PRIDE Outside of June

By Master Sgt. Lynette Hoke, 148^th Fighter Wing, Minnesota National Guard

Senior Airman Tylin Rust is an Irish Italian American who grew up in Duluth, Minnesota. Standing at five foot, eight inches, she stands confident and sincere.  Her red-haired authority is a natural fit for her role as police officer at the Fond du Lac Reservation, near Cloquet, Minn. Rust also serves as a part time Public Affairs Specialist for the Minnesota National Guard’s 148^th Fighter Wing in Duluth, Minnesota. 

Public Affairs Specialists are charged with telling the story of the units they serve.  In this role, Rust produces photo, video and print products highlighting the missions and airmen assigned to the 148^th Fighter Wing.

Rust has photographed Airmen working in dozens of career fields, Air Shows in Duluth and Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as well as a real bomb squad response conducted by the 148^th Explosive Ordnance Disposal team.  Her photos have been used nationally by the U.S. Air Force and the Air National Guard and regionally by the Minnesota National Guard.  

Rust, who graduated from Duluth East High School in 2014, said “I knew I wanted to become a police officer in high school and decided to pursue that for a few years.  However, a couple years later, I picked up photography as a stress relieving hobby and was elated to know I could serve as a public affairs specialist, a role much different than my full-time job.”

She joined the 148^th Fighter Wing in September 2020, four years after completing law enforcement training at Fond Du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet, Minnesota.   

Her police training and life experience provided a solid foundation for her time at Basic Military Training at Joint Base Lackland, Texas.  Rust was quickly recognized by her peers as a leader and was subsequently elected to lead the Basic Expeditionary Airmen Skills Training (BEAST) week.  BEAST week was a four-day exercise that sent basic trainees out of the classroom and into the field to practice skills they may need in a combat situation such as building a base, surviving complex chemical or mortar attacks, or completing deployment-like scenarios where they had to make spur-of-the-moment ethical decisions. Nicknamed the ‘BEAST Chief’, she easily took on the role of taking care of the physical well-being and morale of her peers as they took on BEAST week.

Her aptitude for leading and guiding peers and people followed her to public affairs technical training at the Defense Information School at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.  Elected by her military training leaders, she gained the role of green and yellow rope shortly after her arrival. “Ropes” are colored aiguilettes worn on the left shoulders of student leaders attending technical training.  As a yellow rope, Rust was considered a flight leader responsible for service members in her dormitory.

After a year of military training, Rust was welcomed home by her family, her employer, and her Public Affairs peers at the 148^th Fighter Wing.  She quickly resumed her role with the Fond du Lac Police Department. “Balancing service and employment is complex,” said Rust.  “You have to accomplish two missions and I feel like I’m always catching up.” 

Rust’s civilian supervisors recently participated in an Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Boss Lift.  They were able to fly in a KC-13 Stratotanker to see F-16s assigned to the 148^th Fighter Wing conduct an air refueling mission.  They also toured 148th facilities and attended informational mission briefings. 

“Ty’s always had a warrior heart and a tenacity to follow her callings that I envy. I’m so grateful I get to be by her side and proud of seeing her grow wherever she’s planted. She’s a remarkable woman, and the best significant other anyone could ask for,” said Josephine, Rust’s fiancée, an active-duty U.S. Air Force member.  

Military service was in Rust’s extended family with her grandfathers and uncles, some of whom served in the Army and Navy during the Vietnam era. “Even though he didn’t serve in the military himself, my dad was my biggest supporter. He was simple with his words, but I think he would say that he is ‘beyond proud’,” said Rust thinking in retrospect. 

While military service runs in her family, Rust has made service the core of her existence.  “I love how I can serve and not feel any different.  I’m proud to be part of the LGBT+ community and I’m proud to be me.  Serving with the 148^th Fighter Wing feels like serving with family,” concluded Rust. 

The Minnesota National Guard’s 148^th Fighter Wing has more than 1,000 Airmen assigned, working in 67 diverse career fields.  The 148^th flies the Block 50 F-16 Fighting Falcon, the newest, most capable F-16 in the U.S. Air Force inventory.