लेखक: Courtney Kittrell

Courtney Amber Kittrell was born in Greensboro, NC. to her parents Gwendolyn Barbour and Charles Kittrell. She attended Irving Park Elementary School, Lincoln Middle School, and graduated from James B. Dudley High School in 1999. That same year she enlisted in the United States Navy. Courtney rose through the enlisted ranks at a fast pace, culminating in her selection as a Chief Petty Officer in 2010 and Senior Chief Petty Officer in 2014. During her time in the Navy, she has traveled to various countries to include Portugal, Italy, Spain, England, Turkey, Croatia, Greece, Bahrain, Dubai, and a host of others. She has been deployed five times onboard USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, USS JOHN F. KENNEDY, USS ENTERPRISE, and USS GEORGE H. W. BUSH. Her duty stations include Early Airborne Warning Squadron ONE TWO ONE (VAW-121) in Norfolk, Virginia, Commander, Naval Airforces Atlantic in Norfolk, Virginia, Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD) in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Fleet Readiness Center Mid-Atlantic in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USS ENTERPRISE in Norfolk, Virginia, Recruit Training Command Great Lakes in Great Lakes, Illinois and Strike Fighter Squadron THREE SEVEN in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Courtney has one brother, Michael Lee McClain, Jr, (Greensboro, N.C.), two sisters, Chasity Diggs, (Las Vegas, NV), and Alice McClain, (Charlotte, N.C.) Courtney is married to Tiffany Rose Barber.In November 2018, I was overcome with emotion as I witnessed the cliche “Happy Veteran”s Day” posts on social media. I felt in my spirit that many people do not understand what service members go through. The ultimate sacrifice that we make daily. I can speak from personal experience that high expectations are put on us from a very early age. We expect young adults at the age of 18 to know how to be independent, how to be fluent in the mechanical and technical fields of their job, but yet they don”t know how to drive a car or pay bills on their own. We expect leaders to solve all the military problems from the newest service member graduating boot camp to the senior leader preparing for retirement, but we can”t hold our families together at home resulting in a divorce, drinking problems and even suicide. I have hit bumps along with my career with no one to talk too. I struggled in the beginning because there were no real mentors. I was left to figure it out. I had to deal with stress in my personal life and then deal with more stress at work. No one ever asks, “How are you doing today?” and sincerely mean it. Service members are taught to suck it up and get back to work. No matter if it is a professional failure, a personal failure, or death of a co-worker, we suck it up and get back to work. We become emotionally numb. It is okay if you are mentally strong enough to understand emotions, but for those who are not resilient, it is a battle. I was fortunate to begin receiving mentorship and guidance that helped me along my journey. I was able to bounce back from my failures and become successful. I wrote this book to share my story, my pain, my struggles, my understanding, and my success.