Happy New Year! 2024 was another incredible year for We Are The Mighty. Most notably, we celebrated our 10th anniversary! Ten years of creating content to educate, inspire and inform our readers. We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together. We’ve honored our fallen, celebrated our living and featured countless amazing men and women doing unbelievable things in support of our community. It’s been an absolute blast and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Here’s a look back at our year at WATM:

January:

We kicked things off strong in January with a renewed focus on giving our audience what they love: history, entertainment and feature pieces. Our top article in January was: ‘Operation Bolo’ was the ultimate bait and switch in the sky, a great piece by Jessica Evans about Col. John J.B. Stone and his plan to deceive the enemy in January 1967. Also in January, WATM partnered with Apple TV and USAA to bring “Masters of the Air” to audiences in different cities. Perhaps my favorite was the special screening we did in Dayton, Ohio, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Masters of the Air follows the true story of an American bomber squadron in World War II that brought the war to Hitler’s doorstep. You can learn more about the series here.

February:

One of the greatest perks of my job (if not the greatest) is the opportunity to work with our incredible client partners. In February, WATM was once again invited to the Super Bowl Experience to cover USAA’s Salute to Service Lounge. USAA does nothing less than phenomenal work and getting to be part of it is truly a privilege we don’t take lightly. This year, I had two special reporters on-site to help demo the Super Bowl Experience elements: my kids! What a gift to share my work with them, and, after they got to meet plenty of NFL players and YouTubers on site and co-starred in our promo video, my cool-mom-status increased exponentially. Added bonus: my oldest was born in Kansas City and our team, of course, is the Chiefs. Super exciting to partake in all of the festivities surrounding their return to the Super Bowl and repeat win. Watch our coverage here:

March

Since 2009, Blue Star Families has used its unbelievable reach to assess the state of the military family. From spouse unemployment to financial stressors, PCS problems to the military recruiting crisis, over 100,000 respondents have voiced their experiences to create change over the years. Their survey results were released in March and some of the responses were troubling. For the first time, when respondents were asked if they would recommend military service, the majority said, “No.” That number is down from 55% in 2016 to just 32% in 2023. Read more about the survey and its results here.

April

We know you love reading about aviation. Always a popular topic, we give you the latest on contracts, fun facts about your favorite aircraft (need I say BRRRRRRT) and anything related to the air. Our most popular article in April was, “Airmen volunteered to repair a WWII B-29 Superfortress … and it’s going to fly again.” A group of five Airmen, led by Master Sgt. Kenneth Jenkins, 22nd Maintenance Squadron flight chief, have been volunteering their time for a special project: restoring “Doc,” a B-29 Superfortress. The team has dedicated countless hours to repairing and manufacturing cables that previously deemed Doc unflyable. Doc is one of only two Superfortresses flying today, so keeping her going is more than just a job; it’s personal. A great story about an incredible effort.

May

In honor of Memorial Day, WATM partnered with National University and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) to tell “Stories of Resilience,” 14 stories of our fallen and their survivors, who have honored the losses of their loved ones through incredible work. 

Also in May, senior contributor Miguel Ortiz told the story of the plans to rebuild Tun Tavern, aka the birthplace of the Marine Corps, following the April 30, 2024 land acquisition by The Tun Tavern Legacy Foundation, Inc. “The land purchase is the first step in reconstructing Tun Tavern. With the land acquisition, we have a strong base to move forward with the fundraising necessary to rebuild the historic Tun Tavern,” Foundation Board Chair and Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania Free and Accepted Masons Rob Brink said in an announcement. “The Foundation will operate The Tun™ as a functioning mariner’s tavern and restaurant reminiscent of colonial Philadelphia. By providing educational experiences through exhibits, historical documents and special events, we will educate visitors about the significance of Tun Tavern in American history.” Through its construction and future operations, The Tun is expected to generate millions of dollars in annual economic impact and hundreds of jobs for the local economy.

June

As the year continued, we saw more and more news coming out of Ukraine. In this popular piece, Miguel Ortiz shared how a signed deal to have the CZ BREN 2 rifle assembled domestically and supplied to its armed forces made NATO membership closer for Ukraine. Ortiz explained, “Ukraine’s military is moving away from its Soviet-era doctrine and equipment, and instead adopting those of NATO. Military advisers from NATO nations train Ukrainian troops and Ukraine is purchasing and receiving NATO military equipment including tanks, planes and small arms. However, Ukraine took a huge step toward NATO standardization when it signed a deal to have the CZ BREN 2 rifle assembled domestically and supplied to its armed forces.”

July

Summer months are always busy for WATM and July was no exception. Following our Stories of Resilience, we spent much of July getting ready for our huge Mighty MilSpouse launch on August 1. Once again, aviation and Miguel Ortiz (a demonstrated recipe for success) topped our charts with this piece: Air Force’s newest tanker flies around the world for the first time. In it, Ortiz writes, “From June 29 – July 1, 2024, a KC-46A of the 22nd Air Refueling Wing executed Project Magellan. The 45-hour nonstop flight took off from and landed at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. Maximum Endurance Operations like Project Magellan test both aircraft and personnel to extend the Air Force’s reach and enable U.S. military operations across the globe.”

August

August was a very exciting time at WATM as we launched the new “Mighty MilSpouse” vertical sponsored by the visionaries at National University. A corner of the internet built for and by our military spouses, MM has been a labor of love. With more than 50 miitary spouses writing over 250 articles in just a few short months, we created a new home for our spouses to find connection and information. While many of our pieces focused on helping spouses navigate the waters of PCSing, mental health during deployments, parenting, marriage, and even fitness, we also highlighted the first-person experience of the modern military spouse through our memoirs. These beautiful series chronicle stories in chapters told week by week. In the Grief Memoir, Jessica Hall shared the challenges of raising young children while coordinating the care of her ailing parents far away. In the Cancer Memoir, Stacy Bilodeau taught us what it takes to “Shine On” in the wake of a diagnosis. In the Infertility Memoir, Julie Eshelman takes us through the Herculean efforts fraught with loss of growing their young family. In the Transition Memoir, Amanda Huffman shares the struggles of finding herself after leaving active duty to become “just” a spouse. And in the Wellness Memoir, Jaimi Erickson wonders how to care for her chronic illness and a toddler during a year-long deployment. In addition to our memoirs, we were so proud to publish a resource for military famiies who don’t speak English in both English and Spanish – the first bilingual piece published on our site. And, the data speaks for itself: Our top article of 2024 was Bethaney Phillips ever-helpful, “The newb milspouse’s guide to deployment.”

September

In September, we reflected on the anniversary of 9/11, we learned how Lucille Ball used her dental fillings to thwart enemy spies, and mourned the passing of a voice that will never be forgotten: Army veteran James Earl Jones, in a wonderful homage written by Joel Searls. Mighty MilSpouse continued thriving and all hands were on deck in preparation for announcing our 2024 Mighty 25 in Atlanta at the Military Influencer Conference.

October

Seven years ago, I attended the first Military Influencer Conference (MIC) in Dallas, Texas. There, I met then-WATM CEO Mark Harper and founder David Gale and convinced them to bring me on as Editor in Chief. The conference changed the trajectory of my career and it remains the best event for the military community. This year was no exception.

With more speakers, more attendees, more sponsors, more sessions, more balloons, more everything, it is the can’t-miss event for entrepreneurs, advocates, influencers, job seekers, spouses, veterans, and active duty members. Most exciting for me is the Mighty 25 Awards Gala, where we celebrate individuals going above and beyond to make a difference. The list is always impressive and the event itself is inspiring, empowering and honestly, just a damn good time.

November

November was all things election. For the first time in history, both Vice Presidential candidates were veterans. As you all know, President Trump was re-elected and J.D. Vance will serve as VP. You can learn more about Vance here. Also in November, my teen daughter and I secured face value Taylor Swift tickets for the global superstar’s last performance in Vancouver, Canada, on December 3. I tell you this so you’ll read this article I wrote about Taylor’s grandfather and this piece about Travis Kelce’s (Did I mention GO CHIEFS!) grandfather who was shot down three times in WWII. Damn, those Kelces are built different!

December

Finally, we ended the year with another exciting Army-Navy game, presented by USAA. WATM spent the day before the game on media row, interviewing everyone from NFL legends like Joe Theismann to USAA CEO and legend in his own right, Wayne Peacock. We watched the game from the press box and the field, really experiencing the emotions of the players, especially the seniors who played their last “America’s Game.” As Nate Boyer explained, ““Just the unity that you feel in the stadium and everybody kind of rallying around our young men and women that are gonna go fight for their country. You love the competition, of course, and they talk about fierce rivalries, but there’s not really hatred. There’s so much passion and probably love in a weird way for the person across the other side of the ball, but who do you wanna beat more than anybody, your siblings, right? 
Your brothers. You feel an energy in that stadium, and part of it’s the pageantry, you know, and all the cadets and midshipmen that are out there. and when the game ends, everybody cries. All the seniors are crying from both teams, whether they win or lose, because this is it and it’s like they know what it’s coming to. It’s not tears of fear for what’s next; it’s just this means so much to them. It’s a game, yes, but more than a game. I really believe that. I know it helped me get through some of deployments, because it was this escape. I mean, you love when you watch players out there that that play with passion, with their hairs on fire. I mean, they do it every other game anyway in the season, because of who they are and how they’re trained and discipline they have, but in this game, especially, it’s just it’s 1% more. From the tailgate to the singing second, if you watch all of it from start to finish, there is no sporting event like it.”

Thank you for coming along for our walk down memory lane, and more than anything, thank you for being a reader. We know we don’t exist without your support and for that, we are forever grateful. We wish you and your families a wonderful, healthy, happy New Year. Here’s to more adventures and more content in 2025.

Be Mighty!

Tessa Robinson, EIC