ANG command chief accepts challenge from Missouri Airman Published Oct. 6, 2015 By Lt. Col. Barb Denny 139th Airlift Wing ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Staff Sgt. Jamie Israel, of the 139th Airlift Wing, called out Air National Guard's Command Chief Master Sgt. James Hotaling, to walk a day in her boots...and her heels. Hotaling issued a challenge to all Airmen in the Air National Guard earlier this year to invite him to their base to walk a day in their boots. "The whole purpose of the chief's challenge is to get me out of D.C., to not only visit Airmen of the Air National Guard, but experience what they do every single day," said Hotaling, who is the highest enlisted Airman in the ANG. "I immediately thought, ok, how about walking a day in my heels as a high school teacher and then try to keep up with me in my boots as a guardsman during drill," said Staff Sgt. Jamie Israel of the 139th AW's petroleum, oil, and lubricants (POL) section. In her civilian job, Israel is the family and consumer sciences teacher at Maysville High School in Maysville, Mo. "I thought it would be great for him to see how traditional guardsmen try to balance our civilian and military career not to mention our family life. They are very demanding jobs," said Israel while she looked over her military photo album she keeps in her classroom. "The kids love to look at the pictures and ask me questions about the guard." Israel has been a member of the 139th AW for nine years and deployed to Qatar in 2007 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. "I wanted to do something totally different in the guard than I do in civilian job," said Israel. "This is the first time an Airman has challenged me to try to keep up with them in their civilian job," said Hotaling. Hotaling is expected to visit the 139th AW in October to take the challenge.