In partnership with the Irving Archives and Museum
SSG Amber Silverhorn-Wolfe, USA
Wichita (Waco Band), Kiowa, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Mexican Descent
Service, 2002–2011
SSG Amber Silverhorn-Wolfe, USA enlisted in the United States Army at age seventeen after graduating from Riverside Indian School. From the beginning, her path reflected discipline, focus, and leadership.
SSG Silverhorn-Wolfe completed Basic Combat Training in 2002 and Advanced Individual Training in 2003, earning a Secret Clearance and qualifying as a 14J Air Defense Artillery Early Warning System Operator/Maintainer. Over the next nine years, she advanced through every skill level of her military occupational specialty, supervising complex air defense operations and command-and-control systems that supported mission readiness across multiple units.
Her assignments took her to Germany with the 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, where she participated in large-scale multinational training exercises across Europe.
SSG Silverhorn-Wolfe participates in a combined arms exercise at the Combined Arms Training Center, Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, under the 7th Army Training Command (the U.S. Army’s biggest OCONUS training command).
2005 Army-Europe Women’s Community Level Basketball Trophy—While serving in Europe, SSG Silverhorn-Wolfe played on the community basketball team, which competed against all the participating Army teams in Europe.
Her team of a half-dozen soldiers won the Army championship, and eventually advanced to a “final four” of the top two Army and top two Air Force teams.
She later served at Fort Bliss and Fort Sill, and was selected for a six-month assignment with U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base. During this period, she earned promotion to Sergeant and graduated as the Distinguished Honor Graduate of the Warrior Leader Course. She ultimately achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant.
Warrior Leader’s Course, Distinguished Honor Graduate—SSG Silverhorn-Wolfe, 2nd row, third from the left.
From 2009 to 2011, SSG Silverhorn-Wolfe served as an Instructor/Writer under TRADOC in an Air Defense Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (ADC4I) Battery. She developed and instructed 142 lesson plans supporting Initial Entry Training, MOS-Transition, Officer Basic Course, and Warrant Officer Basic Course programs. She mentored hundreds of soldiers and consistently ranked among the top instructors on the 14J Certification Board.
Throughout her military career, she supervised more than 300 soldiers, maintained accountability for millions of dollars in advanced equipment, and supported operations in airspace management, intelligence, and early-warning networks. Her work required technical expertise, leadership, and constant attention to detail.
After her honorable discharge in 2011, SSG Silverhorn-Wolfe continued her commitment to service in a new arena—tribal governance.
Today, she serves as President of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. In that role, she leads strategic planning, intergovernmental relations, and community development for her Nation. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice, a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership, and is completing her Ph.D. in Adult and Higher Education at the University of Oklahoma.
Her life reflects continuity: service in uniform, followed by service to sovereignty, education, and community empowerment.
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