#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Sandra K. Tiger

Sandra K. Tiger is a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and is also descended from the Seminole Nation. She had a long, successful military career and retired from the Army in 1993 after 20 years of service.   

Tiger attended Basic Training at Fort McClellan, AL, during the Era of the Women’s Army Corps. Upon completion, she attended Advanced Individual Training at Fort Wadsworth, NY, as a Chaplain’s Assistant. Her first duty assignment was at Fort Sill, the U.S. Army Field Artillery Center, where she worked as a Personnel Actions Clerk (PAC). This was followed by an assignment to 5th Signal Command in Germany. During this period, she was reclassified as a 75E, making 71M as her secondary Military Occupational Skill (MOS). Upon returning to the United States, she was assigned to the 9th AG Company with duties in the Personnel Services Division, Fort Lewis, WA. Following this assignment, she was assigned to the U.S. Army Military Personnel Center in Alexandria, VA, where her work focused on helping the Army retrain soldiers to help alleviate Army shortages in Military Intelligence, Special Forces and specialties with critical needs. Next, she was reassigned to the Quarter Master Branch as a Team Non-commissioned Officer in Charge for Supply MOSs. Also during this period, she was selected to be a member of the Defense Advisory Committee of Women in the Service. She was a senior enlisted advisor to   senior DOD leadership concerning women’s issues. She also participated in the Army uniform trials, providing recommendations on improvements and changes. She was reassigned to 1st Personnel Command in 1986, where she was NCOIC of the Sergeants Major (SGM) and Enlisted Aide Branch. She requested a reassignment to become the PAC Supervisor for HHC, USAREUR & 7th Army, the largest PAC in the Army at that time. Next, she was reassigned to work in the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, where she worked with Signal, Military Intelligence and Corps Headquarters documents. She was reassigned to U.S. Army Force Management Support Agency as a senior manpower analyst working with the Pacific Command and the 2nd Infantry Divison.

Upon retirement, Tiger embarked upon a career as a federal civil servant in both the Pentagon and at Fort Belvoir, VA, retiring from civil service in 2015. She worked for the Women in Military Service for America Memorial and enjoys volunteering with the Smithsonian, National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) as a volunteer research assistant for the National Native American Veterans Memorial. She has been with the project since 2017, from the design competition to the Dedication in 2022. Her research included working with the American Battle Monuments Commission to identify Native veterans buried in 26 permanent American military cemeteries and 32 federal memorials, monuments and markers located in 17 foreign countries, the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the British Dependency of Gibraltar. Her work also included outreach to Native Veterans groups, Native student organizations in the military academies, and all five branches of the Armed Forces. Post-dedication, she works with NMAI’s Office of Collections Management to ensure the respectful care and maintenance of the memorial, as well as the Office of Donor Engagement to act as an NMAI Ambassador to American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Veterans throughout the United States. 

Tiger comes from a family of Veterans, including her father, brother, two uncles and a sister. Her husband, Marcy Coleman Tiger, also served. He was a member of the Muscogee Creek/Seminole Nations of Oklahoma. He retired from the Army after 23 years of service. Sandy and Marcy were fortunate to be able to serve together at most assignments and were very proud to be able to serve as Native Americans representing their heritage. Marcy also came from a family of Veterans, including his father, two brothers and a grandfather.

Marcy and Sandy’s military careers took their family from rural communities in Oklahoma, back and forth across the United States and around the world. It was sometimes hard being so far away from home, but it was filled with memorable moments and the experience of a lifetime. Marcy died in 2015 and was laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

We honor the service of Sandy K. and Marcy Coleman Tiger.