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Persistence Pays off for History-Making Air Guardsman

Mar 3, 2023

News Features

BRADLEY AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Conn. – “I never thought that I couldn’t do anything,” said Tech.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Petra Chesanek, an aeromedical technician with the 103rd Medical Group, Connecticut Air National Guard, at Bradley Air National Guard Base, Conn., Aug. 6, 2022. Chesanek, a career firefighter with the New Britain Fire Department, made history alongside firefighter Lauren Burns when they became the department’s first female firefighters promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Petra Chesanek, an aeromedical technician with the 103rd Medical Group, Connecticut Air National Guard, at Bradley Air National Guard Base, Conn., Aug. 6, 2022. Chesanek, a career firefighter with the New Britain Fire Department, made history alongside firefighter Lauren Burns when they became the department’s first female firefighters promoted to the rank of lieutenant.