Tammella Fletcher (b.1963), of Jacksonville, Florida, served in the United States Navy from 1985-1991. Tammella Fletcher was born 14 January 1963 in Jacksonville, Florida. During her childhood, her family moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and then to Davie County, North Carolina. After Fletcher graduated from Davie County High School in Mocksville, North Carolina, she began attending Western Carolina University. After four years and feeling as if she was getting nowhere with her education due to a lack of motivation, Fletcher decided to join the United States Navy. In early 1986, Fletcher was sent to Naval Training Center Orlando, Florida, for basic training, and then to Naval Hospital Corps School at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, where she took classes in anatomy, physiology, and emergency medicine. She was also assigned as the education officer and tutored fellow soldiers. In 1987, Fletcher was sent to Pensacola, Florida, for Aviation Med Tech School, and was then assigned to the naval branch clinic, where she performed physical exams of new pilots. Fletcher also met and married her husband in Pensacola. In mid-1988, Fletcher received orders to Hawaii, but the military was unable to find her husband a billet, so they were reassigned together to Naval Support Activity in Naples, Italy. In Italy, Fletcher attended Emergency Management Technician school, worked in the Emergency Room, and drove an ambulance. She also assisted with the care of many North American Treaty Organization (NATO) soldiers and their families. While in Italy, Fletcher gave birth to a son. When she noticed he wasn't developing like other children, Fletcher had him examined and was told he had a rare medical condition. In January 1991, Fletcher was flown to Wiesbaden Army Health Clinic in Germany, but due to the oncoming Gulf War she was evacuated from there and flown to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in Bethesda, Maryland. Fletcher and her son remained there for six months. Feeling pressure to choose motherhood or active duty, Fletcher decided to leave the navy and received a humanitarian discharge. Fletcher moved to North Carolina in 2004. As of 2017, she was a Veterans Claim Examiner at the Veterans Benefits Administration in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
