Veterans’ Day is celebrated each year on Nov.11th. It aims to honor those who have previously served in the military. It honors those who sacrificed everything to make our country what it is today.  

Skyler Littlecreek is a current SMSU student and U.S. Navy Veteran. She’s an English major hoping to work as a Librarian. She served for 4 years in a combat command before she was injured and moved to a hospital, where she had a job making security badges. 

Littlecreek suffered a spinal injury, which resulted in pinched nerves in her neck and shoulders. The permanent nerve damage from this injury has led to an official diagnosis of Tourette’s Syndrome and has impacted her life through vocal and motor tics. 

When asked about some of the highlights and challenges she faced during active duty, Skyler shared that it was stressful, but also rewarding. She mentioned being away from her family as a major challenge and said, “My shipmates took their place, so that the junior sailors never felt alone.” She was happy to be able to rely on the strength of others in her unit to get through the hard times she faced while serving.  

A key thing that the military taught her was that she really likes following rules and having structure. She mentioned, “Having structure benefits everyone. If we lived in a world without it, it would be chaos.” She was able to find comfort in the routine, which helped her be resilient to things that came up later. This was crucial to surviving in that environment.   

One interesting story she shared about her time in Spain on deployment was that they adopted a black and white kitten who they named Sir Panda. 

She was also photographed by a 50 cal., which was used to promote women in the military. This led to a photo shoot in the Suez Canal while on lookout. 

She also describes some amazing BBQs. “The Navy is like your family, so my command did what they could so we wouldn’t feel lonely. We did lots of activities while deployed if we weren’t on a mission, but that was because we would train for 12 hours a day. They didn’t want us to get burnt out. Mental health is important.” 

Skyler shared information that she thinks is important for helping veterans get through being away from their loved ones. She talked about staying strong and not letting other people get you down. She also talked about documenting everything medically, so that you get the right services.   

Some advice she gives to people who have family in the military is to “try and keep in touch the best they can but also understand that the calls or letters may go unanswered. The service member may not be able to tell you everything they are doing.” She also recommends sending care packages because sometimes getting a little piece of something from home can keep them grounded and remind them of why they made the sacrifice to serve.   

Many people don’t realize how hard it is to serve our country, but the people who serve make a difference. Our country is what it is because of the many men and women who serve and have served. This interview with Skyler gave insight into what her experience was like during her service. 

On this special day, please honor those who have made a great difference in our country so we can keep the freedoms that we have today.