County native has busy first year in the National Guard

Cheyenne Romans of Pioche has been very busy the past few months. 

Ever since she entered the Army National Guard, Romans has been sent from one front to another. Rather uniquely, the enemies she has helped guard the nation against include both fires and the coronavirus.

Cheyenne enlisted in the Guard April 12, 2020, which she says she’d wanted to do for as long as she could remember. When she was younger, she believed the National Guard was a volunteer position, and when she found out she’d actually be paid for her work, she said it made the idea “even better.” After finishing her initial army training, she spontaneously joined up with firefighting crews, after she heard about it from her brother. She eventually took a job in Ely.

Romans spent her time stationed at the Pony Springs station training, not really responding to anything until the Twin Fire just outside of Caliente. From that early morning call on, it would be a nonstop battle to keep the flames at bay, and Romans worked tirelessly. This year was a particularly bad fire season, and Romans was front and center when responding to tragedies such as when two planes crashed into one another while fighting another wildfire, killing both pilots. She also responded to the helicopter crash just north of Pioche.

Romans says it was a unique first year, and she commends the people who work with the aircraft used to fight fires, saying it’s a “very dangerous field.” Despite how overwhelming the whole experience was, she doesn’t regret the decision to fight fires at all.

“It’s a very physically and mentally demanding job,” she said during an interview, “but at the same time it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.”

She would come up against another threat to the nation when she joined up with Task Force South, which works to test the people of Southern Nevada for COVID-19. This decision was also a bit spontaneous, since one of Romans’ sergeants recommended her for the position out of nowhere. As a model soldier, Romans was a perfect fit for the small group of troops needed for the task force, so at the beginning of October, she started working with the Southern Nevada Health District to get as many people tested as possible. This task force has worked inside and outside of Southern Nevada, with one of their stops being the Duck Creek Reservation. Since she joined the fight against COVID, Romans has run one site every week, totaling around 10 different testing stations.

Romans was recently promoted to the rank of specialist. She sees this promotion as a huge stepping stone, and hopes to continue serving in any capacity that she can.