When I grew up, the world ­was flat. The center of my world was Pueblo—a melting pot of nationalities in Southern Colorado. A location where it seemed there was no distinction made based on the color of your skin or how much money your family had. The idea of seeing people for who they are—and not what their race, ethnicity or gender pre-supposes they are—was a critical theme of my upbringing and education. Looking back, I know now my third grade teacher, Lucille Masterantonio taught me more about the world I aspired to live in than I could have ever imagined. Back then, I didn’t know nor care she was not Latina, because I trusted her to mold how I approached the world. She imbued me with a spirit of learning and inspired me to strive to be anything I dreamed of becoming. In attending the Air Force Academy, I challenged the perception if I ventured outside the city limits I was destined to fail. Instead I set my mind to graduate, become an Air Force intelligence officer and see the world. Obviously I did not fall off the end of the earth, and the Air Force has provided many opportunities for me to serve my country in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Korea; and today I get to advise the Director of National Intelligence as he executes his roles and responsibilities. Through all of my growth and adventures, one thing is very clear: I continue to advance not because I am Latina or a woman but because the Air Force focuses on building on my potential and rewarding me for what I do. Sometimes, the road is rocky, as it was for me on my assessment out of intelligence school when my instructor said that “with encouragement� I might become a competent intelligence officer. Oh well, everyone is welcome to their own opinion! I did not make Brigadier General because I am a Latina, nor did being a Latina hinder me. I was brought up to believe I belonged in any room, no matter who was present. While I never abandoned my Latina roots, I welcomed a whole new world where people did not care where I came from, but one that demanded I prove I was worthy of being there, standing toe-to-toe with anyone! In my career in intelligence, I have experienced endless possibilities. For instance, when I was recently in Israel, I was amazed at a front outpost where I was introduced to an all-woman crew manning the station. Our male escort was very proud as he pointed out women have a better sense of their surroundings and were the obvious choice to provide indications and warning of anything out of the ordinary. Certainly, intelligence analysis is not what my family—or the friends I grew up with—consider a traditional Latina career, but it is one I love and in which I have the latitude to grow and ever expand my horizons and responsibilities. As Latinas, we need to wake up and smell the roses. That may sound a little harsh, but we need to build a world where we are judged daily not on our ethnicity or gender but on how we overcome the tough challenges presented to us. We need to do this not only for ourselves, but for our daughters, nieces, and goddaughters. Am I proud to be a Latina?...hell, yes! I think of my mom— who was not—afforded the opportunities presented to me, and I am glad she instilled in me early the desire to look over the horizon. But for all who read this, I challenge you that your horizon should be broader than mine was 40 plus years ago in third grade. There are no barriers, so long as you look beyond your own horizon and chase your dreams! Do that and you will realize I am right: The world is most definitely not flat!

When I joined the Air Force 28 years ago, several career fields were closed to women officers. For example, women could not be fighter pilots. Now, almost all career fields are open to women officers with only a few restrictions such as Combat Rescue Officers. In fact, we have women pilots flying on the Air Force’s prestigious Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team and have had women officers pilot the space shuttle. And, just a few years ago, I was able to command in a forward deployed combat zone in Iraq. If that doesn’t demonstrate diversity, I’m not sure what does. Truly, women in the Air Force today have many opportunities—so, my fellow hermanas, you can dream big and achieve success in areas you may have previously thought unimaginable. You may wonder why did I join the Air Force all those years ago? I could tell you that it was to pay back my country for my education and that would be true, but there’s more to it. I joined because I wanted to be a leader and I wanted to make a difference. Like the Air Force ad goes, I did not want to look back on my life and regret what I did not do with it. I was born in a small town in South Texas, in what we affectionately call The Valley. My parents worked very hard all their lives to give my siblings and me an opportunity for a better life. My father knew education would be the ticket to our success and since he and my mother didn’t get very far in that area, he pushed it hard. I was the first in my family to get a college degree. I worked hard and earned my degree in just three years. I applied for jobs with my degree, but received no offers at the manager/leader level. That’s where the Air Force came in. They offered me further education, training, worldwide travel and substantial leadership opportunities. And, very important to me, was that I would be paid the same amount as any male officer of the same rank. Did you know that according to Harris Poll/2006 Americans rank being a military officer as one of the top 10 most prestigious occupations? One of my goals as a young officer was to make colonel and lead Airmen as a base commander. I pinned on colonel and eight months later became the 27th Mission Support Group commander at Cannon Air Force Base, NM. I had approximately 1,600 people in my command and our job was to maintain the base.

There were seven different organizations within the group that contributed to the care and feeding of the base, from force protection to civil engineering. It was from that job that I was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I’ll never forget the day I told my mother that I was going to be a commander in Iraq. She said, “Ay mami, why can’t one of the guys go instead?� It took me a while to explain that I had worked very hard my entire Air Force career to be considered a professional officer and had worked even harder at being a commander and leader. The fact that I was personally requested to be the first colonel to command the 332nd Expeditionary Mission Support Group in Iraq was indeed a good thing. I must admit that I never dreamed I would be a commander in the middle of the Sunni Triangle in Iraq. The real lesson here is that I should have. Dream big hermanas. Colonel Lisa C. Firmin is the Commander of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 842, and Professor of Aerospace Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is responsible for educating, training and commissioning officer candidates.