Commentaries

  • Share Your Story: My reflections on race, the military, and moving forward

    I couldn’t watch the video. Even repeating the details of George Floyd’s death is difficult to stomach. In the days that followed, I struggled with how to articulate my emotions. Numbness, pain and disbelief washed over me.As a Reserve Citizen Airman living in Seattle, I watched thousands march

  • Faithful to a Proud Heritage

    While the Airman’s Creed holds a special place in our Air Force heritage, the second verse holds a very special place in my heart: “I am faithful to a proud heritage, a tradition of honor, and a legacy of valor.”     In my office, I have a picture my Grandfather gave to me many years ago before he

  • Courage and Compassion in Communication

    The world’s greatest Air Force is nothing without the dedicated Professional Airmen who work to deliver credible, adaptive, and decisive combat power to our enemies at a place and time of our choosing. Any issues that take away our collective ability to deliver that airpower weaken our National

  • Expressing what's inside

    We are living in a world today that is full of turmoil. Between a global pandemic and issues related to racism and social injustice, people are polarized with their thoughts and emotions. This often leads to increased tensions and difficult interactions.    Fear. Hurt. Frustration. Anger. Sadness.

  • Seeking to understand

    We need to seek to understand each other - by listening to each other and engaging in these challenging conversations. We need to have empathy - by realizing that we should listen more than we talk, and by trying to understand the perspectives of others and why they feel the way they do. We need

  • An Endless Mission

    A few weeks ago I was tagged in a post by my teammate, CMSgt Jay Harris to take on the 22 push-up challenge for Veteran Suicide Awareness. The purpose is to bring light to Veterans Affairs studies which show on average - we lose 22 Veterans to suicide each day. This rate is close to double that of

  • Are you getting ready for any opportunity?

    In his leadership book, This is Day One, author Drew Dudley identifies three things in life you must have, or one day you’re going to miss out on a cool opportunity:  1) the ability to drive stick, 2) an up-to-date passport and 3) two saved-up vacation days.  These are not societal norms or local