Earlene Denise Green English (b. 1959), of Harlem, New York, served in the United State Army from 1978-1981 and the United States Army Reserve from 1985-1988. She played on the All Army Women's Softball Team. Earlene Denise Green English was born 5 February 1959 in Harlem, a borough of New York City, New York. She graduated from Christopher Columbus High School in 1977. Having played basketball since the age of eight, English decided to join the United States Army as a way to receive an education and still be able to play sports. In September 1978, English was sent to Fort McClellan in Alabama for basic training, and was part of the last Women's Army Corps (WAC) class. She was then sent to Fort Lee in Virginia for Advanced Individual Training (AIT), where she learned to be a material control and accounting specialist. While at Fort Lee, English began playing with a basketball league on base. After AIT, English was assigned to Nuremburg, Germany, where she worked in a warehouse and kept inventory accounts of vehicles, equipment, and weapons. While in Germany, English found out she had been accepted to the All-Army Women's Basketball team. She returned to the United States to begin training, but broke her ankle a week before the team's final tournament and was transferred back to Germany. After her ankle healed, English began playing on the All-Army Softball team, and had the opportunity to travel to places such as Italy, Austria, Holland, and Switzerland for games. In August 1981, English left the United States Army with the rank of sergeant, and soon began coursework at Georgia State University, having received a full basketball scholarship. After her parents became ill, English returned to New York to care for them as well as her nephew. In 1985, English decided to join the United States Army Reserve full time, and after two years chose to switch to part time. In 1988, she switched again, this time to a National Guard transportation unit in Harlem. Since leaving the military, English has coached United StatesA Elite, a semi-professional women's basketball team in Greensboro, has volunteered at Eastern Middle School, training middle school girls in basketball, and was inducted into the Rucker Professional Basketball League in 2014.
