WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) is commemorating Women’s History Month by recognizing the service and sacrifice of a pair of Arkansas women who served in uniform in a special two-part edition of his series ‘Salute to Veterans.’

This month, Boozman is highlighting Air Force veterans Jami Huisjen Scott of Mountain Home and Elesha Granniss of Flippin.

Jami Huisjen Scott had an interest in electronics and “after basic, I got one of the top two jobs that I asked for. I was assigned to avionic navigation systems.” After technical training at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi she was assigned to Little Rock Air Force Base.

Initially, she was disappointed because she hoped to be stationed overseas so she could travel, but she learned there were opportunities for her to do that while at LRAFB. “They do a lot of temporary duty assignments, so as it turned out I did get to spend three months in England,” and elsewhere, she said.

Scott is active in the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and Service Sisters and she continues her advocacy in support of women veterans.

Learn more about her memories in uniform here. 

Elesha Granniss has a family history of military service, but she was inspired to serve in uniform after the tragic death of a close friend who had enlisted in the Army and was days away from beginning his service.

She enlisted in the Air Force hoping it would open doors for travel, but her first assignment was somewhere familiar. “I wanted to see the world and I got stationed at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama - three hours away from home,” Granniss laughed.

During more than 17 years in uniform, she was able to live in and experience a number of locations across the U.S. and the world during deployments to Saudi Arabia and Iraq. She fondly recalls her time in the military where she was committed to looking out for the individuals she was in charge of. “I mentored, and I looked out for my people. I felt that was what my job was, to be an expert in my field,” Granniss said “and look out for them.”

Granniss continues her service as an Arkansas Department of Veteran Affairs District Veterans Service Officer and Arkansas Women Veterans Coordinator.

Learn more about her memories of service here.

Boozman will submit the interviews with Scott and Granniss to the Veterans History Project, an initiative of the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center to collect and retain the oral histories of our nation’s veterans.