Anette Messinger

Anette grew up in the small town of Stewartville, Minnesota. Being more of a tomboy, she was always with her brother exploring the woods, building forts, playing in the river, target practicing, hunting, etc. She enjoyed watching and learning about auto mechanics from her father, who himself was a mechanic. She learned woodworking and carpentry skills from her grandfather. Being deeply involved in sports and her church youth group, she always liked being part of a team and knew early on she wanted to join the military.

Joining the Army after high school, Anette spent her military career in the medical field. She was able to see the world like she had wanted, being stationed or having temporary duties all over the states to include Hawaii and overseas. Multiple deployments to the middle east made her appreciate the small things even more and felt the need to help people.

After being medically retired, she experienced firsthand the struggle of transitioning back into civilian life. She witnessed numerous battle buddies going through similar situations but not having the needed support and ending up involved in addictions or becoming a suicide statistic. Anette decided to go back to school for a Human Services degree, in hopes of finding some way to help her military brothers and sisters. After reconnecting with several battle buddies and some brainstorming, the idea for STARS-igy6 was born.