The Parade of Lasts for the Air Force Academy's Class of 2025 began in earnest in May when the Class of 2024 "took the hill" and passed an important milestone for me the past few weeks. For the past few years, my daughter has shared a portion of her time off during the summer for … Continue reading The Parade of Lasts, summer adventure edition

When I first decided to take the plunge and write a narrative book about my military academy parent experience, I thought, "this won't take long." After all, I had been blogging about it for several years and knew exactly how I wanted to elevate that to another level. So the first thing I did was … Continue reading My new book finally hit the shelves

My social media feeds have been flooded this past week or so with posts from two USAFA classes - the graduating Class of 2024 and the soon-to-be Firstie Class of 2025. Rightly so, for as the Class of '24 prepared for the culmination of their years in the Springs, it also represents a key transitional … Continue reading Commissioning and the Parade of Lasts

They say good things come in threes and after this past weekend, whom am I to argue? Over the course of seven-plus years as a military academy parent, I’ve come to accept certain things and one of them is quite simple, logistics are a challenge. And I don’t mean logistics for a military operation, I’m … Continue reading 3 is the magic number

I'm tapping away at my laptop late in the afternoon of New Year's Eve, alternately gazing out on a gray, drizzly day. There are no grand plans for a night out or even a night in, for that matter. It's quiet (aside from the endless tinnitus-induced ringing in my ears) and no one will grace the … Continue reading Another old lang syne

It feels appropriate to prepare for Thanksgiving this week for a number of reasons, and we each have our own. The Naval Academy recently completed Service Selection, which is the same as Job Drops at USAFA. Why is it so much later than Navy? Who can tell? Sometimes I think they do things a bit … Continue reading The logistics of being thankful

A lot of things change when you become a military academy parent. For us, the first change came in vocabulary. From the time our son began the application process, we began to learn the language of the academy and the military, ranging from the Candidate Fitness Assessment to the flashback-inducing DoDMERB, we began to learn … Continue reading When Independence Day hits you as an academy parent

All across the Air Force Academy, May is the month for many. Of course, the Firsties and their families are preparing for the ultimate celebration - the moment they've been working toward for the past four years, commissioning and their first assignment as an officer. But the 2/Cs and 3/Cs are excited, too. The 2/Cs … Continue reading A somber moment amidst celebratory preparations

As a military academy parent, you either learn to embrace the ceaseless flow of time and change presented by the calendar or you are consumed by it. I'm in my seventh year and it continues to fascinate me. First, it's that relentless movement. Despite any drama or trauma, Spring classes end, Firsties graduate and commission, … Continue reading Existing on different timelines

I find one strikingly strong resemblance between USAFA's current superintendent, Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, and the person who served as the Supe when my son started his Naval Academy journey back in 2016, Vice Admiral Ted Carter. When I see them, either in person or online, it appears clear they know they have the absolute … Continue reading Lessons in multifacated leadership