New ‘Shirt’ brings some daring

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Mike R. Smith
  • I.G. Brown Training and Education Center
MCGHEE TYSON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Tenn. --  Talk about situational awareness, following standards and calm professionalism, and Senior Master Sgt. Marcy Broadway's rather daring experiences have those valuable traits that are looked-for in a First Sergeant.

There are the 38 times that she jumped out of an airplane, sometimes packing the very essential parachute herself, sometimes trusting that others packed it correctly.

There are the times that she deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom, once as the minority of female, aircraft turbo-prop mechanics and another as the First Sergeant for an expeditionary unit.

And there are the times when she carved out race laps at a motorcycle track with her 998cc streetfighter.

At Summit Point race track in West Virginia, when Broadway took her first laps around the Shenandoah Circuit's 2.2 mile course of 22 turns and 20 degree banks - with a friend cheering her on - she throttled out some new-found motorcycle skills among a pack of mostly experienced male riders.

In June, Broadway took over as The I.G. Brown Training and Education Center's first sergeant from Master Sgt. Keith Cavanaugh. She worked previously in the National Capitol Region as the Air National Guard Readiness Center's 'Shirt.'

Anyone who knows Broadway - even those who sit down with her for just a moment - is not surprised at her diverse skills because she helps you understand them with the candidness and spirit of someone who's self-propelled.

Broadway said she was hooked on skydiving after only her second tandem jump. But when she purchased her own parachute, she knew that the advice she took from a friend - on how jumping overcomes a fear of heights - was spot on. Now she's licensed to jump thousands of feet to the ground on her own.

"It helps keep me centered, and it helps keep me focused as well," said Broadway.

Training, Broadway said, is critical to the growth and success of an enlisted service member as well as in hobbies like motorcycle riding and skydiving. She sees her new responsibility as an enlisted force manager here as a "great opportunity" that came from a culmination of smart choices.

She said that she hopes to impart a similar life-lesson while assigned. After all, first sergeants ensure a mission ready force and are responsible for the health, morale, welfare and conduct of all Airmen.

"It's refreshing," Broadway said about the opportunity.