Why I Serve: Col. Kris Beasley

Col. Kris Beasley is the commander of the 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base.

He comes from a military family and that was part of his inspiration to serve, but like many others, he felt a sense of duty.

“Our founding fathers made sacrifices for use and it’s our turn,” he said. “If you don’t have volunteers, we won’t have that freedom.”

He travels frequently and said he sees places with far less freedoms than those in America and said without the military and service of veterans, it might not be that way.

Although recognition of veterans has increased in recent years, Beasley said they still need to be thanked.

“Our veterans in many cases never received any recognition for what they did, we owe it to them to just say thanks,” he said. “They gave that for our freedom.”