NFL cheerleaders open up about balancing life in the military
Two NFL cheerleaders are opening up about balancing their civilian lives and life in the military this Veteran's Day.
"Just because we make it look easy doesn't mean it is," Rachel Washburn, a veteran and former Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader, told ABC News' Danny New.
Washburn and her colleague Emma Conrad are athletes and also servicemembers.
Conrad is a senior Army ROTC cadet at the University of Delaware, a member of the Delaware Army National Guard and an Eagles cheerleader.
She told ABC News that she learned about Washburn and her story when she was figuring out if she could balance all of her responsibilities.
"When I was reading her story and all these articles that were written about her, it made my dream seem very attainable," Conrad said.
Washburn was the first Eagles cheerleader to successfully pursue a college and military career while also being a part of the NFL in 2007. She was also one of five selected to participate in a goodwill military tour in Iraq and Kuwait at the time.
"I had military commitments. I had to go to airborne school. I went to air assault school and so, there were times where I missed practice, where I even missed games during the preseason, and the Eagles organization was incredibly supportive," Washburn said of her experience.
She deployed to Afghanistan twice, with the first deployment in 2011, where she worked with special operations teams to connect with women in a rural Afghani village.
"Even though we were living in completely different paradigms, women all over the world have this incredible ability to connect with each other," Washburn said.
She served as an intelligence platoon leader in her second deployment and then retired from military service in 2016.
The NFL has since nominated Washburn for a 2026 Salute to Service Award -- the only former cheerleader to be nominated out of 32 nominees this year.
"It means more than I can possibly put into words," said Washburn.
Fans can vote online for their favorite nominee for the NFL's Salute to Service Award, which went to San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey last year.
