email. We'll respond quickly. If we don't know the answer, we'll work to help find it for you
as soon as possible.
Director of Communications
Doug Church: dchurch@natcadc.org; 301-346-8245
Associate Director of Communications, Art & Design
Laura Roose: lroose@natcadc.org; 202-220-9814
Senior Communications and Public Affairs Associate
Sarah McCann: smccann@natcadc.org; 202-220-9813
Communications Specialist
Sarah Zilonis: szilonis@natcadc.org; 202-266-9844.
Multimedia Specialist
Chris Ray: cray@natcadc.org; 202-266-9875

WEEKLY MESSAGE FROM ATO COO TERI L. BRISTOL

Honoring our Veterans
Hi everyone. On this Veterans Day, Friday, November 11, I'd like to honor the brave men
and women who have served in our armed forces. These individuals and their families,
as well as those who serve in the military today, have made large sacrifices to protect
our freedom. Their contributions are invaluable.
At the FAA, many of our co-workers are veterans. Hugh Mulholland, Terminal
Surveillance Weather Manager in Mission Support Services, joined the Army in 1981 to
serve as a civil engineer. Twenty-two years later Hugh served as an Army Reservist in
Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he inspected runway repairs, relocated Air Force mobile
radar equipment, and supervised construction operations. He also served in Panama,
building schools and roads and installing wells for drinking water. Hugh learned an
important lesson in the military that has shaped his career: train and prepare for the job
you're doing and be able to adapt at the last minute to changing circumstances. In his
words, "The military is like any other job. You get out of it what you put in."
Dianna Johnston served as an Army air traffic controller for eight years before joining the
FAA in 2006. She was the first woman in her family to serve in the military and the first
female forward-tactical air traffic controller in her unit. Dianna credits her military
experience not only for helping her develop professionalism and integrity, but for the
skills that led to her becoming certified as an FAA air traffic controller in nine months.
She encourages young women to consider a military career, and to think of their gender
as anything but a limitation.
Richard Parks, a technical writer in the Air Traffic Procedures directorate in Mission
Support Services, served in the military for 28 years. He began in the Army National
Guard before serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy. As a Marine,
Richard participated in military operations in Somalia and the Persian Gulf and
discovered he had a passion for air traffic control. He went on to serve as an ATC
instructor at the Naval Air Technical Training Center in Pensacola, Florida, where he
trained more than 2,000 Navy and Marine air traffic professionals. On September 11th,
2001, Richard felt particularly proud for being involved in a profession that helped defend
