AFA Staff Veterans Reflect on Their Military Journeys 

The Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) marked Veteran’s Day this year by turning inward, bringing together staff members who have served to share their stories, experiences, and what service means to them—a conversation that spoke directly to AFA’s mission to “remember and respect our enduring Heritage.” 

AFA President and CEO, Lt. Gen. Burt Field, USAF (Ret.), opened the conversation by acknowledging the significance of Veterans Day and by showing his appreciation for all of those who served.  

“We recognize all veterans and say, ‘Thank you for your service and thanks for what you did for our country,’” he said. 

As part of the event, a panel discussion brought together four staff members who are also veterans to reflect on the experiences that shaped their careers and the lessons they carried forward. 

Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, USAF (Ret.), now a Senior Resident Fellow at AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, who served 30 years in the U.S. Air Force, reflected that the final 12 years of his career—spent in command—were the most rewarding, as they allowed him to develop Airmen and lead them through meaningful challenges.  

“We have some young, talented leaders out there,” Cantwell said. “Whether they’re still aspiring as cadets or whether they’re on Active duty, they are doing tremendous work defending our country.” 

Cantwell explained that the meaning of service grew stronger for him over time. “I joined for the challenge,” he said. “And then after about 10 years, I stayed for the service. I stayed to continue to lead Airmen and make a difference.” 

Col. Jennifer Reeves, USAF (Ret.), whose parents also are Air Force veterans, said joining the military was like joining the family business.  

“I joke about the fact that I was born with dog tags in my hand. There is not a day of my life that I did not have a military ID card, so I do feel like it was the family business, and it’s been good,” said Reeves, now a senior resident fellow for space studies at the Mitchell Institute.  

Reeves said she always knew she wanted to be a space operator and recalled spending the early years of her operational career “in dark rooms with no windows and big screens looking at dots on scopes. And it was pretty wonderful.”  

But, like Cantwell, what mattered most, she said, was the opportunity to lead. 

“The most rewarding time in my career was when I was a commander. Getting to either help the young people do what they need to do by listening… and then later enabling other commanders to do their jobs to make amazing things happen—it was all consuming, and I would never give that up.” 

Chief Master Sgt. Craig Duclos, USAF (Ret.), now protocol manager for AFA’s events and operations, reflected on a career that began as an ICBM missile maintainer and culminated as an enlisted aide to the most senior leaders in the Air Force. 

“I worked for eight different general officers in 17 years. Three of those were … Chiefs of Staff of the Air Force,” Duclos said. 

His most meaningful experiences came while deployed as the Superintendent of the 380th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron at Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE. There, the relentless work ethic and eagerness to learn shown by the Air National Guardsmen surprised him—and ultimately turned a daunting mission into one of his most rewarding. 

“Failure is never an option. Nose to the grindstone, get it done, get it done,” he said. “It ended up being one of my best assignments.” 

As moderator Amy Hudson, a former staff sergeant in the Air Force Reserve and now Communications Director at AFA, reminded the audience, “there is no one size fits all of service.” The diversity of roles, responsibilities, and career journeys reflects the breadth of the Air Force and Space Force themselves. 

On this Veterans Day, AFA chose to honor that diversity by listening—preserving and uplifting the personal experiences of those who served. It is a reminder that honoring heritage is not only about remembering the past but about hearing it directly from the people who lived in it and continuing to shape its meaning.