It was 1978 and Tracy Garder remembers Pilgrim High School guidance counselor Tom Dolce asking her, ‘you’re so close (to graduating), what do we need to do?’

Dolce’s timing was good. Garder was thinking of dropping out. Had she done that, she never could have joined the Women’s Army Corps, as at that time the corps that was later integrated into the Army required females to have a high school diploma in order to enlist.

“We were poor,” Garder says of her childhood and growing up in the Lincoln Park and Norwood neighborhoods of Warwick. She lived with their mother who was divorced. Her older sister lived with their father in California and the fact that he served in the Army, Garder believes, prompted her to consider joining the service.

It’s a choice she hasn’t regretted and that took her to Chief Warrant Officer 5.

On Aug 18 Garder, the last Women’s Army Corps soldier on active duty, received the Legion of Merit from Chief of Army Reserve and Commanding General, United States Army Reserve Command, Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels, at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Daniels called Garder a “role model for generations of women to come – not just soldiers, but all women.” She highlighted how Garder carved out her own path, challenging herself to take the hard jobs and learn as much as could. Garder transitioned to the Army Reserve in 1999, the same year she became a warrant officer candidate. She served in a variety of logistician positions from supply sergeant to joint property book officer with Special Operations Joint Task Force – Afghanistan and NATO Special Operations Command.

It wasn’t an easy ride to Chief Warrant Officer.

With 53 percent of warrant officers failing the training she felt the stress to succeed in what she described as one of the toughest things she has done. She ended up graduating at the top of her class. The rank also came with changes. She was being looked to for answers.

Garder transitioned to the Army Reserve in 1999, the same year she became a warrant officer candidate. She served in a variety of logistician positions from supply sergeant to joint property book officer with Special Operations Joint Task Force – Afghanistan and NATO Special Operations Command. As a drill sergeant, logistician instructor, course manager and career manager she was able to develop and mentor young soldiers in her field.

A privilege she didn’t expect as a Chief Warrant Officer, but she was glad to get was her own room while serving in Afghanistan.

As a drill sergeant, logistician instructor, course manager and career manager Garder was able to develop and mentor young soldiers in her field. She said she was grateful for the life she chose. “I try to stay open to the potential of any experience. Not just my job or my tasks, but where I can add to the day, where I can teach, learn, help, serve or guide,” reads a release from the U.S. Army Reserve Command at Fort Bragg, NC.

Garder has been back to Rhode Island although not recently. She recalls riding her bike every day to Rocky Point, playing in the street with other kids and being wowed by Aldrich Junior High School…”what a mansion.”

A homesick moment came when she stepped off a troop carrier in Kuwait on her first deployment to Iraq in 2003. It was nighttime and a light breeze filled the air with the scent of the ocean and she was transported back to Rhode Island. “It brought me home.”

After a 44 year service career, Garder is ready to “embrace the second half of life.”

She has taken on some volunteer work at the veterans home in the Fort Knox area and is thinking of doing Meals on Wheels.

Her awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with 4 oak leaf clusters and several others.

“Her commitment to service and ability to take on each challenge as an opportunity to grow increased her impact as a leader,” reads the release.

 Garder is married  to Tamara Bismarck. They share a muted tortie cat, Rosetta.