Current BVA National Sergeant-At-Arms Brian O’Connell, a graduate of Norwich University, is spotlighted in the Fall edition of the Norwich Record, his alma mater’s alumni magazine. Flying Blind: From B-52s to the Classroom by Zack Bennett details Brian’s career as a U.S. Air Force navigator, academic instructor, flight instructor, squadron commander, and several other positions of major responsibility.  

The article also traces Brian’s progressive but gradual loss of sight, multiple retirements, new connections to important people and adaptive sports through BVA and VA Blind Rehabilitation Services, and the satisfaction he gained from even another career in which he influenced hosts of aspiring youth in both the Junior ROTC Program and on sports teams at Surry Central High School in Dobson, North Carolina. Click the button below to read the account.  

Relevant Note: Norwich University, located in Northfield, Vermont, and founded in 1819, is the oldest of six senior military colleges and is recognized by the Department of Defense as the “Birthplace of ROTC.”