Lt. Col. Brie Vihlen’s Air Force service has taken her to Afghanistan, the United Kingdom, bases throughout the United States and ultimately to commanding Carolina’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 590.

Carolina salutes its 342 employees who are U.S. military veterans with stories of a grandfather’s influence starting a soldier’s path to leadership, an unlikely sailor from the NC mountains, and an Air Force veteran who directs Carolina’s Veterans Resource Center. 

After a career as an Army Ranger, senior Tim Morgan turned to Carolina to prepare him for his next career in law.

Collin O’Donnell enlisted in the United States Army right after high school and was leading soldiers in Afghanistan by the time he was 21 years old. Now as a Carolina senior, the Tar Heel is serving as a leader for student-veterans.

Whether it was as an aviation structural mechanic in the Navy or building her own house or transitioning to life as a college student, Carolina sophomore Dedra Ming has never shied away from a new challenge.

Carolina is home to hundreds of student-veterans who served their country before beginning their Tar Heel careers. They have had life experiences that are unlike those of many of their classmates, and they are a vital component of our campus. … Read more