Editor's note: This is part of a series of articles highlighting members of the 1035th Maintenance Company. A 1035th reunion is scheduled for 2-7 p.m. April 18 at American Legion Post 5 in Jefferson City.
Sharon Dixon Bostwick graduated in 1992 from Union College in Schenectady, New York, earning her degree in electrical engineering. The Brooklyn native explained that in the weeks that followed, a tight job market inspired a decision that carried her to Missouri for a number of years and resulted in an unanticipated military career.
"When I was at the unemployment office searching for work, I noticed an advertisement that said if I joined the National Guard, they could help with my student loans," she said. "I visited with a recruiter and enlisted in the summer of 1993 and shortly thereafter got a job."
Completing her basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in early 1994, she traveled to San Antonio, Texas, for schooling to become a medical specialist - a choice based upon a childhood interest in becoming a pediatrician.
"As part of the training, I became a national certified EMT (emergency medical technician)," Bostwick explained.
"Not only did I learn a number of basic medical procedures, I went through the Army medical specialist obstacle course where I and three other medics (in training) had to carry a patient over and through various obstacles. The entire time pyrotechnics were going off around us to simulate a combat environment," she added.
She returned to New York in the summer of 1994 and began drilling in Saratoga Springs with Company C, the medical support company of the 427th Forward Support Battalion of the New York National Guard. The following spring she was hired by Emerson Electric, a job that required a move to St. Louis.
"I believed I would find a unit as a medic, but the only slots the Missouri National Guard had were in Kansas City - and I didn't want to make that drive across the state for drills," she said. "A recruiter convinced me to convert to an administrative specialist and join the 1138th Engineer Battalion at Jefferson Barracks."
While training with the Missouri National Guard, leadership in her unit encouraged her to attend Officer Candidate School, which she went on to complete through the state's OCS program at Jefferson City. In the fall of 1998, she was commissioned as a second lieutenant.
She now had to make a decision as to what officer branch she wanted to serve with since she did not possess an interest in remaining part of the engineer branch.
"At the time, I was pursuing my MBA at Washington University and (David) Collier-Tenison was also attending classes while working on his MBA," she recalled. "He was commander of the 1035th Maintenance Company and told me they had a vacancy for a lieutenant."
Joining the 1035 Maintenance Company at Jefferson Barracks in late 1998, she went on to finish her Officer Basic Course at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, earning branch assignment as an ordnance officer.
"The unit fit the business model of my college studies with regard to manufacturing," Bostwick said. "It was really a hands-on unit since the soldiers repaired various engines and components for military equipment; it was a great fit."
Her tenure with the 1035th Maintenance Company included time with the company's detachment in Desoto while later serving as a platoon leader and maintenance control officer with the main company at Jefferson Barracks. In 2003, she received transfer to the 835th Corps Support Battalion in Jefferson City, becoming the administrative officer.
"I married in 2003 and was supposed to deploy with the 835th a short time later, but I remained with the rear detachment since I was pregnant with my first child," she said. "I returned to the 1035th in 2006 and spent the next year as the company commander."
In 2007, her husband was offered a job with General Motors in Detroit, so Bostwick made the move with her family and soon transferred to the Michigan National Guard. Initially serving with a military support group in Jackson, Michigan, she eventually joined the 1225th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, with whom she deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, in August 2010.
Prior to the deployment, Bostwick changed her military branch from logistics to military intelligence. During the year her battalion served overseas, they fulfilled the role of a command and control element for sustainment operations of several transportation units and a maintenance unit; specifically, Bostwick served as the S-2 officer (intelligence and security).
Shortly after returning from deployment in late 2011, she transferred to the 46th Military Police Command, which had recently returned from their own deployment to Afghanistan. She remained with command until November 2016, when she retired as a major with 23 years of service.
"Earlier that year (2016), I found out that I had torn soft tissue in my hip and ended up having surgery," she said. "The recovery was difficult, and I realized I didn't need to keep pushing myself. I knew it was time to retire."
Bostwick and her husband are the proud parents of two daughters and, since 2012, she has been employed as a contract administrator with the Defense Contracts Management Agency. Her military career, she recognizes, was an unexpected journey that came to fruition because of her service in the Missouri National Guard.
"When I first joined the National Guard in New York, I was going to do a six-by-two enlistment (six years as a drilling reservist and two years in an inactive status)," she said. "But when I transferred to the Missouri National Guard, they were very supportive and encouraged me to become an officer."
She added, "The 1035th was truly a blessing and was full of great people; I really felt as if we were making a difference in our own small way. The unit was very welcoming - I was a soldier and treated as part of the team."
Jeremy P. mick writes on behalf of the Silver Star Families of America.