After her freshman year at college, Jasmine Carson knew that she wanted to enlist in the Air Force. 

 

“Both my parents served – they met in the service – and my older sister was in the Air Force,” Carson said. “My sister really enjoyed traveling and forming a community with other military members. And when I saw her life, I knew I wanted to join.” 

 

Carson’s college credits helped her move to Airman First Class, and she was stationed at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. 

 

She remembered some of the lessons she learned from her service.  

 

“I definitely learned a lot about leadership. Helping others, guiding others has helped me realize that a leader needs to be a good follower, have good communication skills, try to be flexible at all times, and always celebrate differences among individuals,” she said. “We see so many people, so many differences in people, and that should be a strength, something to be cherished.” 

 

She has very strong feelings about honoring her fellow veterans, especially her deceased mother, who have “sacrificed so much time to ensure freedom and quality of life of not just Americans but people worldwide. It can be during holidays, and while we love what we do, we make sure, no matter what, that we put our all into our work. When we come back, just to get acknowledged, and celebrate that, is a pretty good feeling.” 

 

“I am a product of a military family, as my parents were in the Army,” she said. “They met in Puerto Rico during their service. They were both drill sergeants, and my older sister was in the Air Force. Celebrating Military Families Appreciation Month is important, because it honors the sacrifices and challenges that families have, to support their loved ones who serve.” 

 

Carson remembered her proudest moment in service (so far): “My first deployment to Iraq was amazing,” she said. “I had to become acclimated to a new environment, it was such a raw learning experience in developing new leadership qualities and seeing why what we do is so important. Being a part of that change.” 

 

That instinct to be an agent of change led her to NCI.  

 

“I joined NCI in November 2020,” she said. “I was looking on LinkedIn, looking for jobs, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I fit some of the qualifications and was interested in learning more about NCI. I wanted to be a part of a team of supporting the military, and I was excited to help other members of the Air Force. Seemed like a perfect fit, and it has been great and very fulfilling.”