New commander takes the helm
Lisa Arnold to lead Cape Coral American Legion Post 90
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While she may be the first woman to hold the position since 1979, a Cape Coral veteran organization's newest leader wants to stand out for her impact, not her gender.
Cape Coral's American Legion Post 90 recently announced its elected officers for the 2025-2026 year, with Lisa Arnold being voted as post commander.
Arnold, who served 28 years in the Air Force retiring as a Command Chief Master Sergeant, is the first female to hold the title of post commander under the post's current charter and name.
"I'm humbled and honored that the men and women who have given so much - and their families - would elect me to be the representative for this post," Arnold said. "It really is a matter of me giving back. I found a home here a few years ago and got really involved. Becoming the post commander is another opportunity for me to continue to take care of those who have always taken care of us, and their families."
Being only the second female to hold the title in the post's lineage, Arnold said for her, it's more about being the best she can be, regardless of what her gender is.
"I'm trying to look at it being the next commander that can move this post forward into the coming years, and to leave it better than I found it for the next generation," she said. "I'm an Afghanistan/Iraq war veteran, and my generation are the ones now retiring and coming into the post and American Legions. From a perspective of being a woman, I'm thankful that people see beyond that, and see what I can bring to the post, and the benefits that I can bring to what we do here and throughout the community. I want people to look at me as a commander -- not a woman commander."
In her new role, Arnold, 54, will represent the post throughout the community, in the district, and across the state. She will oversee the entire outfit of the Legion as well. She will oversee committees that are out in the community, such as the JROTC, Boy Scouts, a women's veterans committee, and more.
An Indiana native, a life of service was not one Arnold would have ever imagined growing up.
She said one day a close friend of hers came into her work and said, "I know what we're going to do with our lives. We're going into the United States Air Force."
Arnold recalls her reply being, "I'm not going into the military. It's not meant for me."
Long story short, Arnold eventually agreed to join, and the day she and her friend were meant to sign the papers and head off, her friend backed out.
Arnold figured, "Well, I've already quit my job and done all this work, so, I'm going to go."
While her mother was upset about the decision, Arnold told her she'd serve her four years, get a degree, and come home. Twenty-eight years later, she had obtained that degree, but it took her some time to come home. She doesn't regret it for a second.
"My Air Force career was extraordinary," Arnold said. "I've done several different jobs in the Air Force. I started off in communications, I went into admin, and then I was a professional military education instructor."
She went on multiple deployments overseas, and was the first woman in the history of the Air Force to be a command chief in Afghanistan. In that role, she oversaw every airman in Afghanistan for a year in war.
Arnold said the last three years of her service were the most rewarding.
"I helped develop the United States Space Force," she said. "I helped develop their uniforms, their ranks, what we call them, 'guardians,' I helped develop all of that. That was one of the coolest experiences of my career above all, was to help create a new branch of service.
"There is nothing else I think I was born to do. I didn't realize it when I went in. But I know now, that's what I was born to do."
Arnold retired in 2021, and moved to Cape Coral in January of 2022. She said she chose Cape Coral because of the climate, access to healthcare at the local VA, and the city's ranking as one of the safest in Florida.
She didn't get involved in the Legion right away, not wanting to find the stereotypical smoke-filled facility with veterans talking about war and women.
Arnold said she had some flags she needed to properly dispose of and brought them to Post 90 and, in speaking with the then-commander, decided to go back and learn a little more about the group.
"I was pleasantly surprised," Arnold said. "Everyone was so welcoming and warm. It's a complete family environment. I joined right away. I started getting more and more involved. I fell in love with the place and the people. I needed to find a purpose after I left the military, and this was it. I really enjoy being around these people.
"We have a vision that's about giving back to the community and to veterans. When I die, that's what I want to be remembered for - giving back."
Arnold said her goals as post commander are to continue to support the programs the post supports, especially those focused on youth and sense of community.
"(The youth) are the future of tomorrow and future leaders of this country," she said. "We have an obligation from an American Legion perspective to ensure that they are getting out there being able to achieve goals."
Arnold said she'll have a big focus on recruiting younger war veterans to join the post.
"It's important we do that," she said. "It's cyclical, right? We need to keep people coming in and make sure the post grows technologically and bring in modernization so that the younger generations that are coming in from combat have a nice place to go and they continue the legacy."
Another point of passion for Arnold is getting more female veterans involved. Post 90 created a women's veteran committee, which Arnold is the chairperson.
Combining her passion for the youth and female veterans, Arnold shared a message to young women out there that may be, or have never considered a career in the military.
"When it comes to young women, I want them to understand that there is nothing they cannot achieve, because of the women who have come before them," Arnold said. "In my 28 years, I carried a proverbial shovel with me and I dug that path a little bit, so that the young lady behind me doesn't have to continue to do that. At some point, we're all military members - not female military members. We're all serving the same purpose. Get out there and chase those dreams. If you don't fail, you never tried. So you've got to try."
As for that friend who bailed on her? She and Arnold are still very close.
"Eventually you get over it," Arnold said, noting that they would write letters to one another during her service time. "You start to realize she helped me make a really good decision. She was in the front row during my retirement, and I told that story, so today, I say 'thank you.'"