Helen SHAW

U.S. AIR FORCE

RANK: SENIOR AIRMAN

YEARS: 1988-1992

PLACE SERVED: GULF WAR

Citizens Bank

Vice President of Corporate Security and Facilities Manager

BATESVILLE

Helen Shaw had a decision to make when it came to her first career path. College was an option, but the free-spirited woman wanted to travel. One person that she greatly admired, her father Ancel Burns, spent a lifetime in the Army and the Arkansas National Guard.

His dedication to the country inspired Shaw to join the Air Force. She served for four years and even did a combat tour during the first Gulf War. She rose to the rank of a senior airman before she was discharged.

“Basic training was tough,” she said. “But the real challenge began when I started in my career field weeks later. It was not fun.”

Shaw was stationed in Saudi Arabia about 50 miles from the border with Iraq. The culture in the country was very different,