Sunny Anderson, host of Food Network’s The Kitchen, center, is the daughter of a retired Army colonel. Anderson enlisted in the Air Force in 1993. She left the service four years later, after reaching the rank of senior airman.
Q
Are people surprised to learn you come from a military family?
STRAHAN: People are surprised I was raised on a base in Germany. They expect to hear that I grew up playing football and was always on the path to play in the NFL. In real- ity, outside of community leagues, I didn’t play football until I was a senior in high school.
Q
You’ve gone on to work in TV as an analyst on Fox NFL
Sunday and as a cohost of Good Morning America. How did your background prepare you for that switch?
STRAHAN: It taught me how to adapt to changing environments. I learned to do whatever necessary to thrive in whatever environment I found myself. Hard work, team- work, and the importance of serv- ing others are characteristics I’ve tried to carry with me in my career.
PHOTOS: COURTESY SUNNY ANDERSON
wasn’t expecting melted white Gouda on fancy bread. “It blew my mind,” she says. “I
W
can’t even remember ever eating anything before that.” Now a host on Food Network’s
The Kitchen, Anderson is the daughter of a retired Army colo- nel. As her family moved between places like Germany, Texas, and Georgia, she says she realized “food has no real boundaries.” That inspired her to start a ca- tering company, which eventu- ally landed her on Food Network. But fi rst, she carried on what she calls “the family business” by enlisting in the Air Force. The former senior airman credits the broadcast chops she picked up there — along with the values she got from her military fam- ily — with helping launch her career.
hen Sunny Anderson ordered a grilled cheese sandwich in Europe as a kid, she
Q
What did you learn about the military as an Army
offi cer’s child?
ANDERSON: So much. No matter what my dad’s rank was, he called his soldiers his coworkers. I found that really neat because the military has this reputation of being so hard and stringent. I just saw a really nice guy.
That opened my eyes to under-
standing that the job is what you make it. It’s not always what people think it is.
Q
What made you want to join the
Air Force?
ANDERSON: Growing up overseas, I depend- ed on Armed Forces
Network to feel connected.
I decided I wanted to work in com- munications, and my dad suggested I join the Air Force. The beauty of the military was once I moved through my training, I could begin doing what I loved immediately.
APRIL 2017 MILITARY OFFICER 55
“[The military is] the family
business.” — Sunny Anderson
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