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  • Embassy life: Challenge accepted

    Opportunities come at all stages in your life; it’s what you do with them that often shapes your future.While stationed at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, and at 22 years of service, I received an e-mail from my assignment team that was just that—an opportunity.

  • Are you resilient?

    There are a couple of definitions of resiliency: The ability to return to the original form or position after being bent or the ability to recover from illness, depression or adversity.

  • Growing strong

    This past June, I reported in to Travis Air Force Base, California. As I drove through the main gate, I thought back to my experience 14 years earlier when I drove through the same gate as a second lieutenant.

  • Generations of time: The oath of enlistment

    It doesn’t seem like that long ago, but rewinding the clock 18 years–in the hot, summer sun of 2000–I had joined hundreds of other Airmen on a parade field at what was then called Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

  • How are you really doing?

    A couple of years ago, in the midst of a difficult divorce, I struggled to have a good day. I was not a commander at the time, but still embraced the tenet that leaders should not have a bad day in public.

  • Where did all of the time go?

    I’ve been doing a lot of self-reflecting the past few weeks. In doing so, I’ve evaluated where I am in my personal and professional life. How did I get to where I am? Have I met my goals? Would I do anything differently?

  • Balance

    Balance, a word we hear used in leadership frequently. The question is, though, what does balance mean? Does anyone really know what balance looks like? How do others gauge what the perfect balance to you would look like, especially if they are family?

  • The time I was hit by a truck

    On June 23rd, 2012, I was hit by a truck as I crossed the street in St. Louis, Missouri. A white pickup truck ran a red light, hit me and then rolled over top of me. It was a hit and run and the police were unable to identify the driver. The last thing I remember is seeing a flash of headlights out

  • Relationships matter

    In 2015, while stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, I was approached by the 1st Fighter Wing command chief who offered me the opportunity to work with NATO. I would be working in Allied Command Transformation’s Command senior enlisted leader’s office with Command Chief Master Sgt. Jack