In the U.S. Air Force, one of the best parts of Lt. Col. (Dr.) Aquilla Highsmith-Tyler’s day is spending time with little bundles of joy.
For the Garland native and OB-GYN physician, helping parents with their babies is just one of many responsibilities as a military professional. She is the commander of the 633rd Surgical Operations Squadron at the Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia. Highsmith-Tyler directs more than 200 active duty, civilian and contract personnel with oversight of six flights, nine specialties and a $3.3 million budget with 2,800 surgical cases each year.
Her journey of climbing through ranks of the Air Force started many years ago in Sampson County. Highsmith-Tyler truly believes in speaking good things into existence when it come to success.
“Definitely, there’s work to be done to get there, but it all starts with me speaking and believing it,” she said. “It doesn’t matter your background or what circumstances got you to point A or B , you pretty much will your own experiences in life. A lot of that starts with you willing to be convicted, being committed, being all-in and truly believing that to start with.”
Coming from humble beginnings, she came into the world as the daughter of Mary Herring and Thaddeus Henry. She was adopted by Lydia, her maternal aunt, and her stepfather, Ernest Fryar.
“I have always known that I was adopted and my parents are equally important to me as they have always been my support, as well as my biggest cheerleaders,” Highsmith-Tyler said.
Growing up in the close-knit town of Garland, she was a curious child with dreams of seeing the world.
“I truly wanted to travel as much as I could, but felt like I was always destined to do medicine as well,” Highsmith-Tyler said.
By the age of 5, Highsmith-Tyler knew she wanted to be a doctor and by 12 her goals were set on being an OB-GYN to help take care of women. While attending Union High School, she joined the U.S. JROTC program.
“I really liked the structure, the discipline and the order of the military,” Highsmith-Tyler said. “I was pretty passionate about that as well, but still wanted to do medicine. I was trying to figure out how to make those passions meet and merge.”
While traveling with the drill team to different competitions along the East Coast, there was a time when the group was unable to stay in the Army barracks. They went to an Air Force Base (AFB), which diverted her attention away from the Army after seeing the operations.
“Nothing against my Army colleagues,” she said. “It was just that I felt more strongly about hopefully entering the military through the Air Force.”
Highsmith-Tyler believes coming from a small town kept her grounded. She also liked graduating from UHS with the same friends from pre-school.
“We all grew up together and experienced the same things,” she said. “I really do appreciate the background I came from. I feel like it helped build my resilience. The social support I got from family and friends is some of the most valuable experiences that I had.”
After earning her diploma, Highsmith-Tyler graduated summa cum laude from Fayetteville State University with a bachelor’s of science in chemistry. She remained in the ROTC program at FSU and stayed focus on her dreams by getting involved with a health program.
Next, she was commissioned in the Air Force as second lieutenant in 1997 and later earned a doctorate in medicine from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. She started an OB-GYN internship at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss., where she completed a four-year training program. Highsmith-Tyler earned board certification through the American Board of Obstetrics/Gynecology in 2007.
“People say luck is where preparation and opportunity meets,” she said, looking back. “It has been that way for me. I’ve enjoyed being in the military for 17 years and it’s been one great experience after the other. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Next, she continued her journey as a OB-GYN professional and medical military leader at bases in Florida, Japan and the United Kingdom. From July 2016 through July 2018, Highsmith-Tyler later served as the Chief of Medial Staff of the 2nd Medical Group at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, providing oversight for many fields. She provided oversight for patient safety, quality and medical care via operations of a fully accredited ambulatory clinic with aerospace medicine, dental, medical and a one-year dental residency program.
With her accomplishments, she earned the rank of colonel and will be officially promoted in 2019.
As the commander of the 633rd Surgical Operations, Highsmith-Tyler directs surgical care for 36,000 people through the governance of several departments. Some of them include surgical services, operating room, diagnostic imaging, perioperative services, and Women’s Health for specialty services at the Navy Medical Center in Portsmouth.
Some of the specialties she’s responsible for are ear, nose and throat; as well as ophthalmology, podiatry and urology. Highsmith-Tyler also serves as the Surgical Services Integration Project Lead at Hospital Langley in support of the Tidewater Enhanced Multi-service, which serves more than 500,000 people.
She is married to Ron and together they have three children: Trinity, Lucas, and Eliana.
She’s looking forward to sharing her story on Sunday, Feb. 10, at Garland First Baptist Church to encourage youths about achieving their goals, regardless of where they come from. The service is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
“That was my home church as a child,” she said. “This is probably the first time I’ve been this close to home my entire military career. I’ve been all over the map — overseas, England and Japan. So when I got this assignment to Virginia to be only four hours from home, it was nice.”
