In service to her country

When she graduated from Hopewell-Loudon in 1985, Tammy Cobb knew she wanted to serve her country. She had no idea that it would become a nearly lifelong commitment. But last month, after more than three decades in the U.S. Air Force, Cobb, a colonel and chief of the nuclear logistics operations department at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Cobb called it a career. "This just seemed right at 32 years, three months and four days," she said in a phone interview from Albuquerque while adding that she's now adjusting to life as a civilian. Time in service In her service time, her duties involved aircraft maintenance, nuclear munitions and explosive safety. She made 15 moves in the United States and abroad in addition to being deployed to post-war Iraq in 2012, where she stayed for a year while enduring some challenging circumstances. But she fulfilled a goal of traveling the world, and along the way, she collected awards such as a Bronze Star Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal with seven oak leaf clusters. "It's not something that I would have guessed I'd end up," she said of her career. "I was coming in for four years and do what I thought I needed to do -- my calling. I had a good time, which is why I stayed." Her career kept her away from family and friends for long periods, but there will be times ahead to catch up with people such as her parents, Larry and Martha Cobb of rural Fostoria. "We're very proud of her," Martha Cobb said. She added: "I guess we call it magical in a way that she's gone ahead and done all of this with her life. Coming from a country school and living on a farm and all these things -- it's been wonderful." Joining up Tammy Cobb said she's not certain of how she decided to join the armed forces. "I don't know exactly when that started," she said. "But I do know I thought it was something I owed my country for the freedom I had. I thought, 'Yeah, I need to go do this.' Personally, I think everybody should serve something. Not everybody can serve in the military, but they can serve their country somehow. I still believe that. I did my time not knowing I would stay this long, but it worked out OK. "When I came in, I thought it was a calling. I thought it was something I needed to go do. It's interesting because I don't have a lot of family members who have served. I do know I had a great uncle, my grandmother's brother, who passed away in a flying accident in World War II. So, my grandmother was a little apprehensive that I wanted to join the Air Force, even though I told her I wasn't going to fly." After graduating from Hopewell-Loudon, Cobb earned her degree in mechanical engineering from Ohio Northern University in Ada while also commuting to Bowling Green once a week for reserve officer training. She then worked at National Machinery in Tiffin for about a year before being called into active duty and sent for an aircraft maintenance course at Chanute Air Force base in Illinois. Her wanderlust was met by stints in places such as Hawaii, Japan, Italy, as well as from Virginia to California across the United States. One two-year stint had her close to family members, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. It was from there that she made her final move, to Albuquerque for a second time, in July 2021. "I had mostly good assignments," she said. "Some were kind of rough. It's been quite an experience, to live all over the world, meet all kinds of people and really see that there's a lot more out there than good, old Seneca County." Cobb recalled a phone conversation she had with a friend while at a base in Europe. "I had just moved to Italy and I was stationed between Milan and Verona," she said. "(Her friend said), 'Oh, man, that's my dream, to go and visit Venice,'" Cobb said. "Well, it just happened that I was in Venice for lunch that day. That's the whole difference in how the military can take you out to see things and experience things that other people don't understand. You're lucky, you're blessed, you're strong enough to take that leap of faith of getting out of your comfort zone and getting out of where you grew up. Not everybody is able to do that. I guess I was just lucky to have a supportive family." Recalling her time in Iraq In 2012, she was sent to the Iraq capital city, Baghdad, after most U.S. troops had been withdrawn and the U.S. and Iraq were trying to settle the situation to where Iraq would become a sovereign state. That pathway involved some insurgencies. "That was an interesting time," Cobb said. "When I was there, we saw a ramp-up of (improved explosive devices) to different explosions around the country. The year I got there, it kind of increased every month on things that were happening. That was kind of interesting because you're there as more of a supportive group -- not necessarily the warfighters for them, but just more training and things like that. "I was actually in charge of all the logistics in Baghdad at that time and we were trying to train the folks there how to maintain these aircraft and things like that. However, that wasn't their mindset. They wanted to pay some contractor to take care of their aircraft and get the parts and everything like that. Our thinking was not always what they'd accept over there. "There were a few times that we had to (go into) some of the shelters that they had there. But we really didn't have too many close calls, so that was pretty good." Retirement Having taken transition training in preparation for retirement, she's now putting some of that to use. She said that with a pension to come, there are many options for the future. For now, she's looking forward to being recovered from a recent medical procedure and pursuing a favorite pastime. "I kind of want to figure out who I am again," she said. "You know, 32 years is a long time doing anything. You are told where to go, what to go do. You push, push, push because we all have the mission of keeping America free. So, now, where do I fit in? That's kind of the next step for me. I think right now, I'm going to hang out in Albuquerque for at least the rest of the year. I'll play a lot of golf and just see what's next for me. "I've gone through a lot of things in life, right? So, how do I help others, whether it's domestic violence to just being a female veteran? There are many of us. Our numbers are pretty small. Those are two of the areas I've always wanted to do a little more work in. ... Life will probably give me some other channels or avenues where I can continue to serve or support. That's kind of what I'm looking at right now. But I also want to use my Post-9/11 GI Bill, which is 36 months of college. I would like to go to Scotland and go to the University of St. Andrews because I have a golf addiction."