Col. Kristen Wood, commander of the 1st Special Operations Mission Support Group at Hurlburt Field, made a point to share why she wasn’t in uniform when she delivered the keynote address at Thursday’s Women Veterans Day ceremony in Fort Walton Beach.
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“You see, we're entering an era where stories are being silenced in an attempt to control the narrative,” she said after stating that the views she expressed are hers alone and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Air Force, the DoD, or the U.S. government.
“Case in point, you may have noticed I'm not in uniform today. That's because a lawyer and two public affairs offices, including our MAJCOM headquarters, had to weigh in on whether speaking to you today in uniform was in line with DoD policy.”
They were doing the right thing, Wood said. But she “lost patience and lost interest” in waiting for the final word before deciding to take leave and show up in civilian clothes.
It's one reason why she said yes to speaking at the event.
“Because being here today, telling stories and listening to stories is more important than the nuances of a policy,” she said.
Wood credits her military accomplishments to the females who have “normalized our service.” And she made note of the stories of female veterans that have been removed from Department of Defense websites in the past few months.
“We have an endless capacity to support and encourage and celebrate each other. But unfortunately, if you've been following along recently, a lot of stories have been 404’d now,” Wood said, referring to the error message left on a website that is removed.
While some of the pages have been restored, there are still stories that can only be accessed by a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
“Sometimes, as human beings, we get caught in a zero-sum mentality. If I recognize this person, it takes away from this person,” Wood explained. “If I tell this person's story, it takes away from this person's achievements. I'm going to stand up here today and tell you that is patently false.”
She encouraged the crowd to tell their unique stories, as well as listen to other people’s stories.
“Use these sharing of stories to help solve our nation’s most complex problems,” she said.
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She quoted Amanda Gorman, who wrote:
“America is now just a pride we inherit. It’s a past we step into and how we repair it.”
And from those stories, Wood said she hopes people find solutions to the nation’s pressing issues.
“Being proud to be an American and stenciling the Preamble to the Constitution on the back of your truck's window is not enough,” Wood continued. “Because here's a hot tip. We've got problems we need to solve, complex ones … we need to be so proud that we're willing to roll up our sleeves, jump into the proverbial arena, and solve our biggest problems together.”
“But here's the good news, ladies. We're all problem solvers.”
This is the third year Okaloosa County has presented the Women Veterans Day ceremony. The day’s events included proclamations from the state and county, along with the unveiling of two additional statues of women veterans that will be placed at Veterans Park.
The new statues recognize Captain Linda Bray of the U.S. Army, who led her company during a firefight in Panama in 1989, and Florence Ebersole Smith Finch, who worked with the Philippine underground to smuggle supplies to prisoners of war during World War II.
They will soon join the existing eight statues at the Veterans’ Park on Okaloosa Island. The statues honor female veterans dating back to the Revolutionary War.
A group of five women, appointed by each Okaloosa County Commissioner, conducts research dating back to the colonial period to identify women to highlight at the park.
Okaloosa County Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel said the monuments represent a diverse group of women from each branch of service.
“And that's what makes this nation great,” she said. “We are a melting pot of many who have come together, who want the freedoms and the constitutional rights that we get as citizens here. So I'm very proud, proud of this park because I think it reflects today's military and also the story that is from the Revolutionary War times all the way to the future.”
Ketchel has been the champion behind the Women Veterans Monuments. Future plans for the 21.5-acre space include a pavilion and picnic tables for people to enjoy the monuments, as well as the living shoreline.
“This is such a wonderful opportunity to showcase in a military community where so many women have been military wives and also soldiers, to be able to showcase them and to really come together,” Ketchel added.
Parks like this are unique, with only a handful of similar monuments throughout the United States.
“There needs to be more of these around the world,” said Wood after the ceremony.
Zeta Phi Beta member and U.S. Air Force veteran Jaqueline Mitchell said it was important to attend the day’s ceremonies. And she’d like to see more people visit year-round.
“For me, it’s an honor to see all the women who came before us and gave their lives for us,” she said.
A recognition of Veterans Day and a statue unveiling at the park will take place on November 11.
