Franklin officer was first woman to earn Silver Star since WWII. Now she's co-commanding the Dickson Guard Unit.

Nearly two decades ago, Leigh Ann Hester became the first woman since World War II to receive a Silver Star.

She earned the nation's third-highest military honor by helping a convoy under attack in Iraq. Hester cleared an area with a grenade launcher and killed insurgents with her rifle.

Her bravery led to national recognition — a documentary, TV and radio show appearances, the creation of her own action figure and honors back in Franklin where she works for the city's police department.

Today, Hester, 41, is a first sergeant helping lead the deployment of more than 150 National Guard soldiers in the Dickson-based 267th Military Police Company to the Middle East. This tour marks her highest rank and largest command.

"I am focused on our mission and taking care of my soldiers and they are taken care of and they have everything they need to support the mission,” said Hester, who has served five tours of duty. She's also worked more than 16 years for the Franklin Police.

Hester, who has worked six years as a Franklin detective, said she will miss her team in the major crimes unit. But she’s been welcomed back regularly at the police department after deployments lasting up to 18 months, including a Blue Star Flag ceremony.

The 267th Military Police Company, which is primarily tasked with providing customs support for service members in the Middle East, departed Sunday for Fort Bliss, Texas. The company will travel to Kuwait in a few weeks and deployment will last a year.

Deployment not connected to Middle East attacks

Capt. Cristian Johnson, who commands the unit, said the company's mission has been planned for about three years.

In March, a contractor was killed and multiple U.S. troops were seriously injured in Syria from attacks by Iranian-backed militants, according to U.S. officials. Though there are reports of the U.S. bolstering forces in the area, Johnson said the unit’s mission hasn’t changed.

But they didn’t rule out being ordered to help.

"We are not a reactionary force,” Hester said.

She said the unit could be stationed in up to nine countries, multiple airbases and ports.

“It will be a very dynamic mission," Hester said, "requiring our teams to be flexible and agile, but our unit has the best leaders and military policemen in Tennessee; we couldn’t be more prepared.”

The unit, which also has detachment in Waverly, is comprised of soldiers trained in various security, policing, detention and combat functions.

‘It was a long day’

Hester said her training kicked in during the ambush in Iraq.

The convoy her squad was shadowing was ambushed by anti-Iraqi fighters. Hester led her team through the "kill zone" and into a flanking position where she assaulted a trench line with grenades and M203 grenade-launcher rounds. She and Staff Sgt. Timothy Nein, her squad leader, then cleared two trenches, at which time she killed three insurgents.

Hester, a Bowling Green, Ky., native who joined the National Guard in 2001 and moved to Franklin a couple years later, was credited with saving the lives of numerous convoy members.

"It was a long day," she said in an earlier Tennessean interview.

"When I first enlisted, I chose to be a (military police officer) because I believe it was one of the most physically demanding jobs that a female could do in the military,” she told The Tennessean.

More: Franklin police officer featured in Memorial Day PBS special honoring military women

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Dickson National Guard unit led by Franklin detective deploys to Middle East