The Seasoned Vet

This week we’re joined by Coast Guard Veteran, Dr. Cynthia M. Morris.

Dr. Morris enlisted in the USCG in 1977 after leaving college as a Pre-Med major.

She served 20 years and received several awards along the way, including one that granted her the opportunity to meet Civil Rights Activist- Rosa Parks.

Service in the U.S. Coast Guard proved to be one uphill battle after another. But Dr. Morris is a fighter! Not only did she learn to ...

This week we’re joined by Staff Sergeant Natatera Green.

Staff Sergeant Green enlisted in the United States Air Force in 2001 after completing a degree in Pre-Med and English.

She decided that the Air Force was the best route to go, after catching recruiters from two other branches (Army and Marine Corps) in blatant lies.

Shortly after joining, she experienced a very memorable Basic Training graduation. She graduated from boot camp o...

This week we’re joined by retired Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Nicole Burgess.

LCDR Burgess enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1993 after being turned away from the Navy because get this - they had already met their quota for the year for women recruits.

As an enlistee, she was a storekeeper who wrote number 2 on the service-wide exam and ranked up twice in one year.

With a track record like that, it’s no wonder why she went on to bec...

This week we’re joined by retired Army First Sergeant Shakara Debose

1SG Debose never considered a life in the military until she took her cousin to take the ASVAB and left as the only one of them to get recruited.

She went on to become a 42A, working in Human Resources for 23 years until she wrapped up her career in the Army as a MEPS First Sergeant.

1SG Debose is a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated and since leavin...

This week we’re joined by retired Army Captain Crystal Hamiln-Tramack

Captain Tramack enlisted in the Army in 2001 as a former track star and graduate of St. Augustine University.

After 15 years of working in different variations of the Army’s medical field, she retired in 2016... by surprise.

Since her retirement, she’s managed to stay busy – Very busy!

When she’s not on volunteer orders for the Army because of a global pandemic, sh...

This week we’re joined by retired Coast Guard Chief Tonia Tippins.

Chief Tippins joined the Coast Guard in 1988 as a young single mother of three.

She served 26 years as Food Service Specialist.

Her time enlisted did have it’s highlights, but it also proved to be one uphill battle after the next.

So many uphill battles, in fact, that one of them is still ongoing in the form of a lawsuit.

For every reason you can imagine, we did not go i...

This week we’re joined by a Retired Air Force Captain.

Captain Ashunta Murphy enlisted in the U.S. Air Force right out of high school and never looked back.

Her career in the Air Force began as a cook/fitness center attendee and ended as a Sexual Assault Prevention Response Coordinator.

She went from enlisted to officer and from active duty to the guard. No shade to the active duty units, but she did seem to have a strong preference ...

This week we're joined by another brilliant black lady in S.T.E.M.

In 1995 this Information Systems Technician joined the Coast Guard after having lost interest in high school to get her GED.

Later that year, she managed to score 100% on her military requirements test for E-3 and E-4. She, of course, quickly made rank and became a Company Commander a few years later in 1999.

Since then she's gone on to collect over 2 dozen medals and ...

Sgt. Ronnda Cooper joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1998 as the first woman in her family to enlist in the armed services. She did this with the discouragement of her grandmother: a college graduate and school teacher who wanted more for Ronnda than what she thought the military could offer.

As you can imagine, anyone who joined the Marine Corps in 1998 was likely still in the service following the attacks on September 11th. That’s...