1. LaRita A "Rita" Aragon was born on December 3,1947 and is a retired United States Air National Guard two-star general who most recently served as the 4th Oklahoma Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
16 Facts About Rita Aragon
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Rita Aragon earned her Bachelor of Science in education from Central State College in Edmond, Oklahoma, in 1970.
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Rita Aragon would receive a master's degree in guidance and counseling from that same institution in 1979.
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Rita Aragon enlisted in the Oklahoma Air National Guard on September 9,1979, as an airman basic in the 219th Engineering Installation Squadron stationed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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Rita Aragon received her commission through the Academy of Military Science at Knoxville, Tennessee, in October 1981.
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Rita Aragon returned to the 219th EIS as an administrative officer.
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In February 1989, then Captain Rita Aragon became the first female commander in the history of the Oklahoma Air National Guard when she assumed command of the 137th Services Squadron at Will Rogers World Airport Air National Guard Base.
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Rita Aragon became the first female to hold the rank of brigadier general in the history of the United States Air National Guard as the commander and assistant adjutant general for the Oklahoma Air National Guard in March 2003.
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Rita Aragon served in that position from 2003 to 2005.
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In 2006, General Rita Aragon was appointed Air National Guard assistant to the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff Manpower and Personnel.
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In that position, General Rita Aragon oversaw policies and plans covering all part of the Air Force's military and civilian personnel management.
12.
On November 18,2010, Governor-elect of Oklahoma Mary Fallin announced that she would nominate General Rita Aragon to serve as her Secretary of Veterans Affairs in her Cabinet.
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Rita Aragon was sworn in as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on January 10,2011.
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Rita Aragon was named an OKC Chamber of Commerce Excellent Educator of the Year in 1990 and an Oklahoma City Principal of the Year in 1992.
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Rita Aragon serves on the boards of the Red Cross Chapter of Central Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women and the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma.
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Rita Aragon was named by The Journal Record as 2008 Woman of the Year and in 2009, she was inducted in the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame.