CPT Micala Christie Hicks-Siler Oral History

title:

CPT Micala Christie Hicks-Siler Oral History

creator:

Hicks-Siler, Micala "Mickie" Christie (1978 December 19 - 2020 September 30)

subject:

US Military Academy (USMA) | Army

description:

Mickie Hicks-Siler was born on December 19, 1978 in Iowa City, Iowa, and grew up in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. She grew up with four younger brothers and sisters, and when she was about 13 years old her family also began fostering kids, adopting two of them. Although her family didn’t have a history of military service, five of her six siblings were in or considering the Army and ROTC programs as of the interview. Although she ended up attending West Point, she didn’t know or look into the military aspects of the school until she was starting the application process. She enrolled at West Point in 1997, and found that she had a rather easy time buying into the values the school instilled, even without being familiar with the military elements of the school before applying. While completing Sapper school as a cadet, she found that the team camaraderie is what helped her most through the physical and mental stress the program puts everyone through. Not only did she not want to let herself down, but she didn’t want to let the people around her down either. She graduated and was commissioned into the Army in June 2001. While she was in school, the likely timeline of their service was laid out as serving in a couple locations for a few years and maybe deploying on a humanitarian mission, but that all changed after the attacks on 9/11. Her first deployment was to Korea, with the mission of supporting the 2nd Infantry Division, completing maintenance repairs on all of their large equipment. Next, she was deployed to Iraq from September 2003 to March 2004, where she was a platoon leader. As of the interview, Mickie was in Jumpmaster School, about 6 jumps away from getting her wings. She is frustrated by some of the limitations placed on women in the military. She was hoping it would be possible for her to transfer to the Air Force and become a Para-Rescuer, but that position was closed off to women as of the interview. More broadly, she doesn’t understand why women should be barred from roles when they are often in combat, whether they want it or not, while deployed. As of the interview, Mickie had reached the rank of captain. After the interview, she met her husband at Fort Lewis, married in 2009, and left the service shortly thereafter. They had four daughters together, and she worked as the executive director of an international NGO facilitating adoptions of orphans by families in their home countries. She passed away on September 30, 2020. A transcript of this interview is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Scott, Kate

date:

2005-01-21

type:

Moving Image

format:

Hi-8

identifier:

428; 2005.428

source:

OHP | IMES

language:

English

relation:

597879

coverage:

Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)—2001-2014| Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq)—2003-2011 | 1997-2001 | 2001-2009

rights:

Unrestricted