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COMMENTARIES

  • Your life is precious

    Suicide is a tragic event, and I can’t imagine all the different stories that lead up to someone taking their life. Know this: Your life makes an imprint upon others in ways beyond what you can imagine. As a pastor and a chaplain, I urge every reader of this commentary to consider that their very

  • The letter to my mom – Beyond the blue

    It is not what happens in life that makes me who I am, but it's how I am able to overcome obstacles that I face. Going through abuse shaped the way I thought, made me question who I trust and even changed my perspective on life. As a child, I was molested for years by my ex-step-father — someone I

  • Quotes from my mobility pilot granduncle’s war diary

    From Oprah Winfrey to Mark Zuckerberg, our nation’s most successful leaders are readers. Warren Buffet spends 80 percent of his day reading. Bill Gates reads 50 books per year. Former U.S. Secretary of Defense and retired Marine general James Mattis carried around a library of 6,000 books with him,

  • It's hurricane season - But why do you care?

    I know, I know … Preparing for an unlikely disaster seems like a fool’s errand. I thought the same thing – until October 2018. I was stationed at Tyndall AFB, and I was 10 days into my deployment when a ravenous Hurricane Michael (CAT-5) suddenly devoured my base and its neighboring cities, my

  • Flipping the 'switch' … Are you really there?

    Stress can and does extend from work to family time and vice versa. What sets people apart is how they approach and deal with this inevitable crossroad. For too long, I was constantly working through my to-do list from the time I got home each night until I fell asleep. While I was physically

  • Memorial Day: A Call to Remember

    For family and friends of service members killed in action, Memorial Day is a lifetime of heartache. It’s a constant whirring of what ifs.

  • Choose kindness over fear

    On a Monday afternoon, I stood outside a grocery store with about 40 people. Many of us wore masks; some wore gloves.

  • Coming together through social distancing

    We are physically more isolated from each other than we have ever been, but I believe this time of crisis and social distancing is ultimately bringing us together.

  • Gyms Closed: Work out anyway

    Fitness centers across the United States have closed their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fitness center at Travis AFB shut down operations March 15 to help prevent the spread of the virus.