The oath doesn’t end when the uniform comes off

People ask me sometimes about the turning points in my life. There have been a few. But the one that changed everything was the day I raised my right hand and swore an oath to serve this country in the United States Navy. It was the best decision I ever made. The Navy taught me things you can’t learn anywhere else. Discipline. Accountability. What it really means to put the mission and the people next to you ahead of yourself. It taught me that leadership isn’t a title. It’s service. Those lessons followed me into the cockpit at Delta, into the Mayor’s office in San Marcos and onto the Board of Supervisors. They still guide me today. I’m not unusual in that. Most of the people I served with never asked for a parade. They came home and went to work. They became teachers, deputies, contractors, nurses. A few came home carrying things that didn’t show up on a medical chart for years. That’s who we’re honoring on Wednesday.

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