FORT DRUM, N.Y. (WWTI) — Using storytelling to promote inclusivity.

This has been the career-long mission of United States Army Captain Veronica Bean.

Captain Bean is a commanding public affairs officer stationed at Fort Drum. For over a year she had led a team of a dozen public affairs officers within the 27th Public Affairs Detachment, 10th Mountain Division.

Their job is to share news and information about the Division with other military installations, as well as the general public.

“Right now we support everything from Dr. Biden’s visit to Fort Drum to soldiers going down to training centers,” Bean explained. “So we really get to have our hands in a lot of different efforts in the Army and tell the Army’s story to the American people.”

Her time in the Army started at the United States Military Academy, where she trained to serve in human resources. Bean was eventually stationed in South Korea and Hawaii, where she worked with public affairs teams.

She decided to pursue this career and went on to train at the Defense Information School in Maryland.

Captain Bean took her first official public affairs assignment when she was stationed at Fort Drum with her husband in 2020, becoming the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade’s Public Affairs Officer. She credits this as one of her favorite assignments.

“We got to do a lot of cool missions, working with people in the Adirondacks, working with people in the local area, down in Rome, New York,” she shared. “To really build the community and share why we need the Combat Aviation Brigade.”

She explained that she has held a passion for storytelling her whole career. But as a fourth-generation Army officer, she credits her decision to join the Army to her family’s legacy.

Bean’s maternal great-grandfather served as an adjunct officer, both her paternal and maternal grandfathers were enlisted in the Army, one as both a World War II and Vietnam War veteran; and her father is a highly decorated Army brigadier general.

She said it’s “the family business,” but she can’t do her job without recognizing how far the Army has come.

“It’s not lost on me that the Army my great grandfather enlisted and later commissioned in, was a segregated Army,” Bean expressed. “But I think it’s important to highlight that when they joined the Army, it was the first time that they were able to get the same pay, same career opportunities as the next person, regardless of their race and same with gender.”

She added, “I think that’s what makes the military service so special, that it’s always about what people can bring to the table.”

Now as a commander, Bean and her team work together to share stories of diversity and inclusion.

“We have soldiers from all over the world, not just the 50 states,” the Army Captain stated. “So I think it’s really important to show that there’s an incredible range of talent from age, location, background race, gender, and here’s what we’re bringing to the table because diversity is our strength.

Captain Bean is set to transition out of the military this spring, but she explained that she is proud to have had the chance to write her own portion of the Army’s history.

“It’s so great to be able to look back on pictures and stories on their time serving and then be able to contribute to that,” Bean shared. “So that the next generation can see the evolution of military service, and while things may be different, the trend line is always the same: We’re dedicated to service and working as a team.”