Photo By Monica Wood | Capt. Vira Miller, Fires Center of Excellence Public Affairs Office intern, runs a...... read more read more
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FORT SILL, Oklahoma – Her country was once part of Russia, claimed its independence 31 years ago and is now fighting to keep it — while she wears the uniform of a Field Artillery officer in the United States Army.
Capt. Vira Miller was born in Chernihiv, Ukraine, which was then part of the USSR. She was young when Ukraine declared its independence from Russia in 1991. During her senior year in college, Miller learned of an opportunity to come to the United States for a one-year internship to use her major in tourism management and hospitality in 2011.
“They found me an internship at a hotel not far from Fort Lee, Virginia,” Miller remembered. “And I was introduced to the United States Army on my first day in America and I just became very curious about it.”
Miller said she saw a female Army staff sergeant in a dress uniform at the hotel desk and thought, “I want to do that, she looks so cool,” but thought she would never have the chance because her internship only lasted a year.
But fate stepped in.
“I met a man, got married and that’s how I obtained my Green-Card, then my citizenship,” she said. “He was also in the Army, and I was jealous that he was and I wasn’t.”
After the marriage ended, Miller decided to follow her dream and was soon accepted to the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School in 2017.
“It wasn’t an easy ride. I questioned myself a lot,” Miller said. “I questioned if I was a good officer, if I’m a good artillery-woman, but I kept going, no matter what.”
Her last duty before heading the Field Artillery Captain Career Course was as a Unit Public Affairs Representative for 1st Battalion, 19th Field Artillery, 434th Field Artillery Brigade, a basic training unit. She was charged with taking photos and writing stories about her unit.
In the process, she became enamored with public affairs and did a six-month “internship” with the Fires Center of Excellence Public Affairs Office.
“My Army career has been weird,” she said, her Ukrainian accent still discernable. “I came in wanting to do one thing [Logistician], the Army made me a field artillery officer and now I’m reclassifying to public affairs.”
Miller watched news reports and saw footage of her hometown of Chernihiv, and waited for word from family. It took more than week, but she finally learned her immediate family was unharmed.
“I joined the U.S. Army in 2017 to fight for my new country. But now, I can’t go back and fight for my family in my old country,” chuckled Miller. “Maybe, in the distant future, after I’m retired, I can go back and help them rebuild.”
| Date Taken: | 09.30.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2022 14:16 |
| Story ID: | 430488 |
| Location: | FORT SILL, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 72 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, From Ukraine to the U.S. Army and beyond, by Keith Pannell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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