Chloe Milliken knew she wanted to be on the front lines in the U.S. Army. It was 2013 and she was given two options like all women who wanted to serve in combat: become an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician (EOD) or join the military police (MP). To her, the choice to be an EOD technician was clear.
“It was important to me, whatever position, to be on the front lines,” Milliken says. “And everyone gives MPs a hard time.”
She deployed as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). While on a mission in February 2016, Milliken and her team hit an improvised explosive device (IED) and had to be medically evacuated to a U.S. military hospital in Kandahar. Within a week however, Milliken and her team went back into the field.
For her service, Milliken received the Combat Action Badge and the Army Commendation medal. She also received a Purple Heart, making her one of only a few women to ever receive the award.
Returning to civilian life in 2017, Milliken toured Syracuse University, “The support and commitment to veterans is unlike any other college that I’ve seen,” Milliken says.