Beyond the uniform: Three perspectives on military life
How do fighter pilots adapt when their digital systems fail? How does seven weeks of basic training turn strangers into a close-knit team? And why might military families struggle to find a sense of belonging?
For Veterans Day, we revisit three recent McKinsey interviews that offer a closer look at experiences that civilians may not see.
Why human judgment matters
General Charles Q. Brown Jr., US Air Force (Ret.), recalls sitting at the end of a runway with young fighter pilots who were reluctant to take off because their digital information-sharing system wasn’t working. His response was simple: “Well, the airplane still flies.”
Brown learned to fly F-16s before GPS became commonplace, when pilots navigated using physical maps and visible landmarks. “You looked out the cockpit and figured out what bridge or what landmark to refer to for navigation,” he tells US Air Force veteran and McKinsey Senior Partner Kirk Rieckhoff.
Over a nearly four-decade military career that culminated in his appointment as the 21st chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Brown witnessed enormous advances in military technology. At the same time, he notes the importance of ensuring that pilots remain confident in their ability to operate independently, in case those systems fail.
Read the full interview with Charles Q. Brown Jr.
How basic training builds belonging
For Chief JoAnne Bass, Air Force (Ret.), the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, one of the most profound transformations in military life takes place during the first seven weeks of basic training.
New recruits arrive as individuals and after weeks of rigorous training and shared challenges, they begin to develop a commitment not only to their mission but to one another.
“When you go to a basic-training graduation, no one is more committed than those recruits on that parade field,” Bass tells US Army veteran and McKinsey Senior Partner Scott Blackburn. That commitment, she explains, emerges from a shared sense of purpose and accomplishment. By graduation, recruits understand that they’re joining something greater than themselves.
Bass initially expected to spend four years in the Air Force. Instead, she served for 31 years, eventually becoming its highest-ranking enlisted leader. Her experience reflects something she believes sets military service apart from other professions: “This isn’t a 9-to-5 job. This is a way of life.”
Read the full interview with JoAnne Bass.
For military families, belonging can be harder to find
While the military deliberately builds bonds among service members, their families can face a very different experience.
As a military spouse, Kathy Roth-Douquet moved nine times in 16 years. When her husband, a Marine, was deployed to combat, she had to change jobs, move her children between schools, and repeatedly rebuild her life far from family and friends.
In 2009, she cofounded Blue Star Families, a nonprofit that helps military families connect with their civilian neighbors and create communities of mutual support. Today, as its CEO, she’s working to address the isolation she experienced firsthand.
Roth-Douquet tells McKinsey’s Yocheved Rabhan that roughly 70 percent of military families live in civilian communities, where their neighbors may not even realize they’re part of a military family.
Military spouses often tell her, “I just need one friend.”
For Roth-Douquet, building those connections is about more than easing loneliness. When military families feel understood and supported—through meaningful employment, good schools, and strong community ties—they’re better able to thrive.
Read the full interview with Kathy Roth-Douquet.
The military invests heavily in preparing service members for the demands of their work. As these leaders’ insights show, ensuring that military families have the connections and support they need presents a different challenge—one that extends well beyond the armed forces.
This blog post was edited by Danny McCance, an associate editor in McKinsey’s Charlotte office.
