Artistic Airman finds stability in Air Force Published April 17, 2014 By Senior Airman Madelyn Brown 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- While it's widely accepted that the military is an environment of constant change, Airman 1st Class Jessilee Moore defies the notion. "After everything I've been through, the Air Force has stabilized my life more than anything else," she said. Throughout her 25 years, she has lived across seven states, attended 10 separate schools from Kindergarten to high school, with more addresses than she can remember. On the first day of her life, she was in transition from Norfolk, Va., to Pensacola, Fla. "Even though my circumstances have been less than ideal, I was never a sad child," Moore said. After witnessing the divorce of her parents at the age of 4, the next adversity Moore would face was the mental abuse from her mother's live-in boyfriend. As his personal battle with substance abuse intensified, so did the abuse he inflicted on Moore's family, until it reached a life-threatening level. "One day, when I was playing with a neighborhood friend, an entire SWAT team surrounded my house," she said. "He told my mother that he was going to get his gun and she should call the police. He said, 'We'll see who gets here first.' He had to be shot with a riot gun to keep him from hurting himself or anyone else." Moore was in second grade when the incident occurred. After moving from one women's shelter to the next with the few possessions they owned, Moore, her mother and brother settled at her grandmother's house in Tennessee. "My mother was able to empower herself so much," Moore said. "She graduated college, became a paramedic and a fireman. It was impressive, but she was working 24-hour shifts and wasn't parenting me and my brother. The struggles we had been through had left her emotionally unavailable to be a mother." Left to her own devices at the age of 13, Moore and her brother learned how to cook for themselves, decided when to go to bed and when to attend school. At her new school, Moore and her brother were labeled as different and were not accepted among the other students. When Moore experienced inappropriate sexual contact from another student and went to the counselors about it, the report was not taken seriously, she said. "I was subject to sexual harassment," she said. "The school staff knew I had a troubled background and took everything I said with a grain of salt. I became depressed because I felt like I had no outlet." This led to Moore attending school less and less. "I failed my first year of high school and my mother and I could not get along," she said. "At this point, she relinquished her parenting rights of me and my brother and we were sent to live with my father." Moore relocated from an environment of no parental oversight to an environment under total control from her father and stepmother, as well as another environment permeated by substance abuse. "I struggled here because I was so used to all this freedom," she said. "It was two different extremes that I couldn't live a healthy life in. I realized my relationships weren't very good and I just wasn't doing well with people. I knew I wouldn't get help from my mother or my father, so I did everything I could to get out of the situation." Moore's creativity became her ticket to freedom. She submitted an application and portfolio to the Mississippi School of Arts. After her acceptance into the program, she was able to live on campus and finish her remaining high school years. "I went from failing my freshman year to ultimately graduating as a decorated honor student," she said. "I couldn't stop trying harder. Once I got a taste of what life could be it was infectious." During her time at the Mississippi School of Arts she completed majors in visual arts, dance performance arts and vocal arts. Once graduated, she met the person who would be her future husband. Her passion for modern dance prompted her to move, along with her future husband, to New York to pursue a career in dance. Once again, she was faced with adversity. "Living in New York was a hard life," she said. "It was definitely a crash course into adulthood. I lived in an old abandoned lab factory and there was no heat." Although she was able to dance with the Broadway Dance Center, her destitute living situation and little income resulted in a sickness that changed her life course. "I was malnourished, lacking in Vitamin B, working long hours and failing to sleep during cold nights," she said. "I developed a chest infection and, after eight months, I couldn't do it anymore." Moore and her husband decided to migrate South to be closer to family, she said. Once in Tennessee, her husband took a job opportunity involving the inspection of metals at oil refineries to better their financial situation. However, the job compromised his health. "I told him I needed to join the military," Moore said. "I suggested we change roles. I would go into the military and he could pursue a career in something he really wanted to do." One year and one tattoo removal later, Moore was in the military. "I knew it took me this long and my family was worth it," she said. "I knew I was going to put everything I had into the military." Today, Moore works at the 60th Aerial Port Squadron on Travis Air Force Base. "It's great for a person like me who grew up with no stability," she said. "Now I know that I have a place to live. I know where my next meal is coming from. I can provide for my family and even go to college. I couldn't be more grateful for what I have." Moore would say her accomplishments are more personal than anything documented on paper, but her dedication to her job has not gone unnoticed by coworkers. "Airman Moore is phenomenal," said Staff Sgt. Joseph Hart, 60th APS cargo processing supervisor. "Her attitude is always amazing. She stands out among others, and more Airmen should aspire to reach her dedication level." Since her arrival at Travis, she has taken every opportunity to volunteer. In only six months on the installation, Moore has supported the Honor Guard detail, raised funds for the Travis Fisher House, volunteered with Travis youth for Kids Understanding Deployment Operations among many other base and community events. "I try to be a positive force in the lives of others," she said. "I know how bad life can get. I think because I'm such an optimist and because I refuse to give up on anything that it's helped me survive the hardships I've faced, as well as succeed in the Air Force." For guidance and counseling Moore said she has turned to the Air Force chaplains. She remains passionate about painting and drawing and uses her talents as a cathartic outlet. To other Airmen facing challenges in life, Moore offers her advice from her own experiences. "It gets better," she said. "Without getting into specifics of everyone's problem, the broad message to everyone would be, it gets better."