At 23, Sgt. Jamiell Goforth has accomplished enough for a lifetime.
Once heralded as a phenomenal performance artist, the Seattle native swapped her dance slippers for Army boots after graduating high school and enlisting in the Army in 2004 as a combat medic.
Since trading the spotlight for the trenches, Goforth, a 2002 Summit K-12 Alternative School graduate, has hardly lost her step. In just three short years after enlisting, she's already made the history books, taking home one of the U.S. Armed Forces' highest honors: Forces Command (FORSCOM) Soldier of the Year.
NUMEROUS HONORS
On Aug. 3, Goforth won the award after six grueling days of testing and two full months of training, making her the first top female soldier in an 11-installation community of nearly 250,000 soldiers nationwide.
The honor also came on the heels of an Expert Field Medical Badge and her promotion to the rank of sergeant in her 404th Aviation Battalion, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division - all of which she was awarded just this summer.
"It's such a huge honor to be representing all of the FORSCOM soldiers," Goforth said, noting that after the competition, she was astounded to discover that she was the first female solider to receive the honor. "It goes to show that anyone is capable of achieving anything. It was such a great day for women in the service."
Goforth and nearly 20 other soldiers from Fort Carson, Colo.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; Fort Stewart, Ga.; Fort Lewis; and other bases took part in the FORSCOM competition. The group completed a number of drills and tasks, including hand-to-hand combat, written exams, land navigation and a 12-mile march.
The honor instantly became a symbol of the many rewards she has collected since choosing her career path. After spending one year in Iraq and a few weeks volunteering in a post-Katrina Louisiana, she spent nearly six months on the trail of her FORSCOM award - eventually leading her to Virginia to compete for the Department of the Army (DA) Soldier of the Year award.
Though she finished second in the DA competition in early October, her successes have catapulted her into chasing perhaps her highest personal goal: pursuing her nursing degree at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor in northern Texas, near Fort Hood, where she is stationed.
HAVING A PURPOSE
After graduating high school, Goforth almost immediately chose to enlist in the Army, serving as a health-care specialist to Army physicians. For her, the choice was obvious after her stepfather's World Trade Center office was among those to fall during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Though her stepfather was traveling that particular Tuesday morning, Goforth said the event rang as somewhat of a calling to her.
"To feel like I am a part of something much bigger than me is an incredible feeling," she said from her campus home in Belton, Texas. "I just realized that there are people out in this world who are trying to hurt us. I wanted to feel like I had a purpose."
It's that very feeling that has kept her spirits high and intact while on active duty in Iraq - an experience she likens to living a life chock-full of Mondays.
"[In Iraq] I realized how grateful all of us should be," she said, recalling her daily 12-hour shifts both in base clinic and on guard duty. "We never had anyone die on our table, and it was such a great feeling knowing that the soldiers I helped could go home and see their families, after bypassing death."
Though Goforth's optimism kept her free of fear while in Iraq, those back at home were not so much at ease.
"I'm worried about everyone's children over there," said her mother, Julia Goforth, who lives in Lake City, though admitting she was a lot more worried about her daughter in retrospect. "However, I think the experience gave her usefulness and empowerment. I think that really lacks for children these days. Everything she was doing really mattered, and that has changed her forever."
THE NEXT DEPLOYMENT
During the last six months, Goforth admits she has had no time to reflect on all of her accomplishments. She hopes to take it all in next month, when she is deployed on a well-deserved vacation.
"Right now, I'm just focused on getting my degree," she said, laughing. "But I might get a little time to think in Jamaica."
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