Master Sgt. Traci Williams, 50, wears many hats in the Army.

She has been assistant chaplain, distributed food to war victims and ensured deployed linguists were receiving proper treatment and pay.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time in the Army,” Williams said. “I get to travel all over and do important work, but most importantly, I get to see how amazing our country and our people are.”

Williams joined the Army in 1990 and served in Germany in 1990, Haiti in 1995, Afghanistan in 2006 and Iraq in 2008. Her first two deployments were focused on protecting the chaplain and defending the rights of religious soldiers.

“We wanted to ensure our service members had what they needed to practice their religion,” Williams said. “Religious freedom while deployed is very important.”

In Afghanistan, Williams was in charge of community outreach, ensuring all donations sent from the United States reached their proper destinations. She also took items to Afghan war victims.

“My mission was really to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people and it was really amazing to interface with them,” Williams said.

Thousands of Afghans no longer had homes and were living in old abandon buildings shot up by enemy fire.

“There was no heat, no windows, no food for them,” Williams said. “They depended on us to bring them food, water, blankets.”

In Iraq, Williams looked after the linguists to ensure they were taken care of.

“I traveled around making sure they got paid on time, were housed appropriately and other things,” Williams said.

Williams counts herself lucky for only having happy memories of her deployment.

“Our mission each time was so positive and I knew we were doing good,” she said. “Our country doesn’t believe in just destroying and leaving; we help the people and care for them.”

Besides caring for others, Williams was the only woman in her group and the first female to be featured on a Seahawks football card by Topps in 2008 as the Armed Forces Fans of the Game.

“It was so exciting and so much fun to be a part of that,” she said. “I’m such a huge Seahawks fan, so I jumped at the chance to be a part of it.”

Williams is still on active duty. She plans to retire this February, while still making herself available for any need that arises.

Renton’s veterans are served by a number of organizations including American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, with posts in downtown Renton and Skyway. Renton also has a new Veterans Affair’s office that helps homeless veterans find a place to live.

For more information, call the American Legion office at 425-271-1439 or the VFW office at 425-255-9010.