Setbacks can’t derail Lombard midshipman’s drive, commitment
Reflecting on her experiences as a United States Naval Academy midshipman, Bailey Miller is the picture of poise and pride.
She appreciates the academy’s tradition.
The class ring the junior — or second-class, as they’re called at the academy — soon will receive contains metal melted down from rings worn by the Class of 1963, which left the prestigious Annapolis, Md., military institution 50 years before Bailey’s graduation.
She considers her company family.
They live together, train together and even face restrictions together as the result of someone’s punishment.
She recognizes the magnitude of what’s at stake.
When the 21-year-old from Lombard leaves the academy a commissioned officer, her judgment and actions will directly affect the group of enlisted sailors she’ll lead.
“This has been a life-changing experience and one that I wouldn’t give up for anything,” Bailey said. “It’s difficult to articulate how it was the right decision, but I’m sure I made the right one.”
Bailey’s conviction is unwavering, despite a series of challenges and setbacks that understandably might cause others to question their commitment.
During her second year, Bailey began feeling weak and lethargic, and her physical performance declined so significantly that some opportunities — including a training trip to Turkey — were withdrawn because she couldn’t meet minimum fitness standards. Doctors eventually diagnosed her as anemic, and with a change in diet combined with iron supplements Bailey quickly shaved three minutes from her 1.5-mile run time.
An even bigger blow came several weeks ago. Though the prospect of flying was her motivation behind joining the military, Bailey learned her asthma would prevent her from qualifying as a pilot.
She knew disqualification was a possibility — many midshipmen are deemed ineligible just because their body’s measurements aren’t a proper fit for a plane’s cockpit — but it made the news no less difficult.
“It was devastating,” she said. “I have to put my hopes and dreams into something else now.”
After graduation, Bailey probably will be assigned to a ship where one possible assignment would put her oceanography major to use. METOC officers (meteorology and oceanography) are a ship’s weather predictors, analyzing charts and radars to brief pilots on conditions. They make sure factors such as wave height and wind direction allow for safe takeoffs from an aircraft carrier.
“There are many support communities like that,” Bailey said. “By giving yourself to the military, you’re saying ‘What can I do for you?’ Right now, I’m just training and educating myself. But I’ll go where they need me to go and be proud to do it.”
Bailey’s mother, Kristi Miller, says that despite her initial hesitation to get on board with her daughter’s decision to attend the Naval Academy, she believes she is in good hands.
“We’re originally from Kansas, where there’s no water and the thinking is that the price of schooling (at the academy) is the price of your life. But we quickly saw what a top-notch institution it is,” said Miller, who now runs the regional club for the parents of midshipmen.
Bailey, in the meantime, continues to jump at the opportunities that come her way.
She volunteers to attend informational sessions at area high schools when she’s home.
She earned a scholarship from the American Association of University Women to attend the Naval Academy’s National Outdoor Leadership School in Alaska. There Bailey spent a month in the tiny inland town of Palmer, training on mountaineering activities such as cross-country skiing, ice climbing and crevasse rescue.
Bailey doesn’t shy away from intense situations, either. As part of a week of training with the U.S. Marines she opted to go into a gas chamber without wearing a protective mask.
“I immediately regretted it once I went in and they shut the door. It feels like you’re drowning on land,” Bailey said. “But I don’t want to turn down any experience.”
In exchange for a full scholarship, which the Naval Academy values at more than $350,000, Bailey must serve five years’ active duty followed by two years in the reserves. But she envisions making a lifelong career out of her Naval service and hopes that one day, about 52 years from now, she’ll remove her class ring so that a Class of 2063 midshipman will share her sense of reverence.
“They call it a link in the chain,” Bailey said. “I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”
Bailey Miller
<B>Age: </B>21
<B>Hometown: </B>Lombard
<B>School: </B>United States Naval Academy
<B>Who inspires you? </B>2nd Lt. Elle Ekman
<B>Whats on your iPod? </B>Rascal Flatts
<B>What book are you reading? </B>Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Womans Soul by John Eldredge and Stasi Eldredge
<B>The three words that best describe you? </B>Never give up