The Uniform She Never Imagined

An interview with Air Force Colonel (Ret) Mo Barrett

After 25 years in the Air Force, retired Colonel Mo Barrett discovered that sometimes the next mission begins by just walking through an open door.

Mo always knew the Air Force would be part of her life; she just didn't know exactly what that would look like.

Her father served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, and her brother joined the Air Force through ROTC. Mo assumed she would follow a similar path through Virginia Tech. Then one day, while cutting class, she ducked into her high school's career center and saw a video about the U.S. Air Force Academy.

She told her guidance counselor she was going to apply.

He laughed and told her she'd never get in. For a kid she described as timid and lacking confidence, the comment could have ended the idea. Instead, it became a challenge.

She didn't get into the Academy the first time, but after attending prep school, she applied again and was accepted. When she came home for Christmas break, she made a point of visiting that guidance counselor in uniform.

That persistence would follow her throughout her career.

Her whole life has been a series of seeing doors, pushing it open, then "...you just bust your ass to make success of walking through that door."

At the Academy, women made up only about 10 percent of Mo's class. And competition for pilot training was fierce; two years before graduation, the number of available pilot slots had been drastically reduced, leaving her class competing for just 225.

Mo earned one.

She went on to fly the C-27, a small twin-engine turboprop, in Panama and later the massive C-5. Eventually, she rose to the rank of Colonel during a 25½-year Air Force career.

During Mo’s 25½ years in the Air Force, the military changed in ways that affected her personally. There were also plenty of labels that could have been used to describe her: woman, Asian American, gay, pilot, officer and eventually Colonel. Some came with challenges of their own: when she entered the military, being gay was prohibited. She served through Don't Ask, Don't Tell and its repeal, and eventually married Jen, who also retired as an Air Force Colonel.

But Mo is also quick to point out the limits of labels.

"None of us are any one label. I'm the last of 6 from a blended family. I'm gay. I'm

married. I have a pet, you know, I'm a dog mom. All these different things, that's just one little glimpse of who we are."

For all she accomplished in uniform, leaving the Air Force was difficult. Mo had hoped to become a General, and leaving the Air Force meant coming to terms with a goal she hadn't reached. But after over two decades of service, there was an even bigger question waiting for her: Who was she without the uniform?

"My whole identity was, I'm an airman, or I'm an officer, or I'm a pilot. I didn't know who I was."

And that answer came through another series of doors.

While still serving, she became intrigued by a tour director she watched while vacationing in Greece. She got certified and eventually found herself leading middle school tours in Washington, D.C., despite initially insisting she wanted nothing to do with kids; and she loved it. 

Then someone introduced her to the world of professional speaking. One connection led to a speaking coach, and six days later, she was in California attending an event. There, she met the franchise holder for TEDx Youngstown, who encouraged her to apply.

In September 2019, she stepped onto a TEDx stage for the first time.

Today, Mo is a professional speaker who uses humor and storytelling to talk about leadership, connection, perspective and the lessons she gathered during her career.

Looking back, she sees the cumulative effect of all those small decisions to try something new, meet someone or walk through another door.

"I feel like maybe the uniform fit because that was all I ever imagined. And now, I'm wearing a uniform that I never imagined wearing, and I love it even more."

It's also what she encourages other Veterans to remember as they approach life after service: don't automatically dismiss an opportunity because it doesn't resemble the future you pictured for yourself. Try something new, meet people who aren't like you., and pay attention to what excites you. Trust the instincts you’ve built through years of experience.

And when a door appears, don't be so quick to decide what's waiting on the other side. Take Mo’s advice: “Just open your eyes, and say yes!”