Veteran Salute: Breaking the glass ceiling stateside, volunteering to fight overseas

TOPEKA (KSNT) -Originally from Missouri, Master Sergeant Sherry Sunderman would find a love for the Sunflower State through her time at Forbes Field.

Throughout her 20 years of service in the Air National Guard, her leadership skills would be put to the test after volunteering to fight in the Gulf War.

Early on into her career with the 190th Air Refueling Wing, Sunderman worked directly with top officials.

“I worked in the Commander's Office for 5 of the base commanders," Sunderman said. "Commanders got to know my abilities and knew that they could always depend on me to do any job they wanted and do it well. So I did a major ramp project for civil engineering, I worked in the clinic, I worked in operations.” 

Following rising tensions between Iraq and Kuwait in the early 1990's, Sunderman's unit was gearing up for the fight ahead.

“I volunteered to go to war," she said. "It was for an unknown time, unspecified. I was on the first plane out of Forbes. Landed on the 10th of August, and the next day we were in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Not one thing was set up, there were no books to tell us what to do or anything.”     

Overseas, Sunderman had a great responsibility, being placed in charge of billeting.   

“For 4,500 troops, I’m in charge," Sunderman said. "I supervised five young active duty airmen from different bases.” 

Missing some key resources, Sunderman pushed for a much-needed computer based locator service.

“We had air crews stationed somewhere else, we had so many people on the compound," she said. "With guard and reserve rotating in and out every two weeks, it was constant movement, and we had to be able to locate every single person at any point in time.”     

Alongside some computer savvy soldiers, Sunderman worked around the clock for six weeks straight making that program operational.  

After Desert Shield and Storm came to a close, Sunderman took on a unique challenge stateside.

“I would form the first all women’s VFW post anywhere, here in Topeka," Sunderman said. "I was commander of that, and was actually chosen All-American Post Commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The only woman in the state of Kansas who’s ever made All-American."

Reflecting on her military accomplishments across the decades, the Master Sgt. encourages others to push themselves wherever possible.

“I totally believe in stepping outside of your box," Sunderman said, "don’t be afraid to reach out there and do all you can in this world. Make your mark, do as much as you can to make a difference.”   

Towards the end of her military career, Sunderman served on a federal advisory committee on women veterans in Washington D.C.

Even now in retirement, she continues to support fellow veterans anyway she can, approaching over three decades as a lifelong member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.