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Lauren Campbell [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Afghan War, 2001-
  • Branch of Service: Air Force
  • Service Unit/Ship: 301st Rescue Squadron, 920ths Rescue Wing, 10th Air Force; Air Force Reserve
  • Location of Service: Patrick Air Force Base, Florida; Helmand Region, Afghanistan; Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/84473

View full service history

"I'm just doing my job--it's a difficult job and I love it, but I'm just doing my job." (Video interview 32:20)

Staff Sergeant Lauren Arnett Campbell joined the Air Force Reserves because she wanted to make a difference, pure and simple. She fulfilled this goal many times over during her deployment to Afghanistan, where she flew over 145 combat sorties with a helicopter rescue unit. In her oral history interview, she describes the grueling schedule she and her comrades faced, flying alternating twelve-hour shifts, and the accompanying challenges and rewards of her daily routine. She also details her experiences as the first female aerial gunner in the Air Force Reserves.

Interview / Recording

More Resources

Lauren Arnett Campbell Collection
Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Lauren Arnett Campbell Collection

Names

  • Messamore, Kyle
  • Campbell, Lauren Arnett
  • University of Central Florida, Special Collections & University Archives

Home State

  • Florida

Headings

  • -  Campbell, Lauren Arnett
  • -  Afghan War, 2001- -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Air Force.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Female

Race

  • American Indian and Alaskan Native

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Afghan War, 2001-

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Service Unit/Ship: 301st Rescue Squadron, 920ths Rescue Wing, 10th Air Force; Air Force Reserve
    • Location of Service: Patrick Air Force Base, Florida; Helmand Region, Afghanistan; Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran served as a the first female gunner in the history of the Air Force Reserve and first female crewmember in the 301st Rescue Squadron.

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2012-04-13; 2012)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2012-04-13)
  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2012-04-13; 2012-12-27)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2012-04-13; 2012-12-27)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/84473

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Messamore, Kyle, Lauren Arnett Campbell, and Special Collections & University Archives University Of Central Florida. Lauren Arnett Campbell Collection. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.84473/.

APA citation style:

Messamore, K., Campbell, L. A. & University Of Central Florida, S. C. &. U. A. Lauren Arnett Campbell Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.84473/.

MLA citation style:

Messamore, Kyle, Lauren Arnett Campbell, and Special Collections & University Archives University Of Central Florida. Lauren Arnett Campbell Collection. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.84473/>.