Philadelphia Eagles Nominate Rachel Washburn for Salute to Service
The Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 11, 2026 nominated Rachel Washburn as the club’s entry for the NFL’s 2026 Salute to Service Award. The announcement was published on the Eagles’ website and details Washburn’s military service, post-military career and community work. The team presented the nomination as part of its regular Salute to Service coverage of league nominees.
Washburn served six years on active duty as a U.S. Army intelligence officer and completed two deployments to Afghanistan. She deployed first as a member of the Cultural Support Team (CST), becoming one of the first women selected to train and deploy with Special Operations teams, and later served as an intelligence platoon leader. The Eagles said she spent nine months living in a remote village in southern Afghanistan, took part in more than 100 combat operations and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Action Badge.
After returning from active duty and a station at Fort Stewart, Washburn worked as a regional director for a relief organization before joining Academy Securities in 2017. The Eagles described Academy Securities as a veteran-owned investment bank whose social mission includes training, hiring and mentoring post-9/11 veterans. The team reported the firm is 50% veteran-staffed and 100% veteran-owned, and Washburn told the team the firm opens its network to veterans whether they join the organization or move elsewhere in the industry.
Washburn has a long connection to the franchise, serving as an Eagles Cheerleader from 2007-10 and traveling on the squad’s 2008 goodwill tour to Iraq and Kuwait. The Eagles said she remains active with the Eagles Cheerleaders Alumni Association and has worked with the squad on community outreach projects, including an international initiative with Waves for Water to provide clean water. The team highlighted Washburn’s view that her cheerleading experience helped shape her leadership and service orientation.
The Eagles noted that Washburn’s story has inspired other service members, including current Eagles Cheerleader Emma Conrad, who serves in the Delaware National Guard and is a University of Delaware ROTC student. The club also said Washburn is one of 32 league-wide nominees for the 2026 Salute to Service Award and identified her as the only female veteran among those nominees. Washburn said she accepts the honor “in service of all the women who’ve put on a uniform,” and the team framed the nomination as recognition of both her combat service and her ongoing veteran advocacy.
The Eagles invited fans to support Washburn through the Salute to Service voting process and provided a link to cast ballots for the club’s nominee. The nomination and related profile were published on Nov. 11, 2026 as part of the team’s Salute to Service coverage. The piece, published on the Eagles’ website, emphasizes both Washburn’s operational service and her efforts to expand opportunities for veterans in civilian careers.
NFL Sports Blog Take
Rachel Washburn’s nomination connects visible franchise roles and frontline military service, showing how veteran leadership can span very different public arenas. Her work at a veteran-owned firm that trains and mentors post-9/11 veterans illustrates a practical pathway for military-to-civilian transition. The fact that she is identified as the only female veteran among the league’s nominees underscores lingering representation gaps even after policy changes expanded women’s roles in combat. This nomination is likely to raise awareness of women veterans and the variety of post-service careers they pursue.