Criticism and feedback can be some of the hardest things to deal with, but they’re a regular part of [military] life!
I’ve received a lot of critiques and feedback, and sometimes it really stings to hear. At times, the feedback-giver is off base and I don’t apply the words to my life. However, at other times the pain reveals a real shortcoming I wasn’t previously aware of and now have the chance to work on.
I have a kind of internal process I go through when I get feedback that hurts…

This weekend I promoted for the first time and traded in my butter bars for silver ones! Although right now it's pretty much a 100% promotion rate from second to first lieutenant--MADE IT, btw--I'm still proud of my first two years in the military and excited to see...

I’ve been hearing a lot about uncertainty these days, as the pandemic has altered, deferred, and dissolved timelines, events, and the ability to plan for so many of us. Weddings grew smaller, deployments grew longer, and many of us have found ourselves being grounded in a place we didn’t expect to be for so long…

When people describe Mountain Home Air Force Base, they describe it as one of those places that, “You cry when you get here, and you cry when you leave.” Although we were happy to move here, it was still an adjustment! But over the almost-two-years that we’ve lived here, we’ve discovered lots of fun outdoor sites and activities!

Disclaimer for my Public Affairs heart: None of the recommendations/links below are endorsements by the DoD or USAF. They're just my personal opinions and things I found helpful. Also, postpartum fitness is a tricky thing, so be sure to check with your medical team to...

I’ve been back at work for a few weeks now, so I’ve had a chance to establish and tweak my routine for breastfeeding. I think it’ll still be a work in progress as I roll with the ebbs and flows of my workload, but these are six things I’ve found helpful in supporting my desire to breastfeed while working!

There is a lot of talk about “toxic leadership” in the military right now, and I’ve oftentimes wondered how people can develop over the years from promising young lieutenants and airmen into toxic leaders. How does it happen? Why is it that many people start their leadership journeys out so well and end them with catastrophic failure? How do they not see their weaknesses undermining their leadership strengths over time? How do I keep that from happening to me? 

He said, “I would have to grapple with the tension between how I aspired to be as a leader and how I actually was.” This man is speaking my 2nd lieutenant language. I was hooked because I can identify; I’ve had very much the same types of experiences already in my short time in the Air Force: times where leaders have trusted me with responsibility and authority that made for some of my best days in the Air Force, and times where I have tried to pass that on to my airmen only to watch my efforts fail.

To those of us in the military community, the term "core values" is a familiar one. We all know the core values of our branch of service, the ideals and standards by which we are to live and serve. Air Force doctrine defines core values as, "...a statement of those...

Last year I wrote a post about my first Officer's Spouse Club event and my experience there as a male spouse. Not only did I win a pink pineapple, but I also enjoyed myself! In the last year since then, I ended up joining the OSC leadership board. This year I even...