DCSA Employees Share Military Service Stories at ‘Cultural Conversations for Veterans Fireside Chat’

Courtesy Photo | RoiTresha Watkins-Lovett – a Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) background investigator assigned to the Tacoma Field Office – was one of five panel members engaged in a question-and-answer session as military, federal employees and defense contractors tuned in across the country via Adobe Connect during a the DCSA Cultural Conversations for Veterans Fireside Chat on Nov. 9. Watkins-Lovett, a Navy veteran, told the virtual audience about her active duty encounter with the Tuskegee Airmen – the first African American military aviators and ground crew personnel in the U.S. armed forces. “We met history makers when the Tuskegee Airmen participated in our Black History Month observance,” recalled Watkins-Lovett who was assigned to Naval Station Pearl Harbor as a Master-at-Arms 18 years ago when she met members of the group known for shooting down 112 enemy aircraft during World War II. “I sang for the Tuskegee Airmen, and they autographed their autobiographies for me. It’s an experience that I wouldn't have had outside of the military.”  

UNITED STATES

11.29.2023

Story by John Joyce 

Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency

A 2023 Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) Veterans Day question inspired RoiTresha Watkins-Lovett to describe her experience while meeting the Tuskegee Airmen – the first African American military aviators and ground crew personnel in the U.S. armed forces.

The DCSA background investigator based in the Tacoma Field Office was one of five panel members engaged in a question-and-answer session as military, federal employees and defense contractors tuned in across the country via Adobe Connect during a the DCSA Cultural Conversations for Veterans Fireside Chat on Nov. 9.

“We met history makers when the Tuskegee Airmen participated in our Black History Month observance,” recalled Watkins-Lovett who was assigned to Naval Station Pearl Harbor as a Master-at-Arms 18 years ago when she met members of the group known for shooting down 112 enemy aircraft during World War II. “I sang for the Tuskegee Airmen, and they autographed their autobiographies for me. It’s an experience that I wouldn't have had outside of the military.”

Watkins-Lovett and her DCSA colleagues – Logan Willman, July Lam, George Robinson and James Larsen – continued to field questions from the moderator and the virtual audience with insightful and inspirational accounts of their military service.

“I had about two months of relatively carefree time in uniform before Sept. 11, which put the reason we were all there and serving really in stark focus,” said Logan Willman – DCSA counterintelligence special agent based in the Western Region’s San Diego Field Office – while recounting how his vision of military service that included adventure became sharpened on 9/11.

“My perceptions after I raised my hand to take my oath for the first time became very clear and made all the difference in the end," said Willman, currently serving as a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps reserves. "Upon graduating, it helped guide me into a Marine Corps commission out of the Naval Academy and led to a couple tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, and time in the Philippines. I met my wife shortly after checking into Camp Pendleton. I really owe everything that I have now to my service and the experiences that really shaped me to be here with DCSA, and continued service as a reservist.”

July Lam – a DCSA special agent assigned to the Tacoma Field Office and based in Anchorage, Alaska – was also looking for opportunity and adventure when she enlisted in the Air Force.

“I’m from a small town in Virginia and there really wasn't much opportunity there. The military offered an opportunity and I wanted everything that came with it – adventure, discipline, meeting people and travel as well as education benefits and security,” said Lam, pointing out that those who left her town for the military or elsewhere usually didn't come back. “A lot of my depictions of military life came from the media. I watched reruns of MASH and China Beach and even shows like the X-Files that portrayed mysterious interactions with the military that I found fascinating. I realized that was not the reality of what the military would be like most of the time, especially if it's not during wartime but it was definitely interesting to me. The adventure and learning about different cultures as well as the teamwork were depicted somewhat accurately in those shows. So, once I decided to join, I used my recruiter to start experiencing knowledge as much as possible to prepare.”

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class George Robinson – on active duty with the Diversity and Equal Opportunity Office as DCSA’s Organizational Climate Assessment Program manager – told the virtual audience that he enlisted in the military for family reasons, to try something different, and to build an extended family.

“I have had a lot of great experiences but the one that sticks out the most is my deployment to Afghanistan in 2013,” said Robinson who encountered a soldier who seemed alone and in need of a friend to talk to. “We had a long conversation and I carried on about my day. I saw them later and they pulled me aside and said that the conversation actually saved their life. They were thinking about attempting suicide. So, I kept a close watch and let the leadership know while staying close to them the whole time we were deployed.”

At a welcome home ceremony, the battalion invited Robinson’s mother – Dr. YaQar, chief executive officer and founder of Alpha and Omega HIV/AIDS Foundation and Health Initiatives International – to sing the national anthem. While she was visiting the battalion, Robinson briefed her about the situation and his concerns regarding the soldier.

“She pulled that individual aside and sung one of my favorite songs, which is ‘Brown Eyed Baby’ and in that moment, that individual broke down and cried because they no longer had a mother,” said Robinson. “Their mother had passed away. It happened to be one of their favorite songs, which I thought no one had ever known. It was very random that my mom decided to sing that song. To this day, I still check in on that soldier. We have a very strong connection. They have a very strong connection to my mother. I remember that moment like it was yesterday – not only did I help save their life, but my mom was able to be a mother for them as well and really connect with them.”

James Larsen – DCSA background investigator based in the Salt Lake City Field Office – recounted enlisting immediately after 9/11 and his subsequent bootcamp experience prior to serving as a Marine Corps reservist for 22 years and counting, with a goal of serving in the Marine Corps reserves for 30 years.

“We've got a great culture in the Marine Corps. We're big on history and I think what helped me adapt the best was just going all in,” said Larsen, a Marine Corps chief warrant officer 3, while speaking to the audience. “One of my drill instructors once said that false motivation is still motivation. It made perfect sense. During the big final event called the Crucible (final challenge to validate physical, mental and moral training) – you're really sleep-deprived. You've got no chow. They don't give you enough warming layers and you're constantly doing all these different exercises and challenges. It's exhausting and when everyone's kind of head down – gone internal, and just kind of hating what's going on – one or two guys say out loud: ‘Oh, man, this is awesome, I can't wait to do more of this tomorrow.’ They're obviously being sarcastic, but that false motivation infected the guy behind them, and that guy's like: ‘Yeah, I love hiking with a pack. I wish I could put more weight in my pack.’ Then the next guy: ‘Yeah, I love push-ups, I wish we could do more push-ups.’ They got that infection of false motivation, which inevitably turns into real motivation. I feel like that was a life lesson. I was 22 years old at boot camp but that was something that I didn't quite understand until I got there. No matter what you're doing – go all in and fake it until you make it. False motivation is still motivation. Hang in there long enough and you'll have a good time – you’ve just got to stick with it.”

The event’s moderator, James Couch – DCSA supervisory agent in charge of the Colorado Springs Background Investigations Field Office – answered some his own questions, based on the U.S. Veterans Administration's theme for 2023, which is ‘service.’ Moreover, audience members submitted questions to the panel members via Adobe chat.

At one point, Couch, who is the Western Region Special Emphasis Program manager, asked the panel about the most memorable experience from their military careers. He led off with his own experience, but it occurred after his military service when he met a soldier who was also honorably discharged from the Army and engaged in a civilian career. Couch asked the former soldier – who became a vice president for a global corporation – how he was able to be so successful. “He started naming off the people that influenced him and set him on the right path, naming those combat NCOs (non-commissioned officers) and included me as well,” said Couch. “That was the highest compliment I could ever receive, knowing that here is someone who’s life I influenced. That’s what it’s all about as an NCO.”

• Date Taken: 11.29.2023
• Date Posted: 11.29.2023 15:49
• Story ID: 458718
• Location: US