A Veterans Day Message from Professor Rick Hansen, Staff Sergeant, US Air Force Security Service

Dear Veterans and Active Duty Personnel,

Capitol Technology University is grateful for your service and the service of those who are no longer with us. Serving in the military transforms us. Every November we have an opportunity to reflect and remember our time of service and the lessons and gifts it provided.

As you know, basic training is the great equalizer in the enlisted world. The life you knew before no longer exists, and simple pleasures like eating and sleeping are privileges to be earned. After years or decades we leave active duty and return to a world that seems smaller, changed. We’ve been transformed and the civilian world has become a different and sometimes foreign place.

Every service member learns to focus on their mission. Right or wrong, baby-proof safe or dangerous as hell, the mission comes first and personal considerations count for little.  And small mistakes, from bad guys or others, can result in irreparable harm. Family and loved ones take second place in our journey. If we’re lucky, we build a discipline and focus that we can draw on for the rest of our lives. 

As veterans, we learn to persevere, to find a way. And it is this discipline that allows us to push through the hard experiences and sacrifices to return and pick up our lives and pursue further education that will enhance what we’ve already learned in our service.  Getting that degree is a goal we pursue not only for ourselves, but also for family who have been there, encouraging, praying, and keeping watch.  It is a proud accomplishment and a continuation of the service already rendered to our great nation. 

A veteran who joined the Navy to fight the War to End All Wars, Eugene Rietzke, founded Capitol. His generation of veterans was the first to experience industrial-age warfare, with chemical weapons, machines, and disease inflicting millions of casualties.

Rietzke’s service prepared him to tackle big goals and surmount big obstacles. He founded Capitol just before the Great Depression. He persevered through the Depression and yet another World War, building Capitol and still serving his country as an advisor to Congress and the president. Capitol Technology University is one legacy of this veteran’s successful life.

Every Veterans Day we should take time to reflect on the gifts that our service has provided for us and the service we continue to provide for our nation. There wouldn’t be a United States of America without women and men like you who are willing to stand up and serve. Thank you.

Very Respectfully,

Rick Hansen,
Staff Sergeant, US Air Force
Professor, Capitol Technology University