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Lewistown resident Lisa Snyder recently was promoted to brigadier general in the Indiana Air National Guard, the first female general officer in that organization and one of only a handful of women who have been elevated into the military’s highest ranks in the Guard.

INDIANAPOLIS — The number of women who have attained the highest ranks in the U.S. military has more than doubled over a span of 20 years, but still is small.

Lewistown resident Lisa Snyder recently was promoted to brigadier general in the Indiana Air National Guard, the first female general officer in that organization and one of only a handful of women who have been elevated into the military’s highest ranks in the Guard.

Snyder grew up in Virginia but calls Lewistown her home today, having married local resident John Conley Jr. Her duty station is Stout Field in Indianapolis, Joint Forces Headquarters of the Indiana National Guard.

Snyder just completed 20 years in the service, but said it was not the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, that motivated her to join.

“I commissioned into the Air National Guard in the state of Indiana six days before that tragic day and started my career with a steep learning curve,” she said. “Twenty years have gone by very fast and I would not change any of my time in the military.”

The Air National Guard is both a federal reserve force and a state militia, part of the United States National Guard but, when activated, part of the U.S. Air Force. Snyder says she lives by the core values of that branch: integrity first, service before self, excellence in all you do.

When she signed up, she said, “My goal was simple, do the right thing with integrity — no matter of rank or position, and always consider the mission and people first. … I never aspired to be a general officer but am fortunate the leadership feels I can wear this rank and uphold the values and responsibility required.”

Snyder graduated from Old Dominion University and Eastern Virginia Medical School, both in Norfolk, Virginia, and, having received her medical degree, was commissioned as a captain in the Indiana Air National Guard. She initially served as a general practice physician with the 181st Medical Group in Terre Haute, Indiana.

In 2001, she graduated Aerospace Medicine Primary at Brooks Air Force Base. She later served as the flight surgeon for the continent of Antarctica in 2005 as part of Operation Deep Freeze just prior to being selected to attend a second residency in aerospace medicine — considered a rare privilege for a Guardsman — which propelled her to become the Chief of the Aerospace Medicine, Standards Branch at the National Guard Bureau.

In 2014, having been promoted to the rank of colonel, she assumed command of the 181st Medical Group and later became Chief of Aerospace Medicine for the Air National Guard, Joint Base Andrews (Maryland) and then the Director for the Secretary of the Air Force, Medical Review Board, Medical Directorate in 2018.

Snyder said she’s enjoyed “every single minute” of her time in uniform, but that her most memorable assignment was as flight surgeon for a squadron flying F-16 fighter jets.

“The hours I flew in that jet, with the most incredible pilots, was truly a highlight,” she said. “However, equal to that, many years later was command of a medical group. In that position you can really motivate airmen, enlisted and officer, and really help shape their careers which shapes the organization as well.

“That ability to make a difference is as thrilling as pulling G-forces in the F-16,” she said.

Her decision to sign up started in her own family. Her father served in the Army and shared stories of his experiences, which piqued her interest. She has a sister who worked in a shipyard who also shared stories of military members.

“Then, when I was in medical school in Virginia, I had a good friend in the Navy, which also enlightened me to the organization of the military. Also in medical school I met an alumnus, Dr. David Brown, an astronaut who later was lost on the Columbia (Space) Shuttle accident,” she explained. He was a Navy flight surgeon.

“I knew I wanted to be a flight surgeon from the moment I met Dave and to be a part of the military to defend our country,” she said.

The National Guard, like the military reserves, is a civilian position in which military commitment is part time. Snyder has served on active duty for nine years since she joined. Guard members either attend school or maintain a career outside the military, training once a month and for a two-week period each year. The Guard’s unique mission has members answer sometimes to governors and other times to the nation.

“I see myself as extremely fortunate. I have worked very hard in many positions and I feel that was noticed,” she said.

And she wants others to see her and want to be like her.

“I hope I am a role model!,” she exclaimed. “That would be a huge achievement because the effects can be a multiplier and longer lasting. … My dream was to be successful, make a difference and I am very privileged my career has included the rank of brigadier general.

“When people see me in uniform and thank me for my service — which is the ultimate compliment — my answer is the same and spoken truthfully every time: ‘My privilege,’ because it is truly a privilege to serve this country.”