It was a surreal experience for U.S. Space Force (USSF) Guardian Sgt. Michaela Sosville when she entered the field and was recognized as the “Hero of the Game” during the July 24 LA Galaxy major league soccer game against the Atlanta United at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Sosville grew up playing soccer and recalls attending a few LA Galaxy games as a young girl. She said she felt a “whirlwind of emotions” as she took the field ahead of the recognition event.
“I was and am proud to represent females in the U.S. Space Force and all service branches,” she said. Sosville enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 2017 and transferred to the USSF in February 2021.
Sosville serves as a noncommissioned officer in charge of Information Compliance, Communications Squadron, Space Base Delta 3, on Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB). The squadron’s overall primary mission is to provide command, control, communications, computer, and information services to LAAFB’s Space Systems Command. Sosville oversees LAAFB’s Gordon Conference Center and manages day-to-day operations that include audio and visual technical help for base events such as promotions, changes of command, retirement ceremonies, and workshops; and she supports all general events.
Her duties also include supervising and executing SharePoint projects, Records Management, Privacy Act, and Freedom of Information Act requests.
Fittingly, the LA Galaxy game where Sosville was honored featured a “Star Wars” theme, which dovetailed nicely with her Space Force military role. “Being a Space Force member, I constantly get compared to Star Wars and asked if I am going to space? I tell them I go to space every day in my job in the 61st Communications Squadron on Los Angeles Air Force Base. We travel to cyberspace daily,” Sosville said.
“Just like in ‘Star Wars,’ if the rebels couldn’t communicate with each other through radio or video transmissions then they would have never defeated the Empire,” she said. “We in the Communications Squadron apply those same techniques by making sure that all network, communication is secure from adversaries.”
Sosville has held a variety of positions during her military career including Freedom of Information Act manager, Physical Training leader, and unit Sexual Assault Prevention Response training representative. She has also been a volunteer for Armed Forces Against Drunk Driving, which provides transportation to service members in instances when the designated driver is unavailable to do so. She was deployed from July 2019 to January 2020 to an undisclosed location in Asia.
As LA Galaxy’s “Hero of the Game,” Sosville received a four pack of tickets to the game, parking, dinner for her and her guests, and team-related merchandise including a customized jersey with her name on it presented to her by LA Galaxy’s mascot, Cosmo.
That evening, the LA Galaxy defeated the Atlanta United, two to zero.
“It was a night I will never forget,” said Sosville.