News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A Cookeville High School graduate has become the first Upper Cumberland resident to be accepted into the United States Space Force.
Eighteen-year-old Chasidy Fly was accepted into the nation’s newest military branch. Fly said she is most excited for the opportunity to expand her education and represent her hometown.
“Ultimately, I think that just being from a small town like Cookeville and doing something as cool as this is, it is really shocking for me, because it was definitely not expected,” Fly said “But, you are very proud of yourself when you do something big like this.”
Fly said she comes from a military background but did not intend to continue that trend. Fly said she originally wanted to go into the medical field but that changed after she heard the benefits of joining. Fly is now in the Delayed Entry Program waiting for a shipping date.
“I looked into to it, and I decided I wanted to do Air Force,” Fly said. “Mainly because I think that the Air Force has awesome opportunities for education, and that is mainly my whole thing, because I want to further my education as much as I can without putting my family into debt. So, that was a big reason.”
Space Force falls under the umbrella of the Air Force. United States Air & Space Force Recruiter Master Sergeant Derrick Childress said he first started recruiting Fly last year based on her academic success. Childress said becoming a part of Space Force is very challenging and is a great accomplishment.
“The Air Force has always been one of the hardest branches of the Air Force to qualify for, and Space Force is even harder than the Air Force,” Childress said. “One of the biggest criteria is really just doing well on our academic test, so you have to be really smart.”
Fly said she could not have achieved this without the help of her family and past teachers. Space Force was created in 2019 by President Donald Trump to protect American interest in space.
