Whether it is taking portraits or documenting 10th Mountain Division's history, as a public affairs officer with the division's Aviation Brigade, Captain Veronica Bryant Bean takes extreme pride in capturing moments from inside the United States Army.

"You always want to honor the service of the people that come before you, and you want to have a realistic expectation for the American people. We owe them what's going on in our day-to-day business," Bean said of the job she has held for a little more than a year.

It's through her camera that Bean is able to not only capture the moments, but share their story.

"Emotions tell such a strong story and we have so many different events that happen in the Army, whether it's homecomings, deployments, family events, and we are doing rigorous, intensive training. I think it shows the full spectrum of things that happen in the Army, and what it means to be a soldier," Bean said of the photographs.


What You Need To Know

  • Captain Veronica Bryant Bean is a fourth-generation military officer and spouse

  • For the last year, she has worked with the 10th CAB PAO, documenting the brigade's work

  • Bean says she's thankful for her family, for them helping her understand their struggles, and for fighting to ensure she won't have to face the same adversity they did

And if anyone knows what it means to be a soldier, it's Bean.

She's a fourth-generation officer and spouse. Her family is very diverse, but is recognized as Black.

While it was no question an extremely difficult journey for those who helped raise her, it is ultimately the stories they would share, her understanding of them, her family's fight and perseverance that shaped her life, and led her to follow in their footsteps with a desire to document.

"When my grandfather tried to enlist in the Marines, he was in a segregated unit known as the Montfort Point Marines. He went through incredible adversity, lacking training, not getting the right funding, living in huts, and then being sent to the worst parts of the Pacific Theatre. But he did it because he saw military service as a way to bring social mobility to our family," Bean said.

Through the years, Bean saw changes being made for the better. In fact, while plenty of work needs to be done, it's the military she credits with being one of the leaders of inclusion.

From her father's entrance into West Point, to her grandfather being honored with a Congressional Medal, to today how Bean sees first-hand improvements being made every day, she puts on her own uniform.

"I am so privileged to know that the Army that I serve with today recognizes that our strength comes from its diversity and I haven't had to have those awful experiences that people that came before me did," Bean added.

It's amazing, she says, to see how far her family and her military family has come, and the word she uses to describe her ability to carry on the family tradition and to represent the Army as both a black person and a woman, is "blessed."