Gaffney native ends military career, but she's still in 'control'

Senior Master Sgt. Angela Hull sits in an armored Humvee while deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005. Hull recently retired after 21 years in the military. On many occasions during her childhood, Gaffney native Angela Hull dreamed of one day flying above the clouds and traveling the many nations of the world.

"I always wanted to be able to visit the different nations and experience different cultures," Senior Master Sgt. Hull said. "It was definitely a goal I wanted to achieve."

At the age of 21, however, the local woman began to believe her dream was beginning to fade into the sunset. Following her graduation from Gaffney High School, Hull worked at the Nestle plant on Old Georgia Highway.

While the money was fine, Hull said she began to believe there was more to life.

"I knew there was something outside of Cherokee County, but it was up to me whether I would get to see it," she said.

She visited an Air Force recruiting office, beginning a journey that would help her realize her dream of traveling the globe.

Hull, now 43, retired earlier this month from the military after 21 years of active duty. She now resides at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida with her husband and children.

"My time in the military was definitely a fulfilling experience.... I had a wonderful career," she said. "It was an experience I would not trade for the world."

During her time in the service, Hull was primarily responsible for the safe handling of thousands of aircraft operations as an air traffic controller. Hull said she knew very few women had chosen the job in the past. Though she was a female in a field dominated by men, her gender was never an issue."The men were for the most part very respectful," Hull said. "When I first started, women were just starting to take the job of an air traffic controller. There were a few who did not appreciate the job we did, but the military was not going to have any tolerance for that."

While Hull said the experience was "one in a million," she said the hardest part about the job was being away from friends and family. "The military part is easy, it is not being with family that is hard," Hull said. "You would love to be with them, but they knew this was my job."

Hull was assigned to Air Force bases across the country, taking up residence in several states including California, New York, Texas and Virginia. She also made trips to Oman, Turkey and Iraq, where she took part in Operations Desert Shield and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

After more than 20 years of going through the same regimen on a daily basis, Hull does not plan to slow down. She has taken a position as a civilian air traffic controller at the same tower where she worked for many years at MacDill Air Force Base.

"It will take some getting used to not putting the uniform on," Hull said. "But I appreciate the opportunity to do this job for 21 years. Being able to work for an organization that worked hard and was successful is definitely an honor and made my time in the Air Force very fulfilling."