Col. Kashi Yatto ’80-’98m was recognized by her alma mater as the place where her military career began. An ROTC cadet who enlisted in the Pennsylvania National Guard, Kashi is currently the special assistant to the commanding general for the U.S. Army Soldier Support Institute at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. She is the liaison and subject matter expert to not only the commanding generals at Fort Jackson, but to school commandants and staffs and is the senior National Guard advisor on post.

Highlights of her military career include five years in Germany before joining the Army Reserve and the Texas National Guard. Kashi sought out opportunities to enhance her public affairs, communications, and planning skills by completing a number of special tours in Europe. She was mobilized during the Bosnia campaign and served a year in the Czech Republic as the deputy military liaison team chief in the U.S. Embassy as part of the National Guard’s State Partnership Program.

After six years in Europe, Kashi returned to Washington to serve as the chief of the European Command Branch at NGB International Affairs. Prior to her current position, she was the manager for employer services for Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve, an agency within the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

In civilian life, Kashi worked in insurance and as a financial planner, earning both her Chartered Financial Consultant and Chartered Life Underwriter designations. After leaving Shippensburg with a bachelor’s in journalism, Kashi earned an MBA from Southwest Texas State University and a master’s in international relations from Troy State. Recently she returned to southcentral Pennsylvania to attend the U.S. Army War College where she earned a master of science in strategic planning.

In her free time, Kashi and her husband, Brian Yew, enjoy traveling, theater, history, and the outdoors.

Congratulations to Colonel Kashi Yatto on her induction to the Burkhart Department of Military Science Hall of Fame.