Katrina Palan has spent her life moving between two callings: military service and ministry, each shaped profoundly by family.
Katrina comes from a lineage steeped in service. Her father, an Air Force veteran, flew for years as an Aircraft Commander, eventually logging over 15,000 flying hours and earning an Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters. He and Katrina flew together regularly until a tragic Naval incident that claimed the lives of five brothers led to a policy change barring family members from flying together. Katrina’s father and stepmother served in the Air Force and reserves during Vietnam.
Katrina joined the Air Force Reserve in 1978 through the Delayed Entry Program, enlisting three months before her high school graduation. Originally from Michigan, she relocated to Biloxi, Mississippi, following her father’s assignment with the Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. Stationed at Keesler Air Force Base, she served with the 34th Air Weather Flight, the 815th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and the 920th Air Wing. As a meteorologist and weather forecaster working closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), she flew as a “drop sonde operator,” gathering data during hurricane reconnaissance missions and, in wartime, flying ahead of other aircraft to support refueling operations. Her service took her around the globe, even into the Arctic Circle. Her father notably served as the Aircraft Commander during her very first hurricane mission. For her efforts, Katrina earned an Air Medal of her own, a distinction requiring at least 15 penetrations into named storms. She served from 1978 to 1991, holding the rank of Technical Sergeant. She eventually stepped back from the reserves as the monthly call to duty became difficult to balance with her enjoyment of being a stay-at-home mother.
While serving in Mississippi, Katrina met her husband, an Air National Guard member from Pennsylvania who relocated to be near her after they met in February of 1980. The couple married that November and together raised three sons and one daughter. Their oldest followed his grandfather’s path into aviation, attended the Air Force Academy and became a pilot. He served 25 years and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for a mission in Afghanistan.
The A-10 aircraft he flew during that mission has since been decommissioned, bears his name and is on display at the “Boneyard” in Arizona. He currently flies for United Parcel Service (UPS). Having come through ROTC at TCU, her youngest son served as an Artillery Officer in the Army for a total of ten years. A nephew continues the family’s tradition of service as an Army National Guard gunner on Blackhawk helicopters.
Despite generations of military service, no one in her family has been injured or killed in the line of duty. Katrina often reflects on how fortunate they have been. Tragedy did touch the family in another way when Katrina’s husband died in 2016. Two of her sons were actively serving at the time and were sent home by the Red Cross to be with her.
Katrina’s path into ministry began later in life. At the age of 35 she felt called into service through a vivid dream. She came to understand it as a call to seminary. A friend showed her a flier about Clinical Pastoral Education that set her on the road to chaplaincy. Her first role was at a Level One trauma center in Wichita, Kansas. She later returned to complete her undergraduate degree at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, all while continuing chaplaincy work with the Wichita Police Department and the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department. Her ministry has since carried her through Ottawa, Kansas; Omaha, Nebraska; disaster chaplaincy work with the Salvation Army in Carlinville, Illinois; and service with the Broken Arrow Police Department. All of her chaplaincy roles have been volunteer positions. Her paid, full-time work has come through interim pastoral roles, filling pulpits between permanent hires.
For 33 years, Katrina has answered the call to serve as a chaplain, and she isn’t ready to stop. She still feels there’s more work for her to do. Since 2024, she has served at the Coffee Bunker as one of six chaplains and the first and only woman to hold that role. For years, because her service was in the reserves, she quietly doubted whether her military experience counted. At the Coffee Bunker, a place that welcomes anyone who raised their hand and took the oath, she has finally embraced her identity as a veteran and has been met with the gratitude and recognition that has eluded her for years. In her free time, Katrina enjoys spending time with her eleven grandchildren. • story by Jill Stephenson, contributing writer
