Veterans Among Us: Madeline Gardiner
Citizen soldiers have been a part of America’s military history in Ohio since the Northwest Territory Militia was formed in Marietta, Ohio in 1788. This group evolved through subsequent centuries to become the Ohio National Guard. National Guard units have proudly served in every conflict from the American Revolution through today’s deployments around the world.
The Ohio National Guard is one of the nation’s oldest military organizations. Currently, Ohio is served by both the Army and Air National Guard (ANG) units headquartered at various installations throughout the state. Ohio’s ANG units are composed of approximately 18 percent women.
Nationally, this percentage of female airmen is approximately 21 percent. Men and women in all of the guard learn how to balance their civilian life with military service. Navy Admiral Michelle J. Howard was quoted as saying “Women have always been an integral part of the military, and their contributions should never be underestimated.”
My friend, Mady Gardiner, music education major at Miami, sat with me to talk about her mission of service.
As a Miami student, she proudly dons her ANG uniform once a month when she drives to Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base (ANGB) in Columbus, Ohio. Rickenbacker is home to the ANG 121st Air Refueling Wing.
“I knew that I wanted to help people since I was ten years old,” she said. “My step father, Randy, was first in the Air National Guard… My Uncle Bob is in the Air National Guard.”
Gardiner shared that she has been around uniformed people her whole life.
“Randy had the honor of swearing me into the Guard when I enlisted at 17. I was the first in my family to ever do this,” she added. “It was the first adult decision that I have ever made. Up until that moment I felt like a kid. The day I signed my papers, I was no longer a kid.”
I asked Mady how her life was changed by this decision.
“Well, basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas put me in the company of fifty other women between the ages of 17 and 35,” she said. “I was not used to every day beginning at 5 a.m.”
After Lackland, she went to Keesler Airforce Base in Biloxi, Mississippi.
“I graduated from training at Keesler with my AFSC in HR/Administration,” she said.
Mady is currently a part of the Mission Support Groups Commander’s Support Staff at Rickenbacker as a Senior Airman. Her immediate superiors are all women who are master sergeants, staff sergeants and senior airmen. In her college life, she has been on Miami’s dean’s list every semester since she came to Oxford. Her lyrical soprano voice is part of the Miami Choraliers and Just Duet, a competitive a capella student singing group at Miami.
Her musical talent has been a very emotional part of her military service. Her stepfather, Randy, was selected by the Air Force Reserves for promotion to colonel in early 2026. Randy asked Mady if she would sing the National Anthem at his promotion ceremony. All of Randy’s children and his stepchildren participated in the ceremony.
I asked Mady for a reflection on what being in the service has meant to her. Her response was one that many in the veteran community would understand.
“It has given me the confidence to do things I would not ordinarily do,” she said. “It has allowed me to take control of my life for a better purpose.”
In 2008, retired Army General Ann E. Dunwoody became the first woman in U.S. military history to achieve the rank of 4-star General. She once said, “It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman. What matters is your determination and passion to protect your country.” I think General Dunwoody was speaking directly to Mady Gardiner and all the other women in the military.
Lee Fisher is a Miami graduate, resident of Oxford, Ohio and a Vietnam War Veteran.
