EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – There was no light in the pit, only darkness.
In late 2017, Staff Sgt. Kimberly Hall was at the lowest point in her life and then-eight-year Air Force career. A demanding job and an overwhelming workload with no end in sight put her so deep at the bottom of that black pit. When she faced the question of suicide, she was undecided.
Thankfully, the light at the end of the tunnel was in near sight and five years later, Staff Sgt. Hall, 96th Test Wing Chapel, religious affairs, is a light for others. Now she uses the experiences and lessons of her traumatic past to help others with resiliency.
The 96th TW and Air Force Test Center recently awarded her efforts, particularly during COVID-19, with their 2021 Lance P. Sijan Leadership Award. Now at 13 years in the Air Force and with a new assignment looming, Hall reflected on how she got here.
Hall followed her mother’s footsteps into the military and began her career in 2009 as an administrator at Kadena Air Base, Japan. While there, she earned the early promotion known as Senior Airman Below-the-Zone.
The Alabama and Georgia native moved to Kirtland AFB, New Mexico in 2012.
Hall’s Air Force career flight path hit a rough patch in 2014. She made a bad decision to falsify a government document that resulted in her receiving an Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
“It was a horrible mistake,” said Hall.
“The complications of life caught up with me, and I forgot what was important. I did not think of the consequences.”
Hall received a reduction in pay and a suspended reduction in rank. She said she expected to lose her career, but her leadership told her that with a lot of effort she could bounce back.
In 2015, she deployed to Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan. Hall said she and her leadership saw it as an opportunity to refocus her Air Force career.
During that deployment though, Hall endured a 26-hour ground attack where she found herself sitting for some of that time alone in a bunker surrounded by explosions and alarms.
“It was a really scary situation,” she recalled.
“But I was ready to defend my country if that’s what was needed.”
After the deployment, came another move, this time to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland at the Air Force Legal Operations Agency. As an administrator, Hall could be plugged into many different commander’s programs, such as security or records management, awards, training, etc.
At AFLOA, she became the agency’s deployment manager for more than 900 Airmen at 76 different worldwide locations.
The demanding position pushed Hall to the point of overwhelming. After 1.5 years, she said she’d reached her tipping point and wanted to switch positions. She was told she couldn’t leave the position because there weren’t any other assignments available.
Hall said she felt trapped and so overwhelmed, she clicked the option on her computer to begin the process to separate from the Air Force. For some reason, however, it did not go through.
“I kept asking my supervisor, have you received my separation notification yet,” said Hall.
It was during this time when she said she felt that she could not escape, and that dark pit closed around her.
Her first sergeant and the commander’s executive officer recognized the situation and got her help. One of the helping recommendations was to consider finding a church home. Hall, who grew up in the Christian faith, had not attended in a while.
She said she remembered one of the messages she heard upon her return was that of ‘Let There Be Light,’ from Matthew 5: 1-16.
“That message really resonated with me,” she said. “God wouldn’t bring me this far just to leave me.”
Hall began her climb toward the light in 2018. She faced a decision to accept another administrative assignment or retrain into religious affairs. She chose to retrain.
In 2019, she came to Eglin with a new job title and outlook. Hall said her leadership gave her every opportunity to excel from the first month of arriving.
Hall said with the new career field and support system behind her, she finally discovered where she belonged in the Air Force, calling it a natural fit. Then, 2020 happened.
While deployed to Qatar early that year, Hall fell off an all-terrain vehicle and broke her upper jaw, some teeth and suffered a traumatic brain injury. She was transferred to Germany for additional medical care and would not return to that deployment.
“It was hard to accept that I wouldn’t be returning to finish the job I started,” she said pausing to control her emotions.
“As soon as it happened, though, I was just surrounded by loving and caring people and lots of prayers.”
At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic began. She underwent surgeries, treatments, and recoveries under the heaviest COVID-19 protocols.
While recovering, she helped with a large-scale shift in focus to the chapel. With no groups or congregations allowed, they had to get creative to provide support during the strange and difficult time.
“We had very low manning, and we had to discover new ways to reach out to those in need,” said Hall of the effort.
Hall began leading resiliency retreats and crisis intervention counseling. She said she could call upon her own experiences during those sessions to better understand and communicate with others dealing with similar situations.
She was able to be the light in other Airmen’s darkness.
It was her efforts, leadership, and guidance that led Chief Master Sgt. Aaron Smith, Eglin’s religious affairs superintendent, to submit her for the Lance P. Sijan Award for the 96th Test Wing.
“She is an exceptional NCO in our Air Force,” he said.
“Despite the personal and professional challenges she’s endured, SSgt Hall’s resilience has not swayed. Her determination has driven her to positively impact the Team Eglin community. Her story of resilience is an inspiration to others.”
Hall said winning the award validates the work she continues to do and is a clear sign she is in the right place and on the right path.
Hall is currently studying hard to make technical sergeant in April. In July, she will PCS again to where her career started, back at Kadena AB, Japan.
This time, she will embed with the Air Force Special Operations Wing to provide spiritual care and leadership advisement.
By Samuel King, Jr.
