In military aviation, The Ready Room is where combat preflight briefings are conducted, and tactics discussed prior to a mission. But it’s more than that. The Ready Room serves as the squadron’s lounge; where crews swap war stories with one another, tell tales of disaster averted, and seek to gain the wisdom that comes from experience. Grizzled veterans impart lessons learned in combat. The younger crew soak up what they can, hoping to gain an edge that may mean the difference between life and death. Every individual understands that the more they know, the stronger they become. The goal is continual improvement. To become better warriors, better leaders, and better men.

The Ready Room is an idea that started with two Marine Corps pilots lamenting the decline of civil discourse, and the ideological barricades with which so many have surrounded themselves. If only we could come out from behind our political fortresses and talk openly with one another and truly seek to open our minds to change, we could regain a shared civic trust.

The challenge then, was to take that step personally, and in a way that would include others. Thus The Ready Room was launched.