Colonel Dion Flynn is an experienced leader, loving mother, and also the first woman veteran I have had the honor of interviewing. Col. Flynn is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, class of 1995. She has served in the military in some capacity for 29 years and continues to do so.
I first heard Col. Flynn speak at an Alumni Panel my school hosted last year. Immediately, I was interested in her story not only because of this common thread shared but because of her incredible experience and success in the military.
Q(1): What motivated you to serve your country, and how has that decision shaped your life?
A(1): “My dad was in the Air Force…he was the air traffic controller. As a young girl, he would take me into the tower with him, and I used to see him doing his job…taking care of people, ensuring that they were safe to get in and out of airports, and working with the pilots. I think that exposure and sense of service as well as his belief in me that anything I put my mind to that I was capable of….This put me on the path to find a career that would allow that side of me to come out…Something that pushed me from a capability standpoint…that it wasn’t going to be tempered in any way by my gender, the things that I could accomplish.”
Q(2): When you think about your time in the military, is there an impactful memory or core memory that stands out to you?
A(2): “Well, I just came out of command…being in charge of around 1000 people…one of the most fulfilling and all-consuming jobs…making sure my airmen were ready and could deploy on defense missions…Signing off orders, there was an afternoon when I went up to my unit and up to a person and thanked them for their willingness to be sent into harm's way to protect and serve our country. And it was just a pretty impactful thing to…looking into someone's eyes and knowing that there is some trepidation there but that they are still willing to put themself into those situations. Which was very significant for me.”
Q(3): Can you share a lesson from your time in the military that you think civilians, especially young people, should learn?
A(3): “One of the leading lessons that I have learned is that you will fail. It is going to happen. You know, I could tell you specific stories of my time in the military where to get to the Air Force Academy. I was a straight-A student, athletically gifted, just able to do a lot of things, and at the Air Force Academy I failed two classes…It was because I had too much pride and I didn’t ask for help…But it’s what happens when life comes at you with those failures, what do you do? Do you pick yourself up and take the humble pill that you’ve just been given and decide if it’s something you want? And go after it and put in twice as much work as everyone else but know that, that was something you wanted and was willing to work for.”
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