I am a woman and I am short. I am an Airman and I am a Veteran. I am a sister and I am an aunt. I am a student and I am a friend. Some of these I chose, and some of them just are. An important decision I made during my military service … Read more
We had just completed a patrol through the town walking the main dirt road. It was a warm day, with a hint of a cool breeze coming from the Helmand River. Our left was a desert cliff that opened onto an endless expanse of sand and a jagged mountainside reaching to the horizon. On our … Read more
It has been said that the Marine Corps boot camp is the hardest boot camp of all, both mentally and physically. I am not sure what the other boot camps are like, but I can tell you that the Marines boot camp was pretty tough, and it took a lot of determination to earn the … Read more
It was warm and sunny day before the 2009 Afghan presidential elections. Sellers at the bazaar hustled as schoolgirls with white headscarves skipped hand in hand back from one of the many tent city schools in suburban Kabul, Afghanistan. Like so many times before, this moment was broken by others. Yet, this time is especially … Read more
The night is calm. I look up and I see the bright stars reflecting on the ocean. I stroll through our flight deck, contemplating our mission, feeling excited, yet cautious, about what lies ahead. Since high school I wanted to join the military and accomplish something meaningful for my country. Now I’m on board a … Read more
After I graduated from high school in 2007, I decided I wasn’t going to attend college. I felt that college was for people who didn’t know what they wanted to do. I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to become a hip hop superstar. In the predominantly African American community I grew up … Read more
When people think of Iraq they imagine a dry and desolate landscape that has been scorched by the sun. By and large that is true, but this day was an exception. It was the middle of winter in Northern Iraq, the time when the land gets its thirst satisfied. It had rained intermittently during the … Read more
Arriving into Iraqi airspace, I am met by a gripping fear. It is at the edge of my being, waiting. The passengers are instructed to don the Kevlar helmet and flak vest. Shit just got real. This is the real deal and we’re not in Kansas anymore. Keep flying, you noisy beast of an aircraft. … Read more
A soft, vulnerable caterpillar sleeps inside walls for protection from predators. I don’t sleep in my cocoon. I can’t. To sleep here is an open invitation for a free meal. The bullet-proof glass of my cocoon are windows into this foreign land where these hungry predators are said to lurk everywhere. And maybe, this is … Read more
I could see the shadow of the CH-60 along the sand, cutting through what seemed a vast nothingness. The two hour flight left me in silence, encapsulated in the drone of rotor blades snapping against the desert air. I was about to play the riskiest hand of poker ever, requesting a Court Martial over Captain’s … Read more