F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- The crowd’s cheering echoes for miles as dust swirls in the air. Horse hooves hit the ground as quickly as a blink. The announcer calls out Lacy Holeman's name as she rides into the Cheyenne Frontier Days arena on her horse, Annie, with her rope in hand. In the next few seconds, she’ll rope a calf with precision. What the crowd doesn’t know is that the hands that rope in the arena are the same hands that work tirelessly day in and day out at the 90th Medical Group, ensuring the health of those who protect the integrity of the nation’s nuclear deterrence.
Most of the year, Holeman’s responsibility is to be the lead Personnel Reliability Assurance Program monitor for the 90 MDG. For the rodeo season in July, she aspires to be one of the best competitive breakaway ropers in one of the most renowned rodeos in the world: Cheyenne Frontier Days. Although her two passions in life are on opposite sides of the coin, they do not take away from each other. Her story involves tremendous strength, unwavering dedication, and an unremitting heart.
Holeman describes her role in the 90 MDG as a “jack-of-all-trades.” Certifying and tracking the medical readiness of missileers, armed use-of-force personnel and flight status members, she handles a variety of responsibilities that influence security and deterrence.
“When you come to a Global Strike Base as a special duty member, especially to F.E. Warren Air Force Base, you will be empaneled in either PRAP or flight medicine with a provider who understands your mission and can give you the best possible care for your specific needs,” said Holeman. “I’m just one person in a large number of people who work very hard every day giving the best possible care to our Active Duty members while supporting the Mighty Ninety’s mission 100%.”
The mental discipline and physical grit required in each rodeo competition Holeman competes in complement her work as the lead PRAP monitor.
“Everything I do in the rodeo is muscle memory,” said Holeman. “We do a process. In the rodeo world, Lady Luck and Mother Nature are always against you, so you have to do the steps correctly every time. It’s the same way with PRAP and the nuclear mission. Every time our missileers go on site or our armed use-of-force members go to the armory to pick up their weapon, it’s the same steps and the same mentality.”
Holeman’s journey, both in the military and the rodeo, is generational and dates back four generations before her. Raised in a military and rancher family, her father and grandfather were both Army veterans as well as tie-down ropers.
“My dad competed in CFD for 30 years,” said Holeman. “My grandfather and my uncles have all competed in CFD. On July 19, 2019, I competed for my very first time at CFD. That was the anniversary five years ago to the day that my dad passed from kidney cancer. It had been a number of years since he had competed at CFD, so I was taking the legacy the next step forward.”
Raised between the service and the saddle, Holeman says she never felt the need to choose between the two. She explains that rodeo is not just a hobby, but a way of life. When her family wasn’t serving in uniform, they were ranching.
Holeman had a plan of her own to join the Army, following in her family’s footsteps. However, right before signing her contract, she received heart-shattering news.
“At 18, I was diagnosed with cancer,” said Holeman. “It took 12 years before I received a clean bill of health. I actually rodeoed all through that. I graduated college with a 3.97 GPA. On the days I would compete, I was giving cancer one more fight. Would I have loved not going through cancer? Yes. But I do think it made me who I am today.”
Despite facing the difficult battles she did, Holeman still strives for greatness in what she does. She aspires to keep being the best PRAP monitor she can be for the 90 MDG, working to secure the Mighty Ninety’s mission to deter, modernize and strike.
Even though she isn’t the youngest competitor in the breakaway roping category anymore, she isn’t finished.
“I would like to be in the top 40 in the world in the next three years to make the Mountain Circuit Finals,” said Holeman. “On any given day, we have over 450 women competing just in my event. If I could make the top 40 of that, I would consider that a job well done.”
Holeman’s legacy she hopes to leave behind at the rodeo grounds or the 90 MDG is to keep tradition alive. Whether she’s ensuring a medical certification gets completed quickly or roping a calf in record time, one thing is unquestionable. Holeman is carrying on a legacy… one ride, one rope, one mission at a time.