Produced by Hill Air Force Base, Utah

"The Air Force isn’t in the business to get rid of people. Otherwise, how would they exist?"

April 8, 2019 By her own account, Staff Sgt. Shalese Tonks (34th Intelligence Squadron, NCOIC, Joint Operations) is an open book. Like most people, she has a history. But the difference between Tonks and many of her fellow Airmen is that she is prepared to put it all out there, if it will help another one of her fellow Wingmen.

“When I say I’m an empath, I’m taking that to a pretty extreme degree,” said Tonks. “I’ve had people who have come up to me describing things that I have never in my life felt, and I’ve still been able to understand to some degree what they’re feeling.”

Tonks’ ability to instantly connect with people who are troubled or going through difficult times draws upon her own personal life experience. She said members of her family struggled with mental illness. Some were emotionally abusive and narcissistic. One of her aunts, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, stole a car then drove it over the state line before turning herself in for grand theft auto. Tonks admits to suffering from generalized anxiety, and her husband was diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder while they were living in London. Her life is not only an open book, it’s a page turner.

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