Commentary

I left for Air Force Basic Military Training on May 11, 2015. I left behind most of my immediate family, the love of my life, Joseph, and our two dogs. The six-hour drive to the Military Entrance Processing Station was filled with every emotion ranging from anxious to excitement. An […]

My name is Stephanie. I was born and I enlisted into the Air Force as Jonathan from St. Louis, Missouri. My father was in the Air Force as well, and it just made sense for me to leave home the same way. My first year in the military was filled with what I would say every child leaving home deals with; learning who they are and learning to accept the different parts of who they are. That’s when I came out as transgender male-to-female, and at first, it was a very difficult few months. I first only came out to certain friends, and of course family, and all the change left me in a difficult place until I was introduced to the military’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community, OutServe-SLDN, Germany. Through this group I made many friends, and was accepted into their family almost immediately. After a few months of this, I had the confidence to live as who I was until I began pursuing treatment.

As a photojournalist Airman, I have documented some amazing stories of the Air Force. Unfortunately, I have also had the duty to document the military’s ugly side.

In my family, Christmas time has always represented happiness, togetherness and caring for one another. In the warm embrace of our loved ones, we treasured what we had in our lives and tried our best to show our compassion for each other by spending time and sharing gifts with one another.

When you take command of a unit or installation, you expect to personally grow; you expect the experience to broaden your perspective and offer opportunities to build your leadership skills. You do not always expect the units and missions to grow. Since I took command in June, 2015, the Kaiserslautern Military Community and Team Ramstein have grown and evolved immensely — and I couldn’t be prouder of all we’ve accomplished together.

The other day while browsing Facebook for funny fail videos, I came across something even more outrageous. It was an article — recently gaining considerable coverage — attempting to debunk the need for dental floss by claiming no significant evidence exists to support flossing.

Here at the 86th Dental Squadron, our mission is to prevent, restore, develop and deploy. We consist of 134 personnel representing the largest dental clinic in U.S. Air Forces Europe.