Project Engineer facilitating F-35 Training System development and deployment for international partners and customers.

Provide strategic risk and organizational development consulting and support services to Governments, Industry and Humanitarian Organizations. Responsible for generating solutions to complex client problems and provide insight through deliberate analysis and create rapid, actionable and risk-aware solutions in both calm and turbulent times.

Command provided the opportunity to bring it all together. I was responsible to 1200 military and international civilian personnel and a $30M budget who executed transportation support for all personnel and equipment transiting northern Europe. Here, the value of leadership I learned at a previous assignment was reinforced when senior leadership chose me specifically to turn around an organization that wasn’t performing well. I placed an officer with less maintenance experience but solid leadership skills in the position and results followed. Faith in leadership was restored and again, morale and effectiveness soared.

In this position, I really learned the value and impact of leadership. I was responsible for the Air Force’s 220,000 strong worldwide high school cadet program. The program is executed locally, almost like a franchise, where retired officers and senior enlisted accomplish the hands-on mentoring of the cadets. Upon my arrival the team was simply accomplishing the day-to-day tasks and inspections of the 650 individual “franchise” high schools with no initiative for program development or process improvement. More than restructuring staff, I delegated programmatic as well as budget authorities to personnel, empowering them to transition from simply being compliance inspectors to Regional Directors. Providing a vision and then delegating authority to those best positioned to effect change created a culture of continuous process improvement and personal empowerment. Morale and effectiveness soared – I didn’t want to leave.

This is where I cut my teeth in program management. NATO was on path to modernize it’s fleet of 17 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. Some mission system programs were already on contract and I jumped right in to the final requirements refinement and negotiation support phases to modernize the flight deck of the legacy aircraft to meet evolving international airborne communication and navigation requirements.

Here, I learned how adaptable I was and how quick I was to learn the highly technical aspects of a new job. Experienced in command and control from an operational command center perspective, this assignment introduced me to the airborne intelligence, surveillance and command and control aspects of operations. Far from a technical expert, I teamed with international teammates at NCSA to learn the CIS details, capabilities and limitations in order to coordinate with the future customer, NATO’s AGS Force, and the contractor.

This was my first opportunity to lead an organization with numerous concurrent activities, in effect forcing me to trust subordinate leaders to accomplish their tasks. I also learned the value of that trust, as superiors placed it on me. I was given the room to maneuver on a number of initiatives that yielded positive morale and unit effectiveness. This is where I learned leadership at its most demanding. I had to ensure more than just getting the job done very well. I was responsible for the welfare of everyone on my teams… including their families. More than an aircraft or mission commander, I learned the level of trust and responsibility a unit commander has to those in his charge. I also learned an incredible amount about goal setting and the power of trust. Our mission was to support the Office of the President, Vice President and senior Cabinet Secretaries, demanding irreproachable excellence. Given authority by superiors to build a team from like-minded individuals and then empowering those teams with trust and clear goals, we achieved excellence.

Operations Officer for the 1st Airlift SquadronDirected the daily operations and training of 151 personnel in three distinct crew positions. Responsible for the worldwide airlift of dignitaries to include the Vice President of the United States, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, and the First Lady of the United States. Oversaw a $15M annual flying program and set policy for operational safety, training, and maintenance acceptance missions.

Master Air Attack Planner and Chief of Strategy, Aviation Tactics Evaluation Group, Joint Special Operations Command.Highly classified/compartmented duty. Directly responsible for the effective joint aerospace operations focusing on planning, allocating, tasking and executing complex air combat missions involving special operations forces of the US Army, Air Force and Navy. Integrated reconnaissance, attack, strike, CSAR, Close Air Support, Command and Control and other combat systems into a synchronized operation executed with speed, precision and lethality.