Lisa Carrington Firmin, Colonel, USAF Retired- Award-Winning Author of Stories from the Front: Pain, Betrayal, and Resilience on the MST Battlefield and Latina Warrior

Lisa Carrington Firmin is a Latina, writer, award winning author, poet, and Bronze Star-decorated combat U.S. Air Force veteran. Author of Latina Warrior and Stories from the Front: Pain, Betrayal, and Resilience on the MST Battlefield. Founder/CEO of Carrington Firmin LLC providing writing and consulting services in Leadership, Veteran Culture, Transitions, Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and Intersectionality. In 2025, she was honored with a legacy Pioneer award in her name by Shield of Sisters for her groundbreaking work to help educate and prevent MST. This award will be presented each year to the pioneers that follow. Featured on the cover of Women Enterprise Magazine Texas and provided the leadership keynote at Harvesting Partnerships, hosted by the Women Business Council – Southwest in 2024. She created training materials and conducted workshops and sessions to educate military personnel and civilians about MST in 2023 using the very lived experiences in her book, Stories from the Front.

Her poetry is deeply personal, an intimate reflection into the invisible wounds of MST, PTSD, trauma, combat, hardship, and the joys of her Latina culture. Her art is exhibited or shared nationally on podcasts, at various universities, VA Healthcare systems, conferences, summits, airports, and galleries. The Department of Veterans Affairs in 2023 featured one of her poems, “Invisible Veteran” at their historic ceremony to announce a more inclusive motto.

Lisa is the co-editor for the Veteran Book Initiative at Blue Ear Books, assisting those who served in writing and publishing their stories. Carrington Firmin is the founder of The University of Texas at San Antonio’s Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, and the UTSA Top Scholar program. She retired from the United States Air Force as its most senior ranking Latina officer, after leading UTSA’s AF ROTC program to the best in the nation. Awarded a Bronze Star Medal for efforts in combat as an Expeditionary Mission Support Group Commander in Iraq’s Sunni Triangle in 2004, Carrington Firmin has received many honors and accolades such as the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the 2023 National Latina Symposium Veteran of the Year, UTSA President’s Distinguished Diversity Award, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce National Latina Leader, Governor of Texas’ Yellow Rose, National Diversity Council’s Trailblazer and Most Powerful and Influential Women in Texas, Texas Diversity Council’s Greater San Antonio LGBT Ally, Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas Trailblazer Award, Distinguished Alumni from Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Community Service Award from National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a Military Writers Society of America book award.

Why did you join the USAF?

I joined the military for a few reasons. First it was sort of like the family business, my father served in the Navy and the Air Force, I watched with admiration as he worked and led. I longed for that same sense of extended family and leadership that he experienced. I grew up all over the world on military bases. My older brother served in the Army, but I came in before he did, right after college. I am the only woman in the family to serve and the only officer. Second, I wanted to give back. My father suffered a stroke and was medically retired from service after serving over 20 years. The VA paid for my first degree due to his disability, and I wanted to pay my country back. Thirdly, I really wanted to be a leader, and the military offered me an opportunity to do just that. I couldn’t wait to finish college so I could make my mark on the world. I was blessed to be the first in the family to earn a college degree and I did it in 3 years with honors. Ha, I was extremely motivated to start my professional life and to beat my older brother in getting a degree.

What surprised you the most as a Latina serving in our military?

I was surprised when I joined the military and found myself an outlier. It was so isolating as no one looked like me and there were few women around. I was typically the first woman officer in the unit or to lead an organization. I met people who had never seen a Latina. I stood out being a woman and a Latina. My initial experiences were not pleasant, but I was determined to be the best I could be. I channeled being constantly underestimated and turned it into a superpower. I baffled people with my competency. I rather enjoyed watching their reactions to me exceeding the low bar they set, they seemed totally surprised that I could excel, surpass their estimate of my performance. They quickly found out just how competent I was. Being competent has always been my number one leadership lesson for myself and others.

What do you want people to know about the Latina Culture? Can you share your proudest moment? 

Growing up in a Latino household was amazing for me and I realize that more and more as I meet those who were not as fortunate growing up. For example, my parents instilled in all of us the value of hard work, a good work ethic and putting others first. I got a master class in servant leadership with the example set by both of my parents in both their professional and personal lives. One of my proudest moments has been sharing my Latina culture with my grandchildren. Recently we gathered over the holidays and for the first time I led a tamalada, where we come together to make home made tamales. What an experience, teaching and watching my grandchildren participate, seeing and doing what has transpired in my family for generations. I burst with pride as I passed down family recipes for tamales, carne guisada, tortillas, salsa, etc. Watching each of my grandchildren step up to help make tamales and more has been rewarding. Hearing one say, “oh we are making salsa from scratch with a molcajete, just like our ancestors” warmed my heart so much. I never want to forget where I came from and want our follow-on generations to understand the sacrifices that have been made for the opportunities they have every day.

Another time where I burst with pride as a Latina was when a young airman came up to me at a base I was stationed at in North Dakota and said to me that she had planned to get out of the military until she saw me. She was a young, sharp airman who was in the honor guard and planned to separate from the service when her enlistment was up. Hearing her say that she is going to stay in now because if I could achieve high rank, maybe she could too was like a slap in my face, in a good way. I understood the value and power of representation and role modeling. I don’t take this lightly; I try to live my life in a positive way every day to represent and to earn my place on the planet.

Your writing took a shift in 2020. Take us back. 

I’ve been writing off and on for years and published book chapters, articles and opinion pieces, mostly about leadership, but my writing took a shift in late 2020 to focus on the deeply personal trauma that I experienced and had buried for years. It was time for me to address it and not only in therapy but in writing, sharing my journey with others. My art emerged as a way to save myself and help others. I started writing poems about my military sexual trauma (MST), combat experiences, and PTSD. I never expected that showing my vulnerability, being totally authentic about what I’ve experienced would be so empowering and inspiring to others. 

I finally addressed the demons in my head and beat them into submission. I was not prepared for how this was going to change my life. As I shared my writing with others, especially mental health providers and other veterans, my post traumatic growth grew exponentially. I couldn’t believe how I emerged after this as a new creation, one that had been broken, but was now living a full and authentic life and not afraid to show my invisible wounds. I will never escape my trauma, but have learned to own my narrative, own what happened to me and am now able to move forward. I want to help others experience this type of growth after trauma.

Tell us about the invisible wounds of PTSD. 

In the past, I never spoke about my PTSD, I was too embarrassed and ashamed. I didn’t even admit to it with the military or the VA upon my retirement. It took me 10 years after leaving the service to speak up. I am no longer embarrassed. It is a part of me. I own it, I finally sought help and my life transformed in positive ways. I had carried the burden long enough. Along with writing, I underwent EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy) and I am able to speak and write about this now. This therapy allows you to remember traumatic events while undergoing bilateral stimulation like eye movement, while I recalled my sexual assault and combat experiences. This helped to reduce the emotional impact of these memories.

For example, I experienced a shattering PTSD flashback at an international airport and buried it, didn’t tell anyone about what happened and how much it scared me. I thought at the time, what if it happens again, at work or somewhere else? I was terrified. Several years later when my writing shifted, I finally could open up about it and wrote a poem called “The Combat You” to finally get it out of my head and to let others know that my PTSD was real, but it no longer defined me, I call the shots not my PTSD. I also finally wrote about that experience at the airport in a poem titled “Save the Civilians.” I have learned to move forward with my PTSD diagnosis, it was extremely hard for me to remember, talk and write about this, but I am a better person because I did the work.

I often tell folks that I write from both my scars and wounds, with every word I write about my trauma, the scar tissue around my wounds thicken, providing more and more distance between the scars and invisible wounds I carry. I traded my combat body armor for the power of the pen.

Tell us about your award-winning book Stories from the Front: Pain,  Betrayal, and Resilience on the MST Battlefield. 

I am very proud of my first full length book, Stories from the Front: Pain, Betrayal, and Resilience on the MST Battlefield which won an award from the Military Writers Society of America. I wrote the book because I was enraged at the sexual harassment and sexual assault that was still transpiring within the military. The horrific murder of a young Latina at Ft Hood in Texas in 2020 became the catalyst for me to write this. And for the record, never underestimate a pissed off Latina. Most books take a couple of years or more to write, edit and get published, I wrote Stories and published it with a professional editor and publisher in under a year. I truly believe that this book and my writing journey is a calling. I believe that the journey I am on is not a coincidence, but a mandate from the Lord. Perhaps this is why I survived Iraq, to make a difference in myself and others by writing real lived experiences. 

I was hard-pressed to get it out to educate the public, entice the military to make needed changes and to let all those who suffered MST know they were not alone. My release date was the one-year anniversary of that young Latina’s murder. Initially, I had some doubts on my self-imposed timeline as I interviewed about 20 veterans and ended up including 14 stories including my own. But I pulled it off and it is out there for the world to understand the deeply personal and professional ramifications that MST leaves behind. I wanted to put a face to MST and let others know this happens to anyone and everyone. My book spans over 50 years from the Vietnam era to present day as there are two active duty featured in the book. The stories range across the full range of trauma from verbal harassment to misogyny to discrimination to rape. Every branch of service is represented which conveys just how deeply entrenched this issue is within the military. 

What did you learn about yourself when writing this book?

I learned I wasn’t alone with what happened to me and there was a powerful community of women and men out there who understood and who needed a voice. I stepped into the gap and became that voice. I was honored to tell these stories and lend my platform to advocacy. I also got a master class in trauma as each story I heard triggered my own, I had to learn to not absorb the trauma of others. I learned that you never know the journey of the person next to you, I wrote an article for my publisher’s substack that writing this book was sort of like my last command. I felt deeply for each story I wrote and tried hard to honor and respect each individual. It was the least I could do, after their experiences. I also learned it is never too late to address or face your trauma. There is no expiration date on trauma, it becomes part of you, how you deal with it is under your control. I created training materials and workshops from the lived experiences in the book and used them to train and educate military and civilian individuals on the lifelong ramifications and prevention of MST. Finally, I learned that I was stronger than I ever thought and there was nothing I couldn’t do if I put my heart and soul into it.

How has poetry been a force of strength  in your life? Tell us about your second book, Latina Warrior (2023). 

Writing poetry has been a real-life saver for me. I found that writing poetry while I was writing my first book about MST helped me deal with all the trauma I was hearing and writing about. I am also very proud of this book, which is basically an autobiography told through poems, prose and art. My collaboration with a fellow woman combat veteran artist proved to be an empowering collaboration. I wrote 50 poems depicting my life and grouped them under these headings: Early Years y Familia, The Military and Combat, Life after the Military and Healing and the Road to Authenticity. It is written in English and Spanglish and represents me well. The accompanying art is absolutely amazing; we both challenged ourselves in creating this unique book which we call a hybrid format to address healing. We both experienced significant post traumatic growth from the collaboration and publication of Latina Warrior. This book stands front and center as a true to self-recap of my life and is the most vulnerable and authentic I have ever been. I didn’t hold back and did not shy away from the intensity of combat, leadership, divorce, imposter syndrome or military sexual trauma experiences. Latina Warrior demonstrates the power of using artistic expression to move beyond pain to heal deeply buried wounds. It is an anthem of overcoming barriers to come out stronger, never letting the demons of discrimination, sexual assault or combat be victorious. I ended up trademarking the words “Latina Warrior” and we have created merchandise surrounding this book and the poetry and art in it. We are super proud of the brand Latina Warrior and all that it conveys.

What is next for you?

I have a couple of events coming up. I will serve as keynote for the Women in Publishing summit virtually in early March. This is a strong community of women authors and publishers and supporters and am honored to serve as keynote. I will moderate a panel on veteran entrepreneurs and conduct a collaborative session with my combat veteran artist from my second book on healing through the arts at Military Creator Con in Arlington, Texas in mid-April. Additionally, I am writing my 3rd full length book about veteran entrepreneurs and business owners. In fact, the panel I am moderating in April will feature 4 of the vet entrepreneurs in my book. This book will feature 20 journeys of vets who created their own companies. I am very excited about this, have already conducted 20 interviews and can’t wait to share their journeys with the world. I also plan to take more time off to spend with family, the struggling workaholic in me has days I relapse, I just really love what I do. Helping others live authentic and more fulfilling lives is an incredible mission and purpose. I am blessed and grateful. 

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-firmin-97584a12

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ColonelLisa
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/lisacarringtonfirmin/