A wave of humid, sea air washed over the tarmac at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan as Command Chief Master Sgt. Lisa Erikson, command senior enlisted leader for the Minnesota National Guard, stepped off the plane August 13, 2024. Her journey was focused on visiting roughly 300 Airmen from the Duluth-based 148th Fighter Wing deployed there as part of a mission to ensure a steady-state fighter aircraft presence in the Indo-Pacific region. However, it also happened to be a trip down memory lane for Erikson, as Kadena Air Base was her first duty station over 30 years ago.

“It’s funny, going right back to the beginning of my career and [remembering] just who that 20-year-old girl was,” reflected Erikson. “How much has changed within me and within my goals since then.”

Back then she was Senior Airman Lisa Maki, a young woman from small-town Esko, Minnesota on her first trip outside of the Midwest. Now she was returning as the senior enlisted service member for the Minnesota National Guard, and a regular international traveler with an influential voice at NATO conferences and exercises worldwide. A lot has changed in 33 years.

“I remember first getting to the island and thinking, ‘oh my gosh, this is not Esko’,” said Erikson. The ships in the East China Sea were a far cry from those sailing into Duluth Harbor, but it’s a memory Erikson still recalls fondly. “Our first morning [back at Kadena Air Base], I took a walk along the sea wall. It was always a place where I would go when I was stationed here.”

She recalls lulling her first baby, Jason, to sleep by walking up and down the wall in his stroller watching the ships sail by and the airplanes soar overhead.

“That was where I became a mom,” said Erikson.  “I was a single Airman, living by myself off-base, and it was just this little guy, little Jason, and me. Those were probably my favorite memories of being over there.”

She would have two sons, Jason and Jon, while stationed at Kadena Air Base from 1989-1991, serving as a Jet Engine Mechanic with the United States Air Force.

Over three decades later, another young Airman from Esko, Minnesota is stationed at Kadena Air Base. Senior Airman Mallory Sunnarborg is on her first deployment with the 148th Fighter Wing and like Erikson, she is working in the maintenance section keeping F-16 Fighting Falcon jets well maintained and in the skies.

“I was so excited [to deploy] but I did not expect Japan to be this beautiful,” said Sunnarborg. “I joined the Minnesota National Guard because I wasn’t sure what degree to pursue immediately after high school. Now I have more time to decide which career path to follow and I am beyond excited to share this [deployment] experience with my friends and family.”

During her visit to the deployed Airmen, Erikson was able to meet Sunnarborg and see much of herself reflected in the young Airmen.

“That’s what was so fun about Mallory,” said Erikson. “She’s in a non-traditional women’s career field: maintenance. She took a risk and dove right in. [When I was stationed here] I was the only female [in my section]. I didn’t realize how outnumbered I would be, but how protected I would be as well.”

Throughout their conversations, Sunnarborg shared the biggest lesson she’s learned on this deployment.

“Being here has forced me to have an extroverted personality and form relationships with new people,” explained Sunnarborg. “I have loved getting out of my comfort zone and really cherishing all the amazing people I’ve surrounded myself with.”

Sunnarborg brought an energy and excitement to the team and unit that left an impression on Erikson, who is in the twilight of her military career. After serving for 36 years, she has one piece of advice along with one request for the next generation of service members.

“Remember your why,” advised Erikson. “The military has been the mainstay of my life, it has been my one constant, and I never would have thought that as I was a young Airman in Okinawa.”

At the end of her three years of active-duty time stationed at Kadena Air Base, Erikson couldn’t wait to get home and take off the uniform. After an 11-month break in service, Erikson rejoined the military with the Minnesota National Guard and has been thrilled by the opportunities for travel, personal growth, financial independence and friendships those years of service have given her.

“If I could just tell [the young service members] to keep that energy and focus it towards staying in the military, let the military write your chapters,” said Erikson.

As to the request, Erikson hopes the next generation of Minnesota National Guard Airmen and Soldiers will focus on communication. Almost every survey from the force that crosses Erikson’s desk has feedback saying that communication could be improved.

“It’s not that we don’t want to communicate with you or that we can’t, it’s that we don’t understand the best mode to communicate,” said Erikson as she references the generational divide between print and electronic communications, phone calls vs text messages. “We are stuck in our ways and we need a kind of an upward mentoring. You have to help us understand how you want to be communicated with, and not be afraid to do that with your senior leaders.”

Although at different chapters of their military story, Erikson and Sunnarborg both understand the impact of ‘taking that leap’ – even if it is 6,797 miles away. Neither of them could have predicted the endless possibilities that were on their horizon as they left Esko, Minnesota in search of their own why.

By Army Staff Sgt. Sydney Mariette
Minnesota National Guard Public Affairs