually have siblings who are active duty as well, so I did learn from their experiences, and that sort of piqued my interest. We’re definitely a first generation of military servicemembers.”
Morrison is participating in joint exercise Cobra Gold 2024, taking place from Feb. 27 to March 8, 2024. During the exercise, her role is as part of the multi-national forces, running current operations in the joint operations center. She said the opportunity to gain knowledge she wouldn’t find during a typical drill environment has been invaluable.
“It’s definitely a lot of learning that I’m able to do here,” Morrison explained. “I would say much more than, of course, we’re able to get in garrison, so overall I think it’s a great opportunity to learn something different.”
While she lives between Virginia and Hawaii, Morrison, a middle school educator in her civilian life, made the intentional decision to stay with the Washington National Guard for her drill commitments. She said the movement back and forth across the country is worth it to be with an organization she believes in, doing a job she loves.
“I actually wanted to do information operations, and I really wanted to stay within the Washington Army National Guard organization,” said Morrison. “With my husband being active duty, it’s not always the easiest thing to transfer to different states, so I really just found a place in the Washington Army National Guard. It feels like home and I really just enjoy the organization as a whole.”