Mikenna Gray

Mikenna (Schlachter) Gray was born on November 5, 2001, in Grand Island, Nebraska, to Julie Westerby and Brian Schlachter. She grew up in Grand Island, attending kindergarten at St. Libory and grades 1-8 at District 1-R before graduating from Northwest High School in 2020. During her school years, Mikenna was an active athlete, playing volleyball for the GI Vikes Volleyball Club and her high school team. 

Shortly after graduation, she began her military career, entering basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, on June 16, 2020. She completed training on August 6, 2020, then attended technical school at Naval Air Station Pensacola, specializing in aircraft structural maintenance.

Mikenna’s first duty station was Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington, where she maintained KC-135 refueling tankers. She later transferred to Osan Air Base in South Korea, working on A-10s and F-16s, and was temporarily deployed to Malaysia. She is currently stationed at Aviano Air Base in Italy, focusing on F-16s and HH-60 helicopters.

Mikenna is married to Airman Zechariah Gray, and they welcomed their first child, a son, in February 2025. Mikenna’s story is one of dedication, resilience, and service, as an Airman, a wife, and a mother.