Alison Hestermann Captain (Sep.) Alison Hestermann entered the Air Force after graduating from Colorado State University in May 2006. She earned her commission through the university’s Reserve Officer Training Corps program. “When I was in high school I knew I was called to serve,” she said about her decision to join. “That’s where my true talents lie; my calling is to serve others.” As a newly commissioned lieutenant, she served as an aerospace and operational physiologist—a role in which she educated Airmen on the physiological effects of working in different environments. During her time in the Air Force, Hestermann was assigned to Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas, and Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. At both locations she served in her primary field as a physiologist, and culminated her career working as the executive officer for the 18th Wing commander at Kadena. After separating from the Air Force in 2012, Hestermann continues to share her knowledge and help others through fitness in her Crossfit gym that she owns with her husband in Brookings, S.D.