Chun, the deputy technical director at the world’s largest instrumented range, remembers her beginnings at this facility in southwestern Kauai.

“I graduated from University of Hawaii in December 1989. I think they were recruiting for the college junior professionals back then,” she recalls. “They hired engineers out of college and had them go through rotation and determine where they would best fit within the organization.” 

She rotated into different areas, including public works, range operations, and range systems, and gained valuable technical experience in the nuanced and precise jobs that function simultaneously to allow successful range operations. 

“I think all the hard work and experiences helped build me up to be able to apply and qualify for this position,” she said, noting the invaluable support of many great mentors, teachers and guides over the years. “I didn't get here by myself.”

Her grandparents and parents left China and settled in Hawaii, seeking a better life and wanting to live in a democratic country with better opportunities, she says. She was born in Oahu, and graduated university with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

She is proud to know that Asian American and Pacific Islanders are celebrated with a month honoring their heritage and contributions to society. “We are such a melting pot in the United States,” she said. “It is nice to be recognized as a contributing entity, and have a month that celebrates the opportunities given to us in the United States.” 

Chun notes challenges at the start of her career with how others treated and perceived women, Asians, and local hires. A woman in a male-dominated field, she remained steadfast, and over time, cultural ideals shifted, welcoming in diversity and greater roles for women in the workforce. Engineering was no longer a “non-traditional” job for women, she says.

“We've evolved culturally as well as with acceptance out here,” she said. “It has evolved and I'm really happy to see the progress and we’ll continue to evolve.”

She describes PMRF as Ohana, or family, lauding the installation as forward-thinking, innovative and a conscious steward of the environment. It is a wonderful place to work and offers incredible careers, she highlights.

Chun remembers fondly the special memories, great colleagues, and lifelong friendships she made here. She commuted to work for three decades with her husband, Alan Chun, who retired last year from PMRF. Their love story began at the University of Hawaii. Alan, then Chun’s boyfriend, was hired at PMRF six months before she graduated. They are proud parents of a daughter. Chun describes the Garden Island of Kauai as a wonderful place for their family.

Chun shares the message of PMRF with the community. She visits local high schools and hosts career days at PMRF for high school students. She is a proponent of the Pathways Program that introduces young people to the excellent career opportunities at PMRF, including military, civilian and contract positions in a multitude of fields like engineering, computer tech, environmental, air operations, public works and maintenance.

PMRF boasts an incredible mission that supports the warfighter with testing, training and innovation, Chun says. The installation supports training events that vary from small, single-unit exercises up to large-scale, multinational exercises like Rim of the Pacific, RIMPAC. 

“I think the greatest accomplishment that I've done at PMRF was to posture PMRF to have the capability to do a lot of the ballistic missile testing out here,” she said. “We did a major upgrade at PMRF in order to support that kind of test event.”

Chun is among many personnel who have served at PMRF for decades, spending their careers at this small, remote installation doing work to support the warfighter. PMRF is dynamic and unique, and an extraordinary Ohana, notes Chun, “You never stop learning.”