Florida Veteran Health Heroes

Page 5 Colonel Diane Fletcher was interested in the field of nursing from a young age. She began her career as an assistant charge nurse at the West Georgia Medical Center in LaGrange, Georgia. Colonel Fletcher’s parents were both in the military, so she chose to continue the tradition by joining the United States Air Force (USAF). Colonel Fletcher began her military career in 1983 at the USAF Hospital at Reese Air Force Base in Texas. Since then, she has served the USAF in several positions around the world. For much of her career, Colonel Fletcher served as a flight nurse. While stationed at Fort Dix in New Jersey, she served as the Aeromedical Evacuation Mission Support branch chief and directed the efforts of the largest Air Mobility Command Battlelab. Throughout her career, Colonel Fletcher has worked as a member of the aeromedical evacuation team on U.S., European and intra-theater flights. One of her most unforgettable and touching career moments is when she served a wounded soldier while returning from an aeromedical evacuation. When the flight landed, the soldier thanked Colonel Fletcher for her care and handed her a Two-Star General’s coin that he had received for his military service. In the final years of Colonel Fletcher’s career, she served as the Chair of the International Expeditionary Education and Training Department at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. There, she directed a multidisciplinary department and performed as the 711th Human Performance Wing Chief Nurse and nursing advisor. She was able to train aspiring military medical staff and serve as a mentor and career counselor to 35 nurses in four different states. Colonel Fletcher has continued to serve the military community in her role as Assistant Chief Nurse at the Tallahassee Veterans’ Affairs Outpatient Clinic, which supports 18 counties in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. She manages registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, telehealth licensed practical nurses, health technicians and registered dietitians. She enjoys working in this role and appreciates the opportunity to serve her fellow veterans. OUR HEROES colonel diane fletcher, rn