Randi A. (Ringgenberg) Hill

Randi Ringgenberg graduated from MHS in 1993.

2005 information
Randi, daughter of Don and Lana Ringgenberg, entered Active Duty Air Force on September 2, 1993. She completed basic training at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas, and graduated from Pharmacy Tech School at Shepard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas.
She was then assigned to the 22nd Air Mobility Command in Wichita, Kansas. In 1995, Randi transferred to the 184th Air Combat Command, a unit of the Kansas Air National Guard, so that she could attend college full-time. She was assigned to the 184th Medical Squadron as NCOIC of Pharmacy and also NCOIC of the Medical Readiness section. During her time with the Medical Squadron, she was sent to Honduras on a humanitarian assignment. She also was sent to Aviano Air Base, Italy, and volunteered as medical support for a NATO exercise in the Ukraine. In 2000, Randi became a recruiter for the Kansas Air National Guard. Randi completed three years in Recruiting and is now assigned to the Operations Squadron in Airfield Management at McConnell AFB. She passed her board and was promoted to the rank of Master Sergeant.

April 2003 information
Technical Sergeant Randi A. Hill E-6
Recruiter, Kansas Air National Guard
Stationed at McConnell AFB, KS.
Have been in the military for 9 years.
I'm considered to be in AGR status which means that I'm an Active Guardsman (full time) which is different than your "traditional" guardsman who only works one weekend a month.

I use to be dually tasked working as the NCOIC (Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge) of both the Pharmacy and Medical Readiness offices when I worked in the Medical Squadron. Now I'm assigned to the Military Personnel Flight as a recruiter.

My husband use to be in the Army Reserve where he was Military Police. He spent many months in the desert in support of Desert Storm/Desert Shield.
He has since gotten out of the Army Reserves and is a Detective on the Wichita Police Department in the Gang/Felony Assault section.

July 2000
The picture above is of a Ukrainian helicopter that Randi (in doorway) and some others rode in. There were 15 medical people from the Kansas Air National Guard that deployed to the Ukraine in support of a NATO exercise (war games) where over 15 countries were represented.
It was acutally an Army function, but we were there for medical support to treat both U.S. soliders and the NATO countries.
The Ukranians were seen by their own medical people. We had been out in the field and were asked if we wanted to ride to a pickup location in one of their medical helicopters. So, we said we would.

It was probably one of the scariest rides I've been in (and I like rollercoasters, etc).
When you got inside the helicopter, they had a big gas tank on the inside that looked pretty banged up. Next to the big gas tank were about 3 stretchers hanging from the ceiling where you would load patients if you had any. There were really no seats so we had to sort of squat down in the helicopter and the pilot flew very close to the ground.

The picture above shows the 82nd Airborne which is located in North Carolina.
This was one of the last days of the exercise in the Ukraine. They had flown from Fayetteville, NC to the Ukraine in 3 planes.
They didn't stop at all and the flight is very long...way over a 12 hour trip. Anyway, first the Ukrainians dropped. They drop their soldiers pretty high in the sky and it takes them a little while to get to the ground.
After they were done, the 82nd Airborne dropped and I was shocked because they drop their people so low to the ground that it doesn't take you very long where you can actually see their faces. Obviously, the lower to the ground that you are dropped, the better chances not to be a target if you are being shot at. We were there as medical support if anyone hurt themselves. We only had to see one U.S. soldier who had a sprained ankle and he seemed pretty upset that he got it...seemed ashamed of himself. I was surprised that was all that happened. I think I had also heard where one soldier had "burned his gun" as they call it. He had dropped his gun during the drop.
They weren't happy about that, either.

Once they landed, they hiked to where they set up their own camp. I was very impressed with them as the flight alone would make one so tired (no flight attendants and probably sitting in jump seats) and then to have just a few seconds to get yourself on the ground, to walk several miles to where you're going to build camp, and then to set up in the field would just be tiresome.

(May 16, 2002 --- date of information)

I enlisted into Active Duty Air Force in 1993 after graduating from high school. After Basic Training, I was sent to Shepard AFB, TX. for my technical school where I learned how to be a pharmacy tech. From there, I was sent to McConnell AFB, KS where I worked as a pharmacy tech. I then transferred to the Kansas Air National Guard where I was the only pharmacy tech.
The second month in the Guard, I went to Honduras on a humanitarian assignment. That was a great humbling experience and probably a life changer for me to realize how great this country is.
Every day we would travel in military vehicles to a remote area in the mountains and give health care for as long as we could. I was the only pharmacy person and had to have my own Honduran soldier who was fully armed to guard me and the supplies as they would have stolen them if they could. Everyone there would receive a drug of some kind. It was an experience just traveling to and from these areas as we had rocks hurled at us, we had to travel through rivers because bridges would be out and no means of detour, and there were really not any paved roads.

I then took on a second duty with the Guard as being the NCOIC of Medical Readiness and NCOIC of Pharmacy. Medical Readiness is where you make sure all the medical folks are fully trained so they can be mobilized at any moment. So, I worked as a traditional Guardsman (one weekend a month, etc) for seven years.

Just a few months ago, I was chosen to be a recruiter for the Kansas Air National Guard. This is a full time position again. I went back to Lackland AFB, TX for school and have been recruiting since.

I currently am a SSgt (E-5) and should be putting on TSgt (E-6) within the next few months.
Randi Ringgenberg