Jan. 3, 2022 At the forefront: 137th AES commander reflects on lessons learned during major wartime, disaster and pandemic aeromedical responses Col. Darcy Tate was the first woman in her family to join the Air Force, enlisting in the Air National Guard in 1988. Since then, her career has taken her to the forefront of some of the most major military and aeromedical response events in recent U.S. history.