Natalie W. Crawford grew up in a strong extended family that valued hard work, education, self-reliance, and commitment. In her young world, there was no such thing as half-in; one did one's best every day. She took those values with her to California and then the RAND Corporation, where she committed herself to every day being a school day. As her career progressed, she evolved from student to teacher to mentor. Although she researched and analyzed weapons and aircraft data, she came to understand that the real might of America's military is in its people, and she devoted her life to helping them succeed. Her personality and her personal values enabled her to establish an enviable, perhaps unique, position of being highly respected as well as being truly loved. Perhaps her greatest gift is her ability to fearlessly speak truth to power. Time and again, interviewees cited her fierce objectivity and unassailable integrity, both of which she communicated without personal agenda or self-aggrandizement. Her mark on RAND and the Air Force is indelible.
