By Kalin Krohe, Panhandle Post
The Honey Bear Preschool students and their teacher in Alliance helped salute a local military veteran who will be deploying overseas to the middle east.
Alliance resident Raquel Oligmueller is in the Army National Guard as an A-6 Staff Sergeant and Section Leader. She's with the 192nd Military Police Company based out of Omaha.
Honey Bear Preschool teacher Sara Hicks thought it would be a fun idea to salute Oligmueller and help her students get a better idea of what happens in the military.
"Since I have her daughter in preschool I thought it would be nice to involve her class and let them learn about being a soldier and what it means to leave," said Hicks. "We're also doing a going away party for her and we just want to send Raquel off really nicely and let her know she has a community supporting her and her family."
Oligmueller said she'll be leaving for a training site in a few weeks and then getting deployed to the middle east in about a month.
"My daughter goes to Honey Bear Preschool and Sara and I have been best friends since we were little," said Oligmueller. "It's bittersweet that she's doing this for me. We are trying to just help little kids understand what it means when someone goes away and why they have to go away for so long. That's been the most different part about this whole process for me and especially just for my family. I have three children. We're going to read a book [My Mommy is a Hero in Uniform]. I'll be in uniform so they can kind of see what I'll be wearing on a daily basis. Then we're going to talk about my job and just help the other little kids to understand there are people who have to be away. There's another little girl there whose father is a police officer and he's also in the National Guard. He is helping with security."
Feb. 2 is Oligmueller's 17th anniversary of serving in the Army National Guard.
"It is definitely an accomplishment," added Oligmueller. "It started out as a part-time job. One weekend a month, two weeks a year...and its steadily grown to occupy more of my time. It requires a lot. You have to be gone a lot more. It may just be one weekend or it may be a four or five day weekend. It's longer than just two weeks out of the summer. We are constantly training and your role as you get promoted...constantly requires more of you. But, I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm ready...I'm ready for that."
Oligmueller is filled with a lot of pride serving the United States of America.
"I am just filled with so much pride that we as a nation can come together," said Oligmueller. "When we put that uniform on it doesn't matter what we personally believe, our mission is always first. Why we're doing it and who we're doing it for, that's always the forefront of every mission. It doesn't matter if you believe this and I believe that, it's whatever the mission is, that comes first. Just being able to collectively come together from diverse back rounds and just different demographics...it's been quite interesting. I'm just filled with pride. It's not something that I want to do by any means. I don't want to leave my family, but the fact that we can be a part of something and be a part of a family...and do our part by serving our country...it's pretty amazing."
Oligmueller stated that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is affecting her deployment.
"We will have to quarantine at different locations once we get there." Oligmueller added. "We're not really sure what that is going to look like, but it will impact our travels and our mission. But we are prepared for that and we've been dealing with it for the past year. We've been offered the opportunity to receive the vaccine so a group of us have and we'll get the second one a little bit later. We're all doing our part. I think I can speak for all the people who serve, but it really takes an amazing amount of support from your close friends, your close family, but also the community. "
Oligmueller is so thankful that she has a lot of support in Alliance.
"Not only do I have amazing friends like Sara who are always willing to do anything...her and my other great friend Ashley...they're always willing to help with the kids...or anything when I'm away...making meals and everything," said Oligmueller. "My family has always been a huge support, but my co-workers, this community, teachers, staff members, just everyone...they're always willing to help. It means more to me than anything that they will be there for my family when I'm away."
