Dr. Katherine Harris, Author at OpsLens

Remembering Betty “Tack” Blake – Graduate of the First Women’s Air Force Service Pilot Class

Featured, Military and Police, OpsLensMarch 10, 20220Views 0Likes 0Comments

“Thank you for paving the way for today’s women military pilots.” Betty Tackaberry Blake, “Tack” for short, was a member of the first graduating class of the Women’s Air Force Service Pilot (WASP) aviation training class during World War II (Class 43-W-1 ). Until her death on April 9, 2015, at the age of 94,…

The Tomb of the Unknowns – Tomb Guards Keeping Watch 24/7

Featured, Military and Police, OpsLensNovember 12, 20211View 0Likes 0Comments

On hallowed ground, a lone soldier stands on an open plaza. Twenty-one steps. Turn. He then faces the tomb for 21 seconds. Stands at attention, turns again, and pauses an additional 21 seconds before retracing his steps. The number 21 is symbolic of the 21-gun salute, which is the highest military honor.

The New Battle Buddy – Service Dogs Help Veterans Overcome PTSD

Featured, Lifestyle & Health, Military and Police, OpsLensNovember 10, 20210Views 0Likes 0Comments

That’s when he was introduced to the idea of a service dog and thankfully, he found his way back with the help of a new battle buddy named Bonnie. Without the help from the VA, Jim had to find a trainer and a dog on his own. Standing two feet tall with brown eyes and…

Bringing the Troops Home

Featured, Military and Police, National Security, OpinionJanuary 12, 20190Views 0Likes 0Comments

With the talk about our troops finally coming home from the seemingly endless wars abroad, I thought it appropriate to reconnect with a letter my husband Jon wrote back in 2012 while working as a contractor in Afghanistan. It is my hope, and I am sure the hopes of thousands of families that their loved…

Christmas Exodus Sends Camo-Clad Warriors Home

Celebrating Heroes, Featured, Military and PoliceDecember 24, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

Most Americans look forward to taking a little time off around Christmas. It is also a time of year when tens of thousands of military trainees, in the midst of basic training and AIT (advanced individual training), take part in the annual holiday pilgrimage known as Exodus. A two-week Holiday Block Leave (HBL), Exodus break begins…

AUSA Hosts Military Family Forums at Annual Meeting

Featured, Military and PoliceOctober 22, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

Every year in October, the Association for the United States Army (AUSA), a private, non-profit educational organization that supports America's Army-active, National Guard, Reserve, military civilians, retirees, federal government civilians, Wounded Warriors, veterans and family members, gathers in Washington, D.C. for a three-day annual meeting and exposition to bring together those who are associated with…

Historic Rain Amounts in Central Texas – Flash Flooding Remains a Concern

Featured, Military and Police, UncategorizedOctober 21, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

Water, water, everywhere…and it continues to rain. With the wettest September in Texas history, now moving well into October, Texas has received historic rain amounts that have led to catastrophic flooding. This past week across Central Texas and the Hill Country, during a 48-hour period, 13-24 inches of rain was reported, according to the National…

Local Government Leaders Offer Hurricane Preparation Strategies

Featured, OpinionSeptember 18, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

The 2018 hurricane season is here. This time last year I wrote about Hurricane Harvey and the devastation along the Texas Gulf Coast — dumping almost 27 trillion gallons of rain over Texas. That was just a staggering amount of rain. We tend to think of trillions concerning the national debt and not in gallons of water! As…

US Army Futures Command Sets Up Shop in Austin, Texas

Featured, Military and Police, National SecuritySeptember 5, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

As the state capital in my home state, Austin is the 11th-largest city in the U.S. and the fourth-largest city in Texas. Known for its city motto, “Keep Austin Weird,” Austin is diversity personified with an eccentric, eclectic live music scene, a world-class university, bats that live under the Congress Avenue Bridge, and is one…

Put National Politics Aside, Think Local Governance

Opinion, PoliticsAugust 20, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

Everything we hear in the national discourse when it comes to national politics has a spin, an agenda, and those that report it want to make sure we only hear their preferred side. The Republican Party is full of far-right-wing racists and the Democratic Party is full of liberal socialists. At least that is what the…

Homeless Veterans – America’s Silent Shame

Featured, Military and Police, National Security, PoliticsMarch 28, 20181View 0Likes 0Comments

Imagine the comfort of your home or office. It’s warm, dry, and with all the niceties you have come to understand as essential to a happy and productive life. Now, instead of your comfortable home or office, you are outside, but not walking to the nearest Starbucks for a latte or lunch with co-workers…you are…

Women on the Front Lines: Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester – Silver Star Recipient

Celebrating Heroes, Featured, Military and PoliceMarch 20, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester was awarded the Silver Star for valor at a ceremony at Camp Liberty, Iraq in June of 2005 for actions while in combat. Not since World War II when a handful of Army nurses were awarded Silver Stars back in World War II for evacuating a hospital under enemy fire has…

Why Are So Few Willing to Serve in the Military? – Part Two

Featured, Military and Police, National SecurityMarch 19, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

Part two in the series examines some additional perspectives from active duty and retired military, as well as some suggestions to bridge the millennial-military divide. Through my background and long association with the military, I was able to reach out to colleagues, friends, and former commanders for insights into this dilemma. I wish to thank…

Why Are So Few Willing to Serve in the Military?

Featured, Military and Police, OpinionMarch 18, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

This is the first in a series of two articles dealing with the danger to national security associated with a lack of qualified recruits for the Armed Services. Military Times reported the US will launch a two-year effort to find ways to increase military and civic service among its citizenry, especially US youth. The initiative…

Lost Aviation Pioneer Amelia Earhart Mystery May Finally Be Solved

Celebrating Heroes, FeaturedMarch 16, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

Born in Atchison, Kansas on July 24, 1897, Amelia Earhart was an American aviation pioneer, author, and member of the National Woman’s Party. She was an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment. She wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots.…

Remembering Betty “Tack” Blake – Graduate of the First Women’s Air Force Service Pilot Class

Celebrating Heroes, Featured, Military and PoliceMarch 10, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

Betty Tackaberry Blake, “Tack” for short, was a member of the first graduating class of the Women’s Air Force Service Pilot (WASP) aviation training class during World War II (Class 43-W-1 ). Until her death on April 9, 2015, at the age of 94, she was the last known member of the first graduating WASP…

Celebrating Women’s History Month – Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright

Featured, National Security, PoliticsMarch 8, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

March is a time for spring, daylight savings time, St. Patricks’s Day, the “ides of March,” and last but not least, Women’s History Month. This annual month-long celebration highlights the contributions women have made to our nation at all levels of society; the theme for 2018 is “Our History Is Our Strength.” Since 1988, US…

Retired Marine Master Sgt. Catherine G. Murray – Laid to Rest with Honors

Celebrating Heroes, Featured, Military and PoliceMarch 6, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

She was born on April 2, 1917, and lived to be 100. She was laid to rest among fellow Marines and other American heroes at Arlington National Cemetery on January 23, 2018 with full military honors. She made history as the first female Marine to retire from the Marine Corps, with nearly 20 years of…

Suicide Prevention: “We’ve Got an App for That!”

Celebrating Heroes, Featured, Military and PoliceFebruary 10, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

An app that links struggling troops and veterans with people who can help them has been used more than 2,600 times. Military Times Service Member of the Year – 2017, Maj. Chris Mercado, is one of the co-founders of Objective Zero, an app that aims to help prevent veteran suicide. Recalling the helplessness he felt…

The League of Nationalists

Featured, National Security, PoliticsFebruary 9, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

All around the world, nationalists are gaining ground. What is nationalism, and why is this happening? Almost 75 years after its publication in 1944, Hans Kohn’s The Idea of Nationalism: A Study in its Origins and Background is still regarded as a ground-breaking contribution to the study of nationalism. Few studies of nationalism have matched…

Poland’s Controversial Holocaust Bill Sparks Diplomatic Dispute

Featured, PoliticsFebruary 6, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

Poland’s Senate has approved a controversial bill making it illegal to accuse the Polish nation or state of complicity in the Nazi Holocaust by a vote, with only two abstentions, of 57 to 23 for the bill. The proposal requires approval by President Andrzej Duda, who supports it, to become law. “We have to send…

Is Mexico a Failing State?

Featured, National SecurityFebruary 1, 20180Views 0Likes 0Comments

Multiple reports from the border patrol station indicate violence in Mexico is on the rise, stoking alarm both inside and outside the country.