Gabbard dedicated over 20 years to military service before rising to the position of Intelligence Chief.
In 2003, while serving in the Hawaii State Legislature, Gabbard took her oath of enlistment into the Hawaii Army National Guard and completed nine weeks of basic training.
“In history, some generations have been given everything, and now in this generation where there’s a war on terrorism, I’m honored to have the opportunity to give something,” she remarked at the time. “I promise my constituents that my service to the military will not in any way get in the way of my serving them.”
Within a few months, she joined the 29th Brigade Combat Team as a rank specialist in a 29th Support Battalion medical company as an Army Reserve soldier.
“As a proud local girl, former state representative, and a soldier fighting against terrorism in Iraq, this was truly an honor and a treasured experience. I couldn’t ask for anything more,” she stated, according to The Honolulu Advertiser.
Throughout her military career, Gabbard, a combat veteran, completed three deployments to the Middle East and Africa. She was the first woman to receive an appreciation award from the Kuwaiti military for leading a Military Police platoon in Kuwait.
In 2007, she completed the Accelerated Officer Candidate School at Fort McClellan, Ala., and made history as the first woman in the academy’s 50-year history to be named distinguished honor graduate.
Additionally, she served as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka from 2007 to 2009.
Gabbard currently serves as the battalion commander of the 1-354 Regiment in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
