SSgt Mitchell Mossman, RIP
May His Memory Be a Blessing
When your commander calls you to his office, it always puts you on pins and needles—even when you yourself are a commander. I was lucky that my Group Commander, NImO, was—and will be again soon—an excellent commander. Nevertheless, the first thought that ALWAYS goes through your head is: I wonder if I’m getting fired?
I love NimO, but if you don’t think he would’ve fired me had I fucked up, then perhaps you should subscribe to Task & Purpose and Military.Com and just watch their monthly line up.
That could’ve been me!
Now, even when a squadron commander/battalion commander sits down at his boss’s office, he sits in the waiting lounge like everyone else. As a former human intelligence officer, I always found this was the best place to work his people.
Sorry, NImO, I didn’t want to get fired! And they had valuable intel about you!
That’s when I got to know Staff Sergeant Mitchell A. Mossman. SSgt Mossman may have been an Air Force intel NCO, which tends to attract a certain type of human, but he was a stud. A strapping, fit NCO who walked with quiet confidence. He worked inside my boss’ office—doing whatever needed to be done.
SSgt Mossman was selected for that position. Sorry, bruh, you don’t let any NCO work in your front office. As a former commander, I’ve made that mistake—it didn’t work out entirely well for this old GCV.
He helped NImO—who needs a lot of help! LOL. J/K! We all do! Commanders are nothing without SNCOs and NCOs. Seriously, who the hell is going to run this place—a bunch of fucking officers.
Let me tell you what officers really excel at:
So SSgt Mossman, led very ably by his exceptional Chief Master Sergeant, made sure that the front office business got done so commanders could do commanders' things—like fire other commanders!
So, as I waited for my meetings with the boss, I always shot the shit with Mossman. He was constantly fucking smiling. He was dating a beautiful Airman he would eventually marry, so he had much to smile about. But, it was his personality that made him stick out to me.
I’m what you would call a different type of commander. I’m very comfortable with the troopies. Not all commanders are, but that’s what I was fairly good at. Why? Because they have always motivated me to be better. When you hang out with the troops, it should fire you up to give them what they need to execute the mission.
Blocking and tackling. That’s what commanders do—they fight with the bureaucracy to ensure their men and women have the resources to execute the mission.
My relationship with Mossman changed after my change of command in July 2023. I was no longer a squadron commander. Thanks to NiMO, I spent the next three months healing from the war.
But NImO wasn’t done with me. When I returned for the final three months, I was now the “Deputy Group Commander.”
LOL.
Let’s just say I may have retired on active duty—sorry, NiMO!
As the DGC, my relationship with Mossman changed. I let my guard down. I heard about his aspirations and dreams, and he heard about my retirement plans.
“I don’t know, brother,” I would say to him. “I’m just going to write for a while.”
“That’s cool, sir,” he said. “You’re a good writer.”
I always enjoyed my time shooting the shit with Mossman. He was about to cross-train into a new career field (SMART MOVE) and dreamed of his future. However, I never really saw him out and about in town.
Then, I attended NiMO’s group holiday party in the twilight of my military career. And, boy, it was a lively affair! Hell yes! Let’s party (responsibly, of course.
)!And then I saw Mossman and his lovely bride.
I approached him and proudly exclaimed, “My man, you two look sharp!”
“Thank you, sir!”
That was the last time I remember speaking to him.
When an Airman dies, it is a tragedy. It doesn’t matter if it's in combat or a car crash. The pain that it causes is unimaginable. It’s not like if someone dies at your office. While that might be tragic, it doesn’t hit the same.
That’s because that Airman was your brother-in-arms. And he was willing to do what it took to do the mission—right alongside you.
Mossman was an intelligence professional who supported and executed some of America’s most sensitive intelligence operations. He helped protect America—you at home are safe today because of Staff Sergeant Mitchell Mossman.
May his memory be a blessing to his brothers and sisters in arms, his family whose pain is unimaginable, and his lovely wife, Staff Sergeant Meisha (Martin-Benton) Mossman.
It was the honor of my life to serve beside you, brother.
Please accept my sympathy for the loss of your comrade in arms.
So sorry. I can tell from your writings he earned your respect and that he will be missed.