Snapshots, part of the Telling the ATEC Story series, are Q&A conversations with ATEC employees sharing their background and what motivates them every day to pursue the ATEC mission. This month we profile Allison Hadfield, a former deputy sheriff, who currently serves as the executive assistant for the commander at the U.S. Army Electronic Proving Ground, located at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
Do you have a nickname? It’s Ally.
Describe yourself in three words. Loyal, trustworthy, and hard-working.
What is your dream job? A job where I get paid to just live my life.
In what city did you grow up? I grew up in Sierra Vista, Arizona.
What book has had the greatest impact on you? I’ve read and listened to several leadership books by John Maxwell. They have really shaped my opinion on how leadership influences a work force in all directions.
What is the first movie you remember ever seeing in a theater? I remember seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark at a movie theater in Sierra Vista with my friends. Then I had nightmares about the guy’s face melting off at the end.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? When I was young, I wanted to be an astronomer, and later it changed to either a dentist or orthodontist.
What was your first job? My first job was delivering newspapers. I delivered newspapers on my bike, threw them on doorsteps, and occasionally broke a few windows.
What do you do at your job? I’m the executive assistant to the EPG commander, Colonel Barnhill. I keep his calendar and make sure he's at his appointments on time. I’m also the referee between the Commander and everybody at EPG who wants to see him. To manage his time efficiently and effectively, I must ensure he doesn't get caught up in anything that would prevent him from making his other appointments on time or necessitate rescheduling them. I also assist our Protocol and PAO specialist with distinguished visitors and other events at EPG.
What is your favorite part of your current job? The EPG commander, Colonel Barnhill. It’s awesome having a boss with a sense of humor who can make you laugh. He is a humanitarian and an overall great human being.
What is your favorite aspect of Fort Huachuca? The mission. Over the past couple of years, I've gotten to understand the mission of EPG. In my former profession as a deputy sheriff for a Sheriff's department, EPG’s mission resonates with me in a similar way. The missions of the military and law enforcement are both critically important in protecting American citizens. To perform my job effectively, it was necessary to understand EPG’s mission in testing and evaluating the equipment Soldiers use on the battlefield, as well as its impact on our overall mission and the security and safety of the country.
What is your greatest accomplishment? My daughter. She's a work in progress, but she's getting there. She’s 21 years old and just graduated from a cosmetology school in Tucson, Arizona.
Who is or are your heroes? My hero is my dad. For a long time, my dad was a single parent raising my brother and me. He was at every softball game, every soccer game, and every band concert. I couldn’t have asked for a better support system than my father.
What is your biggest pet peeve? Slow drivers in the fast lane. They’re completely oblivious that they’re impeding the flow of traffic. But if I do get mad, it’s mostly not at the driver, but at law enforcement who doesn’t address this issue. Police routinely pull over speeders yet often ignore the slow drivers in the fast lane who force other drivers to pass them on the right, a practice that has been statistically proven to pose a greater safety risk and contribute to more traffic accidents.
Do you have a motto you live by? If so, what is it? I tell people, “What you allow is what will continue.” I’ve said this one thing to many people I’ve met over the years who weren’t in good situations. The reason they weren’t in a good place boiled down to the lack of accountability. Unless people are held accountable, their behaviors don’t change. If you continue to allow adverse situations to fester, boil over, or even get worse, nothing changes. Taking personal and professional accountability for yourself and the problem is the only way to achieve lasting change.
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party? They can be anyone, living or dead, famous, real or fictional. I'm not much of a fan of current day celebrities, so I would have to say Abraham Lincoln. I would like to hear his perspectives on not just slavery, but also how he changed his mind on the issue, as well as how people lived back then. He was a great man who delivered inspiring speeches to people and led them in a way that few have been able to do. Since he was such a magnanimous person, I would love to talk to him about the times he lived through and how he developed his leadership abilities.
If you had a time machine, where and to what time period would you travel? I would travel into the future. I can’t wait to see what's going to come next, because that’s the unknown. We already know our past and what's already happened. It would be great to visit different places in the world and talk to people. I’m fascinated with the idea of what the world will be like hundreds of years from now.
Who would you like to see perform in a concert? George Gershwin. He’s a highly celebrated American composer and pianist who created several great Broadway musicals. My favorite piece by him is Rhapsody in Blue. My daughter likes that too. I recently saw the Tucson Symphony play it live in concert, and it was breathtaking. It made me cry. If he were alive today and played that piece in concert, it would be the first thing I would want to see. For whatever reason, it just moves me.
What is something nobody knows about you? I used to be deathly afraid of public speaking. If I were in front of an audience of more than five people, I would get lightheaded to the point I felt I would pass out, and I would completely blank out on what I had planned to say. My palms would get so sweaty, I would have to rub them on my pants. I wasn’t just scared, I was petrified. However, my community outreach position with the Sheriff’s Office required me to deliver numerous presentations in front of thousands of people. I knew I wouldn't last very long in that position if I didn't get over my fears. I probably spent five to six years honing in on my fear and turning it into my strength. I constantly practiced and then practiced some more. The more I did it, the better I got.
If you could go back in time, one time, and change a single thing, what would it be? I would change the amount of time I spent with my mom and how much I cared for her from the time I found out she had cancer until she passed away. I was a selfish teenager, and I regret not being there for her as much as I should have been. As a teenager you really don't think about the end of your life, and I hadn't experienced death, so I didn't fully understand the impact it was going to have on me. But knowing that now, I would definitely go back and change that so I could have made the most of my time with her, and to ensure she understood how much I loved her.
Going back to your mom, when did your mom die? She died from lung cancer when she was 50 and I was 19. I'm now 51, so it’s surreal that I have lived longer than my mom by a few months. She was in stage four when she found out and was sick for nearly a year before she died. Even though she underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy, the treatments only prolonged her life; they were never going to save it.
If you could solve one major problem, what would it be? To find a cure for cancer. Cancer is a deeply personal, relentless, and unforgiving condition. And for those who are living with it, I feel horrible because it's not just the person dealing with the illness—the entire family gets affected. It's an awful thing to watch someone go through. It's life-changing and has the ability to take lives. It’s extremely hard for the survivors. What's most problematic for me is that for some people, there are no symptoms until it's too late. The cruelest part of cancer is you could be living your best life, or you’re finally in a position where you can enjoy retirement, and suddenly, there’s this disease that can take it all away in a matter of months or weeks, depending on the stage or type of cancer.
Where did you go on your last vacation, and where do you plan to go on your next vacation? In August 2023, we went on a cruise to Alaska. We loved it so much, we planned to go on a four-day cruise to Catalina Island, California, and Ensenada, Mexico, out of Long Beach. We took our daughter and her boyfriend because they had never gone on a cruise. They had a blast and now can’t wait to go on another cruise. This was a huge win because initially my daughter thought the ship would sink like the Titanic.
What's one thing you can't live without? My family. I’m very family-oriented, and my family means everything to me. If that part of my life got derailed, it would really affect my mindset because everything people do revolves around supporting their family.
If you could give your 15-year-old self advice, what would it be? I would say to believe in myself more and be confident in the person that I am. I didn't have a lot of confidence as a teenager, and I got bullied in elementary and middle school. It had a lasting impact on my self-esteem, which I struggled with in my adult life. But the struggles taught me humility and empathy, because I understand what it's like to go through hard times. I'm a great person in terms of being compassionate, empathetic, and being there for those who need me.
How old were you when you joined the police force, and what motivated you to become a police officer? I was 24. I was working at Peter Piper Pizza with a friend of mine. My friend’s sister was dating one of the Sierra Vista police officers, which led to him developing an interest in law enforcement. He would bring a portable scanner to work. While we were making pizza, we would listen to the scanner, which got me interested in doing a ride along. I started to want to know what happened after calls were taken for people fighting in the streets or burglarizing a house, and whether they ended up in jail. I went on a ride along with a few officers and was immediately hooked.
What is the best gift you have ever been given? My daughter, Aimee. She is the gift that keeps on giving.
Name one person who has inspired you in your life. Without a doubt, my dad. He worked full-time, but he was still there for every event in my life; he was a very supportive parent. He's always encouraged me in whatever I wanted to do, and he never judged me. He's always been there to lift me up, but never to pull me down. For a long time, he struggled with being a single dad. He tried to give us everything we wanted. Even though my brother and I were selfish teenagers, he still tried his best to just be there and to do better for us than anybody else could. He finally remarried in the 1980’s.
Who is your favorite teacher and why? My ninth-grade biology teacher, Mr. Havens. He was the most eccentric and the funniest person. Although biology wasn’t my favorite subject, he made me want to attend his class. We had a girl in class who was constantly putting on makeup and fixing her hair. One day, he walked up to her and said, “If you would just start paying attention to your living parts as much as the dead parts, you would probably do a lot better in class because your hair is dead.” She didn’t get it, but it cracked me up.
Would you rather be invisible or read minds? I would much rather read minds. Because I’m a psychology major, I want to understand why people do the things they do and what the meaning is behind their madness.
What skill would you like to master? The bass guitar. I currently play saxophone in our community band and I’m pretty good at it, but I’ve always wanted to play the bass. When I retire, I’ll find more time to dedicate to that.
What age do you wish you could permanently be and why? Forty-five. I want to be at an age where I’m still able to do more things physically, but also old enough to know enough to keep myself out of trouble and pass along to others some examples of good life experiences and practical advice.
What song or music could you put on that would get you through a busy day? Classic rock—it’s music that’s easy to listen to and helps get me through routine tasks. But if I have something really important to focus on, I need complete silence. The TV and the music have to be off because I need to direct all my energy into that effort.
What is the strangest thing you've ever eaten? Haggis—A traditional Scottish dish. My husband, Scott, is from Scotland. We visited Scotland in 2016, and I tried it, but only because peer pressure prevailed. It’s a type of pudding composed of the liver, heart, and lungs of a sheep minced and mixed with beef or mutton...well, you get the picture. It was as gross as it sounds, and I will never eat it again.
What would you do with your 15 minutes of fame? I would embark on a mission to inspire others to do something kind for someone else. When I was with the Sheriff’s Office, I would often pay for the person’s order in the drive-through behind me, because I knew it would make their day better and it might inspire them to do the same for someone else.
If you participate in a sport, do you prefer it to be an individual sport or a team sport? I'm more inclined towards team sports, and I think they're more enjoyable. I played team sports all throughout high school. I played varsity softball and varsity soccer. I also played volleyball for a few years. I do like individual sports, but I don't think they are as much fun because they lack the dynamics of involving others in the outcome.
If you could send a message to the entire world, what would you say in 30 seconds? I would say it's time to put an end to the hatred. It's time to kill the evil, and it's time to come together as a world to make sure the world will be a better place for the next generations. I would tell people to think about technology and AI more ethically, so we can make sure it’s not used for evil. I would tell people to come up with solutions to make social media platforms better and to regulate how keyboard warriors are using these platforms to spread hate speech and bully others, because cyberbullying hurts and it’s having a negative impact on our youth.
If you received enough money to never need to work again, what would you spend your time doing? I would rescue donkeys, which are my favorite animals. They are as intelligent, if not smarter than dogs, and they're a lot more loyal and loving. I’d travel more, spend more time gardening, get better at playing sax, and learn more than conversational Spanish.
If you had to teach someone one thing, what would you teach? Survival skills. I have that skill set, and I know I could teach it to others. I would teach folks how to be the hardest target in order to survive. Whether it’s at a movie theater, a public gathering, or the workplace, every person is capable of defending themselves and finding their warrior mindset in order to survive a catastrophic event.
What gets you excited and driven to achieve? Setting goals for myself. I make long-term and short-term goals. I'm someone who loves to learn and achieve milestones. It’s a way of tracking my progress. I think it’s great to learn new things continuously and to never stop yourself from being your best—to feed the machine constantly.
What moment in your life would you most like to go back and relive? Gosh, that's hard, but I would go back to the time I traveled to Germany at age 11 to spend the summer with my mom. Germany was so beautiful, and my mom took me to so many amazing shops and restaurants while my brother and I were there.
Do you have any guilty pleasures? If so, what are they? I love sushi. I mean, like, I love it! I also love expensive food, especially seafood. And Coke Zero—the kind without the sugar. It’s a crutch for me, because if I couldn’t have it, I would not be a happy camper.
What is your earliest memory? I have many early memories of my maternal grandmother—of her taking care of me and doing things with me when I was younger, like when I was three or four. She would always order Domino’s Pizza for us and time the driver because if they were late, we would get a free pizza. She got free pizza three times in a row in one month.
When were you happiest? I honestly think I'm the happiest I've ever been. I would love to have my mom here, but I'm happiest now because I'm in a better place in my life. Not just financially, but also mentally. I've worked out a lot of things throughout my life, usually when I was a lot busier and too busy to deal with things. When you're going 100 miles an hour, with a stressful job and a young child, it's sometimes hard to enjoy the finer things in life. It's just go, go, go. When I worked in law enforcement, I never had a chance to rest and could rarely take vacations. Now that I'm retired and have a job I enjoy with better hours, I’m truly living my best life right now.
What fad do you wish would come back or stay gone forever? I think bell-bottoms should stay gone, but hand-written notes should come back. They’re more meaningful.
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