THE LONG BLUE LEADERSHIP PODCAST

What does leadership look like at the highest levels of service?  SUMMARY In this episode of Long Blue Leadership, Col. (Ret.) Michael Black ’85 discusses his journey from cadet to commanding the White House Communications Agency. He reflects on what it means to be a calm, steady presence in high-pressure environments — and how small daily practices can shape a lifetime of leadership. The full episode is now available.   SHARE THIS PODCAST FACEBOOK [https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A//www.longblueleadership.org/e/a-leaders-five-fs-col-ret-michael-black-85/?token=4bf35e6d9c337ac3b8f757ed0a268129] |  LINKEDIN [https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A//www.longblueleadership.org/e/a-leaders-five-fs-col-ret-michael-black-85/?token=4bf35e6d9c337ac3b8f757ed0a268129]   MICHAEL'S LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS * Develop a personal leadership philosophy that guides your actions (like Michael's 5F's: Family, Fitness, Flying, Fairness, and Fun). * Always be aware that people are watching you and learning from your example, even when you don't realize it. * Nurture relationships continuously - they are critical for long-term success and mentorship. * Practice empathy and compassion, especially during difficult moments like delivering challenging news * Maintain a holistic approach to fitness - physical, mental, and spiritual well-being are interconnected. * Take pride in leaving organizations better than you found them and focus on developing future leaders. * Be fair and be perceived as fair - understanding different perspectives is crucial to effective leadership. * Incorporate fun and balance into your professional life to maintain team morale and personal resilience. * Stay connected to your roots and be willing to mentor the next generation, sharing your experiences and lessons learned. * Continuously practice self-reflection and ensure you're living up to your core values and leadership principles.   CHAPTERS Chapter 1 - 0:00:00 - 0:08:55: Family and Military Roots   Michael Black shares his background as a military brat and the educational legacy of his family. Chapter 2 - 0:08:55 - 0:12:10: Delivering a Difficult Notification A profound leadership moment where Black sensitively delivers news of a combat-related death to a staff sergeant's family. Chapter 3 - 0:12:10 - 0:18:40: The 5F Leadership Philosophy Introduction Col. Black explains the origin and core components of his leadership framework: Family, Fitness, Flying, Fairness, and Fun. Chapter 4 - 0:18:40 - 0:25:59: Detailed Exploration of 5F Philosophy   In-depth breakdown of each leadership principle, including personal anecdotes and practical applications. Chapter 5 - 0:25:59 - 0:32:21: Family Legacy and Academy Experience   Discussion of his son's Air Force Academy journey and the importance of nurturing relationships across generations. Chapter 6 - 0:32:21 - 0:38:36: Mentorship and Relationship Building Michael shares his approach to mentoring cadets and the significance of maintaining long-term professional connections. Chapter 7 - 0:38:36 - 0:40:13: Leadership in Civilian and Nonprofit Sectors Reflection on applying military leadership principles in private and nonprofit environments. Chapter 8 - 0:40:13 - 0:41:28: Personal Reflection and Leadership Advice  Final thoughts on leadership, self-improvement, and the importance of continuous personal development.   ABOUT COL. BLACK BIO Michael “Mike” B. Black, vice president for Defense, joined the nonprofit Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association International in July 2022. He is a senior cyber/information technology leader with more than four decades of experience in cyber operations, communications, project/program management, leadership disciplines and organizational development. As AFCEA's vice president for Defense, Col. Black builds strong professional relationships with government, industry and academia partners to position AFCEA International as a leader in the cyber, defense, security, intelligence and related information technology disciplines. Col. Black leads defense operations in support of planning and executing global, large-scale, technically focused, trade shows/conferences supporting Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Operations, Cyber and Homeland Security.  Col. Black is focused on providing opportunities for engagement between and among government, industry and academia. Prior to joining AFCEA International, Col. Black served as chief operating officer at Concise Network Solutions for four years, directly supporting the CEO in developing, executing and managing CNS’s master business plan. Prior to joining CNS, he served as the COO and chief corporate development officer at JMA Solutions for two and a half years, working in concert with senior executives to lead operations and the planning and execution of strategies. Prior to joining JMA Solutions, he served as the COO at Premier Management Corporation for four years, where he was responsible for day-to-day operations, all business units and the company’s profit and loss. Prior to joining the private sector, Col. Black spent 26 years in the U.S. Air Force holding various communications and leadership positions at many levels. He culminated his distinguished military career as a colonel, commander, White House Communications Agency, leading a 1,200-person team of selectively manned military, then-Department of Defense civilian and contract personnel to provide “no fail” telecommunications services for the president, vice president, named successors, first lady, senior White House staff, National Security staff, U.S. Secret Service and the White House Military Office. Col. Black holds a Bachelor of Science in basic science from the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he was a Distinguished Military Graduate. He holds a Master of Science in national resource strategy, with an information operations concentration, from the National Defense University, Industrial College of the Armed Forces; a Master’s Degree in military arts and science from the Army Command & General Staff College; and a Master of Arts Degree in management from Webster University. He is a published author, including writing several leadership articles for The New Face of Leadership Magazine as well the thesis Coalition Command, Control, Communication, and Intelligence Systems Interoperability: A Necessity or Wishful Thinking? BIO EXCERPTED FROM AFCEA.ORG   CONNECT WITH MICHAEL IG: @chequethemike FB: @michael black LinkedIn: Michael Black   CONNECT WITH THE LONG BLUE LEADERSHIP PODCAST NETWORK TEAM Send your feedback or nominate a guest: socialmedia@usafa.org [socialmedia@usafa.org] Ted Robertson | Producer:  Ted.Robertson@USAFA.org [Ted.Robertson@USAFA.org]    <---> Ryan Hall | Director:  Ryan.Hall@USAFA.org [Ryan.Hall@USAFA.org]  Bryan Grossman | Copy Editor:  Bryan.Grossman@USAFA.org [Bryan.Grossman@USAFA.org] Wyatt Hornsby | Executive Producer:  Wyatt.Hornsby@USAFA.org [Wyatt.Hornsby@USAFA.org]      ALL PAST LBL EPISODES [https://www.longblueleadership.org/]  |  ALL LBLPN PRODUCTIONS [https://www.podbean.com/podcast-network/longbluelinepodcast] AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS   TRANSCRIPT SPEAKERS Guest, Col. (Ret.) Michael Black ’85 | Host, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz ’99   Naviere Walkewicz Welcome to Long Blue Leadership, where transformative journeys of Air Force Academy graduates come to life. There are moments in a leader's life that leave a permanent mark. For my guest today, Col. (Ret.) Michael Black, USAFA Class of ’85, one such moment came when he was actually sent to deliver news of a combat-related death. It was the first time he'd ever been tasked with that duty, and knew he only had one chance to get it right. As he sat with the widow, Michael found the strength to guide the family through their grief. That part of Michael's story speaks to the depth of his empathy and the calm steadiness that defines him as a leader. We'll explore much more of Michael's journey, from leading the White House Communications team to mentoring cadets at the Academy to daily practices that ground him and the framework that guides him today, what he calls the five Fs of leadership: family, fitness, flying, fairness and fun a guide not only for his life, but for the leaders he inspires. Michael, welcome to Long Blue Leadership. Michael Black Naviere, thank you for having me, and thank you for that very kind introduction. I'm so happy to be here, and I'm just thankful for what you guys do, the AOG and putting this together and telling stories. I think this is amazing. So thank you for the opportunity. Naviere Walkewicz Well, we're grateful you’re here. You got your silver on. You got your ‘85 Best Alive, you know, I mean, I'm just blown away here. The class crest… Michael Black Yeah, got it all, you know, the crest and the two squadrons that I was in. I’m just excited, back here for our 40th reunion. Yeah. So that's amazing. So fellowship and fun with your classmates, and just seeing the mountains, you know. Getting off the plane and looking west and seeing the mountains and seeing God's creation is just amazing. And then, of course, the Academy in the background, you know, pretty excited. Naviere Walkewicz Wonderful, wonderful. Well, we're going to jump right in. And actually, the topic is a bit sensitive, but I think it's really important, because we know that when we all raise our right hand, some are prepared and they give all. But not everyone has to actually give the news to the family when their loved one is lost, so maybe you can share what that was like. Michael Black Thank you for allowing me to talk about that. You hit the nail on the head when you said you only have one chance to get it right when you're talking to the family. And so I had a young staff sergeant that was deployed down range at the Horn of Africa, and he happened to be a radio operator in a helicopter supporting the Marines. And there was a mid-air collision that happened while he was deployed, and he was one of the people that perished. So the first notification that I had to make was duty status: whereabouts unknown — to say that to the family. And of course, you can think about the range of emotions that are associated with that. They don't know. We don't know.   Naviere Walkewicz There's still hope. There's not hope.   Michael Black So that was the first day. So going over there with my first sergeant, a medical team, chaplain, you know, that kind of thing, to support us and the family.   Naviere Walkewicz And what rank were you at that time?   Michael Black So I was a lieutenant colonel. So I was a squadron commander of the 1st Comm Squadron at Langley Air Force Base. And I like to say, you don't get to practice that. You have one time to get it right. At least back then, there was not a lot of training to do that. It doesn't happen that often, and so having to make that notification was a tough thing. It was one of the hardest things, if not the hardest thing, I had to do in the service. Two young boys. He had two sons, and at the time, his spouse was military as well, so I go over there to do that the first day. You can imagine, you know, knocking on the door, right, and I'm in uniform, and just the emotions that they can be going through. So we're sitting on the couch in their house, two young boys. I believe their ages were 3 and 5 at the time, they were very young. And I explained to Michelle what we knew. And again, it's scripted. I can't say more or less than that, because 1) don't know, right? And 2), you just don't want to speculate on anything. And then we're waiting to find out his status. So then I have to go back the next day to make that notification, and you're representing the chief of staff of the United States Air Force, and that's kind of something that's scripted for you. “I'm here on the behalf of the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, and I regret to inform you of the untimely death of your spouse.” The part that was even more heartening for me was after I told her, and with the boys sitting, I believe, on either side of me, she said, “And now Col. Black is going to tell you what happened to your dad.” That was a tough thing to do. And I would say it was the hardest thing that I had to do in the Air Force, in my career, and reflect on “you have one chance to get that right.” I believe we got it right, me and my team, but that was tough. Naviere Walkewicz Wow. Have you kept in touch with the family? Michael Black Yes, I keep in touch with Michelle, just from — just a personal because I'm very personal, outgoing, as you know. And so I've kept in touch with Michelle and the boys. But we're forever bonded by that, and I think that's important to stay in touch. And that's kind of one of my things I think we'll get into a little bit later in the conversation, but that's what I do. Naviere Walkewicz Well, it touches, certainly into, I think, that the family aspect of the five Fs, and because it seems like you even take in them as your family. And I'm curious about your family, because when you're going through that, I mean, you have at least a son — you have son, right?   Michael Black Yes, and two daughters.   Naviere Walkewicz Two daughters. So were you thinking about — did you put on your dad hat in that moment?   Michael Black I certainly did put on my dad hat and, and I think that helped in things. And I think all of the training that I got along the way about dealing with tough situations, and being a leader, it helped. But I took it upon myself after that to talk to other commanders. And in fact, my wing commander at the time, Burt Field, Gen. field was a ’79 grad, and we talked, and that also brought him and I closer, because he also asked me to brief the other squadron commanders on that process and how I handled that. And I know when — to this day, Gen. Field and I are still very connected, and he's pretty engaged right now with the Air Force Association’s birthday and all that. But a great mentor of mine who also helped in dealing with that. But he was extremely supportive and, and I think that had a factor in just how he evaluated me, right, how I handled that situation?   Naviere Walkewicz Well, it sounds like you certainly picked up some of those traits of taking care of your people recognizing empathy within processes and sharing it. I'm curious, were you always like this, or did you see some of this emulated from your family? Michael Black No, it's a great question. I am a military brat. My dad was in the Army. My dad went to Tuskegee — it was called Tuskegee Institute at that time. My mom went to Alabama A&M, so two schools in Alabama. They're from a very small towns in Alabama. My dad's from Beatrice, Alabama — which is less than 200 people today — and my mom is from Vredenburgh, Alabama. It's about 15 miles away, and it's even smaller than Beatrice. But they went to the same elementary school and high school, so high school sweethearts, and then they went off to college. And then dad got a direct commission in the Army, the Signal Corps. Well, he started out Medical Service Corps, but getting back to your question, so yes, family with that, and even take a step further back to my grandparents, on both sides of the family, but particularly with my paternal grandparents, they went out and visited the Tuskegee Institute at that time, and they saw the statue of Lifting the Veil of Ignorance there, and they decided at that point that they wanted their kids to go to that school. And so there's seven kids within my dad's family, and six of them went to Tuskegee. Naviere Walkewicz   Wow. So I want to fast forward a little bit, and you can certainly share whether it was during the Academy or after graduation, but you have kind of had this great foundation from your family. Let's talk a little bit about the Academy or after-Academy experience, where you had seen additional time where you had grown as a leader. Was there a particular experience that can come to mind, where another shaping of this leadership journey that you've been on? Michael Black Yeah, I think there's multiple throughout my career. I mean, I went to the Army Command and General Staff College for my intermediate professional military education. And there's a story there too. My dad was in the Army, and so I wanted to experience some of the things that my dad did, even though I was Air Force. And so one of my mentors, now-retired Lt. Gen. Harry Raduege, was instrumental in me getting selected for Army Command and General Staff College. And so I went there, and I think that was a big portion of my shaping, although had mentors and folks and coaches in my life leading up to that were, you know, helped shape me, but going to that school… And what I noticed when I got there that the Army was very serious about leadership and leadership philosophy, so much so that we took a class on that where we had to develop a leadership philosophy. And so in taking that class, before the Christmas break, I found out that I was going to be a squadron commander. So I was a major, and I was going to be a squadron commander. And so in that leadership course, I said, “Well, I'm going to go be a squadron commander. I'm going to the fifth combat con group in Georgia. Let me make this philosophy that I'm doing in class be my philosophy, so that when I get there…” And that was really the first time that I thought very serious about, “OK, what is my leadership philosophy?” And I had been a flight commander before, and had people under my tutelage, if you will. But being a squadron commander, you know, being on G series orders. And you know, we know how the military takes the importance of being a commander. And so having that so I did decide to develop my philosophy during that time. And you mentioned the five Fs earlier. And so that was — that became the opportunity to develop that. So family, that's what it was. That's when I developed that — in that course. So family, fitness, flying, fairness and fun — the five Fs. I worked on that when I got there. And so then when I got to take command, I had prepared all of that stuff in this academic environment, and I used it to a T and I briefed the squadron after I took command. I think this is my command philosophy, the five Fs. I subsequently had the opportunity to command two more times after that, another squadron, and then at the White House Communications Agency, which is now wing command equivalent. So had the opportunity to tweak and refine, but the foundation was still the five Fs. And so in doing that, and I can go into a little detail. So you know, family is your immediate family, your your blood family, and that that kind of thing. But family also encompasses your unit, your extended family, you know, and part of that. And so I always tell people you know, your family, you don't want to be the only one at your retirement ceremony because you neglected your family. And I've done many retirement ceremonies. In fact, I've done 25-plus since I retired. Well, that shows you really made no so family is, is important, take care of your family. And I, you know, one of the things I said about that to the folks was if you in your unit, if folks are getting assigned unit, permanent changes, station, PCS to your unit, and they haven't found the place to live in the due time and whatever the house hunting days are, I always gave my folks the option of give them some more time to find a place. They may be looking for schools, I mean looking for a place that just fits the environment that they need. And let's give them that time now, because they're not going to be effective in the organization if they're worried about where they have to live, where their kids are going to go to school and that kind of thing. So take care of all of that, and then get them to work, and they'll be that much more effective because they won't have to worry about where they're living, where the kids are going to school. So take care of your family fitness. You understand physical fitness and what you do and all of that, and I admire all of your accomplishments in that. And so physical fitness in the military kind of goes without saying. You have to maintain certain standards and do that, and do a PT and take a test and that kind of thing. But fitness is more than just physical fitness. It's spiritual and mental fitness. Now I would never be one to tell somebody this is how you need to nurture your spiritual and mental fitness. I think that's personal. But if your spiritual mental fitness is not being nourished, you're not going to be doing yourself any good, your team any good. And honestly, you would be able to tell if an individual is struggling with their spiritual or mental fitness, particularly as a leader and just kind of looking and observing characteristics and the behavior of folks. So I basically told my team, I want you to do whatever it takes to nurture your spiritual and mental fitness, whatever you need to do — if it's meditating, if it's praying, if it's walking, whatever is personal to you, but make sure that it's nurtured. But I also told my folks that if you think my spiritual fitness and mental fitness is out of balance, I want you to tell me, because I might have blinders on. I could be focused on things, just like they could be focused on things, and I would tell them. And I think folks really appreciated the candor and the openness of the leader, the commander, you know, saying that, yes, I want you to tell me if you think my spiritual mental fitness is, you know, is out of balance.   Naviere Walkewicz Did you ever have anyone tell you that?   Michael Black I did. I had strong relationships with my first sergeant, or my command sergeant major, the senior enlisted adviser. So we were, you know, we're hand-in-hand and all the places I was at. And so, yes, I've had them. I've had my wife tell me that. So I think that's important. I just — like I said, you can easily have blinders on and maybe just not see that or have blind spots. And speaking of that, I've written a leadership article on blind spots. I’ve kind of studied that and understand that. Flying — at the time the primary mission of the Air Force was flying. And so I'd always say, “What is your role in supporting the primary mission, or what is our role in supporting the primary mission of the Air Force?” So make sure you understand that. As a communicator, how do you contribute to the primary mission, or as a logistician, or as information management? But understand what your role is in the primary mission of the Air Force. Fairness, as a leader — it is so important for the leader to be fair, right? It can affect good order and discipline if you're not fair, but equally important is to be perceived as being fair. So I could think I'm being fair, I could think that I'm being fair, but if the perception of the unit, the team, is that I'm not being fair, that's just as detrimental to the mission as actually not being fair. And so I think perceptions are important, and you need to understand that. You need to be aware of the perceptions; you need to be ready to receive the information and the feedback from your team on that. And so I stress the importance of also the perception people have different management. I could be looking at something over there, and I say, “OK, yeah, sky is blue over there,” but somebody's looking at it from a different you know, they may see a touch of some clouds in there, and so they see some light in there, and from their vantage point. And it's just like that in life: Respect everybody's vantage point in things. And so that was the fairness aspect. Then finally, fun. I'm a person that likes to have fun.   Naviere Walkewicz You are?!   Michael Black Yes, I am. I'm a person that loves to have fun. And so for me, I grew up playing sports. And so I played sports throughout my Air Force career. So that was kind of one of the things I did for fun, intramurals.   Naviere Walkewicz What was your favorite sport?   Michael Black My favorite sport was baseball growing up. I mean, I dreamed about trying to play in the Major Leagues and that kind of stuff. And I played on a lot of baseball teams growing up, and then when I got into the service, played softball, and I played competitive softball. Back in the day, they have base softball teams, and so you would, you know, try out for the team, and I would try out, and I played on base team at probably at least four or five bases that I was at. So I was, these are my own words: I was good. So I played and was very competitive in intramurals. That's another way to bring your team together — camaraderie. They see the boss out there playing. And I always would tell folks that on the squadron team: They're not playing me because I'm the commander. They're playing me because I'm good. I can contribute to the wins in a game. But so it's very competitive. I wasn't a win at all costs, but it wasn't fun to lose. So being competitive and fun. So that's one of the things I did for fun. I also follow professional sports. San Antonio Spurs is my basketball team; Washington Commanders, my football team. So I would go to those events, those games, those contests and stuff like that. Music, concerts, still do that kind of stuff with my kids and my family incorporate fun into — so it's not all work and no play. I think you do yourself justice by, winding down relaxing a little bit and having fun and that kind of thing. And so I encourage my team to do that. Wasn't gonna tell people what they needed to do for fun. I think that's personal, but having fun is important and it helps strike that balance. So that's really the five Fs. And I carried that, as I said, every time I command, every time I've, you know, unit that I've been associated with, particularly after the 2000 graduation from Army Command and Staff College. And I still carry that five Fs today And incidentally, I think the if you bump into somebody who was in one of my units, they're going to remember the five Fs, or some portion of it. In fact, I have a couple mentees that commanded after me, and they adopted the five Fs as their command philosophy. And that's kind of something that's very satisfying as a leader to have somebody adopt your leadership style. They think that it was good for them while they were in the unit. And it's very flattering to see that afterwards. I mean, so much so that I've had people that were in my unit, and then they got assigned to one of my mentee’s unit, and they would call me up and they'd say, “Hey, Col. Black, you know, Col. Packler says his command philosophy is the five Fs.” Yeah, I said Marc was in my unit at Langley, and he probably felt that. But that's, that's a true story. Naviere Walkewicz That's a legacy, right there; that's wonderful. Well, speaking of legacy, you have a son that's also a graduate. So talk about that. I mean, you were expected to go to college. It wasn't an if, it was where? How about your children? Was that kind of the expectation? Michael Black So my wife is a college graduate. She's a nurse as well. And so we preached education throughout. And just as an aside, shout out to my wife, who just completed her Ph.D.   Naviere Walkewicz Wow, congratulations!   Michael Black Yes. Wilda Black, last week, in doing that. And so between my family, my immediate family — so my wife, and my two daughters and my son, there are 15 degrees between us.   Naviere Walkewicz And you?   Michael Black And me. So five us, there are 15 degrees. My wife has two master’s, a bachelor's and now a Ph.D. My oldest daughter has a bachelor's and two master’s. My son has a bachelor's and a master's. My younger daughter has a bachelor's and a master's, and I have a bachelor's and three master’s degrees. So I think that adds up to 15.   Naviere Walkewicz I lost count. Social sciences major here.   Michael Black So yes, education. And so my son — he really liked quality things, likes quality things growing up. And so he was looking at schools and researching and looking at the Ivy League, some of the Ivy League schools, and some other schools that, you know, had strong reputations. I purposely did not push the Air Force Academy to him because I didn't want him to go for the wrong reasons. I didn't want him to go because I went there and that kind of thing. But late in the game, you know, in his summer, going into his senior year of high school, he came to me and said, “Hey…” and I'm paraphrasing a little bit, “Dad, you know, your alma mater is pretty good, you know, pretty, you know, pretty has a strong reputation.” And I said, “Yeah, you know, you know, strong academic curriculum and everything else there.” So that summer he said, “Well, I'm thinking I might want to go there.” And I'm thinking to myself, “That's a little bit late in the game, like the summer going into senior year.”   Naviere Walkewicz Did you recruit your mom again?   Michael Black Mom got involved. And then I think you know Carolyn Benyshek. So Carolyn was the director of admissions. I reached out to her and just said, “Hey, I got my son that's interested.” They were actually coming to Baltimore, I believe, for a…   Naviere Walkewicz The Falcon Experience. Right.   Michael Black And so we went to see her, and I'll just kind of say the rest is history. Through her help and guidance, through my son's qualifications — he was able to get in. He went to the Prep School, which is great, and I just want to give a shout out to the Prep School for that. I did not attend the Prep School, but I saw the value of my son going to the Prep School and then coming to the Academy. So I just to this day, thankful for our Prep School and how they prepare folks.   Naviere Walkewicz We feel similarly about that.   Michael Black So, yeah. So he went. And so, of course, a proud dad, right? Your son following in your footsteps, and that kind of thing. So Clinton, Clinton Black is in the Space Force now, and he's assigned to Vandenberg. But my son, he was a soccer player growing up, played a lot of competitive soccer, came here and decided that he wanted to do Wings of Blue, and so he was on Wings of Blue parachute team. And the neat thing about that is that the jump wings that my son wears are the jump wings that my dad earned at Airborne School in 1964, ’65 — sometime in the early ‘60s. And so my dad was still living at the time and so he was able to come out here and pin the wings on Clinton. So it skipped a generation because I didn't jump or anything. But my son jumped, and he has mid-500 number of jumps that he's had. And so my dad was able to see him jump, and that was even though Airborne is a teeny bit different than free fall, but still, you know, parachuting, and all of that. So getting to see Clinton excel and do that and see him jump into the stadium, and that kind of thing. He jumped with some of the former Navy SEALs in the X Games, you know, in the mountains. So that was just a proud parent moment. Naviere Walkewicz Wow. That is very exciting. And so, through all of these experiences that you had, I keep wanting to go back to the five Fs .yYu had mentioned earlier that you did some refinement to it. So where you are now, how are you using them? How have they been refined? I mean, flying. What is that? Michael Black So, I asked people to take a little bit of a leap in that, understand where it came from, in my 5s but that aspect refers to the mission, right? And so the Air Force mission has evolved to include space and that kind of thing. But even on the private side, the civilian side, I still use the five F's. And so the flying aspect just refers to the mission, or whatever the mission of your organization is. And so there was some refinement as we brought in space into our mission, but it really reflected on the mission. And so I had different AFSCs that worked for me in in the different units that I was at, and also different services. And so understanding the service aspect of things also was something that I had to take into consideration as far as keeping and refining that, at the White House Communications Agency, about 1,200 military — more Army than Air Force, more Air Force than Navy, more Navy than Marine Corps, and more Marine Corps than Coast Guard. And so being an Air Force commander of a joint unit that had more Army folks in it, you have to understand that lingo, and be able to speak cool and that kind of thing. Dad loved that. And so going to the Army Command General Staff College, and, getting some of that philosophy and understanding that. And then I went to what's now called the Eisenhower School, now ICAF, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, which is another joint school. And so being around that helped me in those aspects. But really applying that throughout and after I retired, I did 10 years in the private sector with a couple of different small businesses that were government contracted focused, providing professional services, but still, as the chief operating officer of each one of those, it's a pretty high leadership position within the company and so I talked about the five Fs in some terms that my team could understand that, and so still apply that. And then now, with three years working for the nonprofit, the AFCEA organization, where we bring government, industry and academia together to do IT, cyber kind of things, machine learning, artificial intelligence — I still have that philosophy to buy that and what I do, I think it's something that's applicable across the board, not just military. At least I've made it applicable. Naviere Walkewicz I was just gonna ask that, because talk about the private sector and — some of our listeners, they take off the uniform, but they still have that foundation of the military, but they're working with people who maybe don't have that foundation of the military. So how did you translate that in a way that they could feel that same foundation, even though they hadn't gone through a military family or through the Air Force Academy? Michael Black Yeah, no, that's a great question, Naviere. And I think, as a leader, you have to be aware of that. You have to be aware of your team and their background and their experiences. You also you have to speak their lingo, right? I mean, I can't talk just Air Force or military lingo. We talk a lot in acronyms. Naviere Walkewicz Like AFCEA. And I’m sure many know it but would you mind spelling it out? Michael Black Armed Forces Communications Electronics Association. And even though we have that we are more than the armed forces now, so we really are known by just AFCEA, even though that's what that acronym stands for. So I mean, I work with Homeland Security, VA and that kind of thing. But to your point, getting folks to understand where I'm coming from, and I need to understand where they're coming from, you have to take the time, put in the work to do that, so that you can communicate with your folks, and so that they understand where you're coming from, and also, so that they feel valued, right? That you understand where they're coming from. And I think all of that is important. And I tried to make sure that I did that, and I had coaches, mentors and sponsors along the way. So I learned when some of my mentors transition from the military time, and so when they went to go work in the private sector, I still lean on them. “OK, how did you make this transition? And what is it about? And what are the similarities and what are the differences? What do I need to consider in doing that?” And I'm thankful, and that goes back to one key point that I want to make about relationships and nurturing that relationship. I mentioned Gen. Field, worked for him in the early 2000s. But here we are, 2025, and he's in my contacts, he will take my call, he will respond to a text, and vice versa. You know, building that relationship. And so he's with a nonprofit now, and so I still stay in touch with him. The director of the White House Military Office was a Navy admiral that I worked for when I was at the White House. He is now the president and CEO of the United States Naval Institute — Adm. Spicer. You know, 20-something, 15 years ago, worked for him and now we're working together on a big conference. But those relationships are important in nurturing those relationships. And I learned about nurturing from my family. You know, my grandparents, who did that. My grandfather was a farmer. He had to nurture his crops for them to produce. So the same thing, analogy applies in relationships; you have to nurture that relationship. And you know, it circled all the way back to, you know, our 40-year reunion now, and my classmates that are here and nurturing those relationships with those classmates over the years is important to me. I'm the connector within my class, or the nucleus. I mean, those are two nicknames that my classmates have given me: the Col. Connector and Nucleus, and I embrace those. Naviere Walkewicz Yes, that's wonderful. I know that you also mentor cadets. And I think my question for you, from the aspect of some of our listeners, is, did you seek out the cadets? Did they seek you out? How does that mentorship relationship start? Because you talked about how, like, for example, Gen. Field, you had that relationship years ago. That's kind of carried through. But how do you know when that mentorship is beginning? Michael Black I think both of those aspects, as you mentioned. Do they seek that? There are cadets that seek that based upon just what they've experienced and what they've learned. And then some of the cadets know people that I know, and so they've been referred to me, and all that. Some were — like their parents, I worked with their parents. I mean, particularly in the Class of 2023 there are three young ladies that I mentored in the Class of 2023 one whose father worked with me on the White House Communications Agency, one whose mother babysat my kids OK. And then one who's ROTC instructor in junior in high school was my first sergeant. So in those three instances, I was connected to those folks through relationship with either their parents or somebody that worked for me and that that kind of thing. And that was a neat thing to, you know, to be here. I did the march back with those young ladies, and then I connected those three young ladies who did not know each other at the march back, when we got back on the Terrazzo, I found all three of them and explained my relationship with each of them. And they were able to be connected throughout and two of them I actually commissioned, So that was really, really nice. And so, you know, seeking mentorship is, well, mentorship has just been important to me. I benefited from mentorship, and I want to return that favor. I am the chairman of the Air Force Cadet Officer Mentor Association, AFCOMA, whose foundation is mentorship, fellowship and scholarship, and so I'm passionate about mentorship and doing that. I've seen the benefits of it. People did it for me, and I think you can shorten the learning curve. I think you can just help folks along the way. So I'm very passionate about that. Naviere Walkewicz Well, this has been amazing. I think there's two questions I have left for you. The first one being — and I think we've learned a lot about this along the way — but if you were to summarize, what is something you are doing every day to be better as a leader? Michael Black I think every day I take a deep look inside myself, and am I living and breathing my core values? And what am I doing to help the next generation? You know, trying to put that on my schedule, on my radar, that's important to me. And whether I'm at work with AFCEA, whether I'm out here at my 40th reunion, whether I'm on vacation, I always take the time to mentor folks and pass on that. I think that's something that's passionate for me. You mentioned, when we talked about the retirement ceremonies. I mean, I've done 20-plus since I retired. In fact, I have one in November, but it will be my 27th retirement ceremony since I retired. And those things are important to me. And so I reflect, I try to keep my fitness — my physical, spiritual and mental fitness, in balance every day so that I can be effective and operate at a peak performance at the drop of the hat. You know, being ready. And so that's important to me. So there's some self-analysis, and I do live and breathe the five F's. I think that's important. And I think I've proven to myself that that is something that is relatable, not only to my time in the military, but my time in the private sector, and now my time in a nonprofit. And I just continue to do that so self-reflection and really practicing particularly the fitness aspect of the five Fs. Naviere Walkewicz Wow, that's outstanding. And then you probably share this with your mentees. But what is something that you would help our aspiring leaders — those who are already in leadership roles in any facet of it — but what is something that they can do today so that they will be more effective as a leader? Michael Black So I think being aware that people are watching you and your actions. Even when you think that somebody is not watching, they are watching. And so they are trying to learn what to do next, and to be aware of that. And so I think, again, that goes with what you asked me first: What do I do every day. But also being aware of that, so that you can be that example to folks. And then take the time, have some pride in leaving the organization better than it was when you got there. I mean, it's a cliche, but I think I take a lot of pride in that. And then, when the team does good, everybody does good, so you shouldn't necessarily be out there for any kind of glory. That's going to come. But do it for the right reasons. And provide… give the people the tools, the resources and the environment to be successful. And in… I just take satisfaction when I see one of my mentees get squadron command, go do something like the current commander of the White House Communications Agency, Col. Kevin Childs. He was a captain and a major in the organization when I was there. Nothing makes me happier than to see my mentees excel. And then, in this particular instance, he's holding a job that I had, and we still talk. I mean, he had me come out there to speak to the unit about a month ago. And those things give me a lot of pride and satisfaction and confirmation that I am doing the right thing. And so I'm excited about that. Naviere Walkewicz Well, I can say, from the time that I met you a few years ago, you are living what your five Fs. I see it every time you help champion others. Every time I’m around you I’m  energized. So this has been a true joy. Has there been anything that I haven't asked you that you would like to share with our listeners? Michael Black Well, I do want to say personally, thank you to you for all that you do and what the association is doing here. This Long Blue conversation, Long Blue Line — I think this is important to share. There's a Class of 1970 that's in the hotel with us, and I don't know, really, any of those folks, but when I see them walking around with their red hat on — that was their color — and I think about, “OK, 15 years before me.” And so I'm 62. These guys are, if I did the public math, right, 77, 78, maybe even older, depending upon what they did, and still out there doing things, and some of them here with their spouses and that kind of thing. I was just talking to one of the classmates this morning, I said, “You know, I wonder if we're going to be like this when our 55th reunion is,” and they were walking around, and most were in good health and able to do things. So that gives a lot of pride. But, what you're doing, what the rest of the folks here are doing, I think this is amazing. I love the new building, the studio that we're in. This is my first time in the new building, so I'm thankful for this opportunity, and just excited about what you guys do. Naviere Walkewicz Well, thank you so much for that. It's been an absolute pleasure having you on Long Blue Leadership. Michael Black Well, I appreciate it. It's been an honor, and I'm glad you guys timed this for my ’85 Best Alive reunion and in the new studio. Naviere Walkewicz Yes, wonderful. Well, as we bring today's conversation to a close, Michael left a reminder for us that stands to me. As a leader, you're always on, you're always being watched. You know your steady presence and deep empathy were forged in life's hardest moments, from guiding a young family through unimaginable loss to breaking the barriers at the highest levels of service to mentoring cadets who will carry forward the legacy of leadership. And then there's that framework he lived by, the five Fs of leadership. It is practical as it is powerful, family, fitness, flying mission, fairness and fun, each one a reminder that leadership is about balance grounding and the courage to keep perspective no matter the challenge. His story reminds us that true leaders create more leaders, and when we anchor ourselves in purpose, faith and these five Fs, we leave behind a legacy that lasts. Thank you for listening to Long Blue Leadership. I'm Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz. Until next time. KEYWORDS Michael Black, Air Force leadership, 5F leadership philosophy, military mentorship, leadership development, combat communication, White House Communications, Space Force, veteran leadership, empathetic leadership, military career progression, leadership principles, professional growth, organizational effectiveness, cadet mentoring, military communication strategy, leadership resilience, Air Force Academy graduate, leadership philosophy, team building, professional relationships.       The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation

As a U.S. Air Force Academy cadet, now-Capt. Garrett “Kap” Kauppila ’19 experienced a life-changing moment involving his older brother. SUMMARY That trial taught him success doesn’t involve rank — it’s about being present, showing gratitude and supporting others. Hear his powerful story on Long Blue Leadership. Listen today and be a better leader tomorrow!   SHARE THIS PODCAST FACEBOOK [https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A//www.longblueleadership.org/e/the-gratitude-edge/?token=ba8aaa56a7a33b78c751227b203c9b61]  |  LINKEDIN [https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A//www.longblueleadership.org/e/the-gratitude-edge/?token=ba8aaa56a7a33b78c751227b203c9b61]   "KAP'S" LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS 1. Never take moments with loved ones for granted - cherish every interaction. 2. Treat everyone with equal respect, regardless of rank or position. 3. Find your authentic leadership style - don't try to imitate others. 4. Root yourself in gratitude to increase your overall happiness. 5. Fill your own "glass" first before trying to pour into others - self-care is crucial. 6. Wake up early and accomplish tasks to get ahead of your day. 7. Pursue what truly matters to you, not what others expect. 8. Be willing to invest in yourself and sometimes work for free to prove your value. 9. Ask "why" to understand the root cause of people's challenges and needs. 10. Leadership is about showing genuine care, being consistent, and helping others increase their opportunities.   CHAPTERS 00:00: A Life-Changing Moment 01:04: Lessons from Adversity 08:30: The Importance of Gratitude 11:07: Finding Purpose in Leadership 11:28: The Journey to Teaching 17:57: Building Authentic Relationships 24:50: The Power of Self-Discovery 33:47: Investing in Yourself     ABOUT CAPTAIN KAUPPILA BIO Capt. Garrett “Kap” Kauppila ’19 is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, where he distinguished himself both academically and athletically. A native of Rocklin, California, he played defensive back for the Falcons and maintained strong academic performance throughout his time at the Academy. After graduation, Kauppila has served in the Air Force in various capacities, including as an instructor. His leadership approach is informed by both the discipline of his military career and his commitment to continual self‑improvement. One of the pivotal moments in Kauppila’s life was when his older brother, Kyle, suffered a near‑fatal motorcycle accident leading to a stroke. During that time, Kauppila balanced intense emotional and physical challenges — on top of his duties and studies — taking time off, helping with his brother’s care, and eventually returning to finish strong at the Academy with a 3.85 GPA. This period deeply shaped his “glacier theory” leadership philosophy, which emphasizes looking beneath the surface to understand people’s motivations and struggles, and recognizing that many uphill battles are won by small, consistent adjustments.    CONNECT WITH THE LONG BLUE LEADERSHIP PODCAST NETWORK TEAM Send your feedback or nominate a guest: socialmedia@usafa.org [socialmedia@usafa.org] Ted Robertson | Producer and Editor:  Ted.Robertson@USAFA.org [Ted.Robertson@USAFA.org]    <---> Ryan Hall | Director:  Ryan.Hall@USAFA.org [Ryan.Hall@USAFA.org]  Bryan Grossman | Copy Editor:  Bryan.Grossman@USAFA.org [Bryan.Grossman@USAFA.org] Wyatt Hornsby | Executive Producer:  Wyatt.Hornsby@USAFA.org [Wyatt.Hornsby@USAFA.org]      ALL PAST LBL EPISODES [https://www.longblueleadership.org/]  |  ALL LBLPN PRODUCTIONS [https://www.podbean.com/podcast-network/longbluelinepodcast] AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS   TRANSCRIPT SPEAKERS Guest, Capt. Garrett "Cap" Kaupilla ’19  |  Host, Lt. Col. Naviere Walkewicz ’99   Naviere Walkewicz As a cadet, Kap had just began his first season as a defensive starter for Air Force football when his world was turned upside down by a crucible moment.   Capt. Garrett Kauppila Sept. 17, 2017, will forever stay with my family. I ended up getting a call that my brother, that he's not breathing, and it appears that he's no longer with us. I had about 45 minutes to an hour window where I thought that was completely the case. Again, the last I heard he was evacced on a helicopter. He got in a motorcycle crash and didn't know the extent of the details. Was in the Sierra foothills in northern California, and that's all I knew. That changed the trajectory of our entire lives. Naviere Walkewicz My guest today is Capt. Garrett “Kap” Kauppila, United States Air Force Academy Class of 2019 — a man whose leadership journey was shaped in a way few of us can imagine. Kap learned about the fragility of life, the danger of taking even a single conversation for granted, and the importance of showing up with passion and gratitude every day. That perspective now defines Kap as a leader and as a mentor to our cadets at the Air Force Academy. In this episode, he shares the lessons learned in the hardest of circumstances, the power of authenticity, the discipline of not taking life's moments for granted, and the conviction that true leadership begins with respect for others, no matter their title nor rank. So stay with us, because Kap's story is more than a testimony of persistence and staying power. It's a call to live and lead with purpose. Kap, welcome to Long Blue Leadership. Capt. Garrett Kauppila Thank you very much.   Naviere Walkewicz We're so excited to have you. We want to go right to the moment your brother was in a motorcycle crash. Tell us about it. Capt. Garrett Kauppila Yeah. So, Sept. 17, 2017, I ended up getting a call that my brother was dead. That was the simple phone call — that he's not breathing and it appears that he's no longer with us. I had about 45 minutes to an hour window where I thought that was completely the case. Pretty surreal moment. You know, I can't say that I remember every detail of that feeling, but time had passed. I was trying to call people and figure out who could be there, who could be around. My uncle was the first one to arrive at the hospital. And again, the last I heard he was lifeline evacced in a helicopter. He got in a motorcycle crash. They didn't know the extent of the details. He was in the Sierra foothills in northern California, and that's all I knew. Lifeline evacced, unconscious, not breathing. He ended up surviving. He woke up in the hospital. My uncle was there. I end up getting a phone call, and I got the chance to speak to my brother on the phone, and I talked to him, and at first, I mean, I'm just in panic, you know? “Oh my God, he's calling. He's actually alive. Oh my gosh.” I got to get on the phone with him, and he seemed normal, beyond normal. And I had this realization that results matter less than expectations sometimes. If I expected that he was alive, I don't, they would have the same relief. But because I had the thought that he wasn't, that feeling will live within me forever. So, you know, I get the chance, we’re talking on the phone. He's actually telling me about my game, and he was so excited to watch him play. Ask him about his day and his accident, what happened. He had no idea, right? When traumatic things happen in your life, sometimes it creates just a blackout. Even before, he didn't remember, you know, sometime before the accident happened. So he couldn't tell you what happened, how it happened, any of those details. But we went back and forth, kind of talking and exchanging a couple laughs, in fact. And I actually got a phone call then from Coach Calhoun who was kind enough to reach out to me just to tell me that, “Hey, you know, Kap, if there's anything we can do, I know there's a lot going on.” When he called me on the phone, it's not typical for a player to just get a rogue phone call from the head coach. So in that moment, I'm on the phone  with my brother, we're laughing, we're enjoying time. It feels normal for all intents and purposes. I think I took it for granted. I think you go from this feeling that he is not with me to he is completely normal, and that dichotomy, that strong polarization of feeling that I had led to, I guess, complacency. I took him for granted in that moment, I perceived, and, you know, if I could have gone back, I never would have answered the phone call. I appreciate and love Coach Calhoun for calling me, but I just would have soaked in that moment with him. And I didn't even think twice, like, “Oh yeah, Kyle, Kyle, I'll call you right back.” I called my brother's name. “I'll call you right back.” He's “OK, no worries. Just call me back. Cool.” Hung up, you know, answer the phone with Coach Calhoun. He was so lovely, just supportive, just saying, “Hey, we're all here for you. Anything you need, just let us know. You, your family. Anything.” You know, wonderful. I go to call my brother back. OK. “Hey. You know, he's asleep.” “OK, no worries.” You know, it's been a long day. He's exhausted. Little did I know that that was the last conversation that I would have with him for a year. He had a stroke. He then was induced into a coma. My brother was in a coma, for, if I remember, right — I don't remember if it was a day, two days, it was a couple of days, and that was the last I spoke to him. And then it was, is he gonna survive? And I just hung up the phone. I did not say “I love you,” which is something I always think that I say to my loved ones, and I didn't say it in that moment, and I'll forever regret that, because I never knew if I'd say it again. And so that was very, very difficult. I was here at the Air Force Academy now, and I was, you know, I guess I was ecstatic after my first start, preparing for my second. And then life came at me quickly. It was, “What am I… I need to go home. I need to be gone.” Process the paperwork for administrative turn back, you know, thankful for people in my life that helped support me in that, namely, Col. Harding, Coach Calhoun, were pivotal. Also Col. Pendry was pivotal in that process for me. But we processed that paperwork and then I called my parents. I'm like, “Hey, I’m coming home. That’s what we're doing?” My parents said, “He can't do anything here. He's…” for lack of better word, I hate this term, but he was vegetative. There was no movement, no speaking, there was nothing. So there was nothing I could necessarily do to support them in that exact moment. So my parents were like, “Hey, continue your dreams. That's what he’d want for you right now.” So that's what I did. And I spent the next couple of days still trying to exist and be normal. You know, it was actually near prog, you know, tests are ramping up. I'm pulling all-nighters. I can't sleep. I don't know how he's doing. We end up playing a game the next Saturday against San Diego State, who's actually ranked No. 22 in the country at the time. And it was at home. I dedicated that game, you know, I remember posting something on my Instagram saying, “This game is for my brother, with my brothers.” And so it was kind of that moment I realized that it's OK to play for the name on the front of the jersey and the name on the back of the jersey — both matter. And I'm really thankful we have our names on the back of jersey, because at the end of the day, that's part of the reason we do what we do. It's part of what keeps us motivated. And in that game, things are going up and down. The game was crazy. It was a monsoon. We had a two-hour delay. My parents are watching from the hospital bed, in fact, and I end up blocking a punt in the fourth quarter. And on that play, I snapped my collar bone clean in half and I thought, “OK, maybe I'm just being weak. Let me keep going. I'll keep playing. Try to tough it out.” I kind of play the next series. In fact, I do something that harms our team. I'm not fully there. I'm in a lot of pain. I can't really tackle the right way. Ended up coming to the sideline and I remember telling the coaches that are the medical trainers, I was like, “Hey, I snapped my collarbone.” But he was, “OK, don't be dramatic.” He knows what that looks like when people traditionally do that. He felt under my shoulder pad and was like, “Oh my God!” We're talking nearly compound, like the corner of my bone is up in my trap situation. That moment, life was like, “All right, time to go home.” You know, call it what you want. Call it bigger purpose, whatever that may look like. It was time for me to go home. It was a difficult time. It was a very, very difficult time. And I couldn't be more thankful to have had the opportunity to go home and handle what I needed to handle. Sometimes nothing makes sense until the bones are right. Not to make that pun, right — the bones are right. My collarbone had everything to do with the core of my family. There's no way I could have succeeded in my life as a cadet… when the big things are wrong, none of the little stuff is gonna matter. So had that opportunity. You know, I became my brother’s, his word, not mine — he called me his parrot because I knew him so well that I knew what he was thinking and feeling. He didn’t speak, my brother, when he got out of the coma. They didn't know if he would speak again. He didn't speak, in fact, until the next the next spring, so not quite a year, but it still wasn't conversational at that point in time. So I was his parrot, as he would say. Yeah, not his parent. My older brother would never let me claim that title. But yeah, I was his words. People would look at him and ask him a question, and he would look at me and give me a demeanor, and I was like, “You know, here's what's going on, here's what he's feeling, thinking, etc.” He doesn't have memory of those about three months of his life, which is pretty surreal to think. So that was a moment that turned my world upside down.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes. I mean, literally, I just, I'm thinking through all of that you shared. It was a series of things that happened. I mean, my goodness, I guess the first question that comes to my mind as I was listening to you and soaking in that story is, how did you change in that moment? Because you went on a phone call, from being on a high to a low, complacent to like — what literally changed in you because of this? Capt. Garrett Kauppila Yeah, the moment that I realized that could be the last conversation I ever had with my brother, I didn't say I love you — that made me never take another moment for granted. And it's the littlest things in life that it's so easy to take for granted. And that's a cliche statement, but genuinely, I don't take for granted the ability to use my right hand. I don't take for granted ability to write my name. My brother can't use his right hand, right? He's my older brother. He turns 30 here in a couple weeks. Actually, he's still working on reading and writing. Those are things we take for granted every single day that I no longer do, and I hate that it came at his expense. I don't believe everything in the world has to happen for a reason. I don't think that he had to go through this at his expense for me to learn these lessons, but I know that I can find a reason for why everything happened, right? I can take a positive away from things about our relationship, about our family, but I don't believe it had to happen at his expense. It happened to happen at his expense. So with that, we have to take in our sphere of influence what is now in my control, something I talk to cadets about all the time. There's a lot of things happening in life. There's a lot of things happening around you that aren't necessarily what you wanted. They're not in your control either. But the reality is, where are you at now? Where are your two feet? And how can you come to play? What can you do with your present resources, your tools, your current situation? And so in those moments, I went home, and my mom would always tell me the Air Force Academy impacted me. I didn't realize it, but in her eyes, my ability to come home and step into the figure that I became for my family in that role, while I didn't feel like it was in shambles, unfortunately, after my brother’s accident, a couple weeks later, my grandfather passed to a heart attack. It was just like one thing after the next, between his accident, my injury, and then my grandfather passing. My dad was with his father, now I was with my brother. My mom is trying to provide for our family and still make sure our house doesn't get foreclosed, while also trying to support all of us. And so she's always appreciative of my presence and being able to do that. I'm always thankful that the Air Force Academy supported me in being able to do that, because those moments, I will say, stay with me for the rest of my life, and I never would have been the man that I am if I hadn't had those experiences with him. He then proceeded to live with me for three years in Los Angeles. My brother and I are very, very close. So, again, it happened at his expense and I'll never be grateful for the fact that it took that experience for me to learn these things. So I asked for everybody to hear that story, or hear others like it, and try not to take the loved ones, the people in their life for granted, no matter how big or how small the moment they feel. But also take for granted the ability to do the littlethings you do in your life.   Naviere Walkewicz Talk me through — how did you end up at the Air Force Academy now as one of the management instructors?   Capt. Garrett Kauppila Yeah, so the GSP slot was with the intention of — the department releases you from your assignment. You do grad school, and I would do one operational assignment, intervening tour, as they like to call it, and then come back to the Academy to teach.   Naviere Walkewicz Talk about when you knew that this was your passion — teaching.   Capt. Garrett Kauppila Yeah, that started long before. It didn't happen when I was here. I had a teacher that greatly influenced me. His name was Mark Hardy. He was my AP microeconomics teacher in high school. As a 17-year-old, I had never had someone that influenced me so much in terms of, just like the charisma that he had, the consistency, the man that he is every single day. It inspired me to want to be the same for other people's lives. And I think it's easy to not appreciate that, the weight that someone can have, especially as a teacher, right at the high school level, how many lives it's actually impacted. And he had like 240 students that year. He's been there for decades, right?   Naviere Walkewicz And he still made that influence on you, where you felt a connection.   Capt. Garrett Kauppila Yeah, 100%. And I remember, every single day I came into the classroom, he had music on. He would shake your hand and he knew all of our names. He’d have us all switch seats. Ask my students — to this day, that is still what I do. And every single time there’s test, I play The Final Countdown. That came from Mr. Hardy. So, that's my thing. I make them all move seats, know each other, know each other's names. I know all their names on Day 1 when they show up. It really freaks them out at first, but I think it's something special. It says you care. I know in life, people do not care about what you know unless they know how much you care. Another cliche, but my way of doing that is by the first day of class, I shake all their hands and say hello to them by name. They're like, “Have we met?” I'm like, “No, we have, not, but now we have.” And I think that they'll remember my name too, right? And so oftentimes, when you're the teacher, it's easy for them to remember you. It's not as easy for you to remember them. So you make that initiative, you show that that's your intention on Day 1, and it resonates with them. To me, that's a style of leadership. I think it establishes — I look power structures, and there's kind of a couple core power structures. There's five main ones. There's legitimate power. There's like, reward-based power, coercive power, there's expert power, and then there's reverent power. So then the ones I really focus on, I fixate on and I think about all the time, is this idea of expert leadership and reverent power. And this idea is that if you're an expert, people listen to you because you're knowledgeable. That's worth something, to have you on the team, right? You're the expert of a topic. What's even more powerful than that is if someone follows you, believes in your message for the sole purpose that they admire you. There's something about you that exhibits, you know — they see themselves in you. They want to be like you.   Naviere Walkewicz Like you did for your AP economics teacher.   Capt. Garrett Kauppila Absolutely. Mark Hardy, he had reverent power to me. He was someone that I looked up to, and now I hope I exhibit some of his traits of caring about people first. If you can show people you really care — you're gonna make mistakes — but if you stay consistent in your path, you have a motivation, you have a North Star that you're going towards and you do so with conviction, early on, you're gonna threaten people. Early on, you're gonna get haters. But as time goes on, as people are looking for that guiding North Star, if you're unwavering in who you are, I do believe people would want to join that train. If your tracks stay true, people eventually look and say, “You know, you get what you expect. What he says is what he does. And I believe it.” And eventually, that's the path that I want to lead others down. And so I think if your morality is guided the right direction, along the way, people are gonna hop off board, but you're gonna get a lot more people joining. And so that reverent power, that true leadership that says if we took the uniform off, this person would have respected you the exact same, that is what I put weight on. It's not a matter of rank. In fact, generally speaking, what is a captain at the Air Force Academy? There's not a lot of legitimate power, right, if we're being frank. So we're not at a normal base around the main squadron where that may be a significant leadership role. So I think that what it comes down to is treat everyone the way you want to be treated. Respect all, fear none.   Naviere Walkewicz Wait, say that again.   Capt. Garrett Kauppila Respect all, fear none. And the idea is that I genuinely don't believe I treat a four-degree different than I would treat my boss, who’s an O-6. They walk by my office, it's, “Yes ma’am, how can I help?” “Yes sir, how can I help?” You know, “What's going on?” It's absolute respect, but it's not… You know, you're not treating people as though they're different than, less than, etc. They're all the same. If you treat everyone — you have a standard to hold everyone… You know, hold yourself to the level of responsibility that you treat everyone with respect but not fear. I remember sitting down — we actually, you and I… You did the run back from...   Naviere Walkewicz Oh, march back?   Capt. Garrett Kauppila I did the march back. You did the run back with Arden. And I wasn't willing to run at that moment, but I remember we got back and got to go to Mitchell Hall with the basics, and they asked me for a piece of advice. And it sounds too light hearted, but it's just true. You know, the basics, they're being led by our rising two-degrees. Do the rising two-degrees actually believe that they are in a place where they should have that much power over people? They kind of laugh about it. They know, “Whoa, this is weird that I have so much control over human beings.” Here comes the two-degree, which was me, right? I was the 19-year-old. And there I am leading a flight and basic training. It's almost comical to them that they have the ability to do that. So what I told the basics is, I was like, “Hey, guys, just so you know, guys, gals, right? Respect them. Be respectful. Never waver on that, but you don’t need to fear them. They too struggle with things. They too have pain, have life happen to them.” And by the way, same with me, I'm a captain. What does that mean? I promoted twice. Woohoo. I promoted twice and didn’t get in trouble. I mean, I'm not that different from them, right? They're all gonna graduate from here too. They're gonna end up in the same shoes as I am. So, no, anyway, my perspective is just that I'm a captain. Whoopty doo. I too have things I'm struggling with in my life, that I'm I'm working on every single day, trying to be a better version of myself. So I ask for their respect, but hopefully don’t have to ask for it, because I'm already showing them that, reciprocating that. And so I think it becomes a natural state of your existence in the rooms that you're in.   Naviere Walkewicz So I have to ask, have you had a cadet that you've seen or has come to you and basically views you as having that reverent power? Have you had a cadet share a story, or have you actually witnessed someone kind of taking on things that have come from you? Capt. Garrett Kauppila It's a great question. I've had a had an interaction yesterday that meant a lot to me. Incredible, incredible person, leader. And we were talking about, you know, she was preparing for GSP interviews. She's a stellar student. She's a great military leader.   Naviere Walkewicz And what does GSP stand for?   Capt. Garrett Kauppila Graduate School Program. We’re very creative, as you know, at the Air Force Academy. Graduate School Program, but for the Management Department, which is the same slot that I earned in December of 2019. And so she came in to talk about it, and they're going to teach the department something about leadership, right, about their experience that they're having, and how they would use that experience to reflect on their cadets as if they want to be an instructor. At the end of the day, it's a grad school slot, but we're hiring someone to be our colleagues, right? Work with us to inspire the next generation of cadets. And we sat there and we talked about this idea of how much she cares, and she talked about a story. She was the squadron commander in basic, right? Which is not the flight, but like the whole, the five flights. So she was leading the squadron, and this year — I think it was the first time they actually were six weeks in that role. It wasn't three weeks and then transition. They wanted to create some cohesion.   Naviere Walkewicz OK, so putting a lot of effort and the focus on the sponsor, or excuse me, squadron.   Capt. Garrett Kauppila So the squadron commander and the director of operations stayed for all six weeks of basic. So she was the person for those five flights of basics. That was their leader for the whole six weeks. And she's not a large presence; she's not an intimidating person. But she's a caring, charismatic leader, and because of that, when she says something, people listen and it carries weight. And she told me she came to me because she felt as though I exhibited those same things that she feels within herself. It's funny because sometimes presence, like someone has a larger presence or a smaller presence by stature, they utilize that to try and create coercive power, legitimate power. I try to drop the sword and shield as soon as I meet anybody, right? Try to make it as calm, as comfortable as you can. And so when we were talking about that more, she told me a story that she was actually on the obstacle course trying to do everything with her basics. That's the type of leader she is. She tore her ACL and her basics watched her fall off the equipment in pain and struggle. I was like, “Gosh, were you not thankful that you are a kind, charismatic, caring leader — that’s your leadership style?” Because they reciprocated that immediately. Could you imagine if she was just demeaning, demoralizing.   Naviere Walkewicz Right. They’d be like, “Ha ha. She got what…”   Capt. Garrett Kauppila That's how it would feel. It would absolutely feel that way, if that was the way that she led. And she remembers going back, she said she went back to the lightning shelter and sat there with other basics that were broken, and sat down and said, “How are you guys feeling?” They felt out of place. They felt bad. They weren't able to contribute and support their classmates and whatever. She goes, “I get it. I really get it.” You know, it's so easy for us to think we know someone's story, to call someone an F-18 pilot. I don't know if that term existed, right? That idea that you are skipping out of things. Do you really know? Do you really know what's going on? You probably don't. I know I was fresh out of knee surgery, actually, when I showed up to basic training. I  had gotten knee surgery my senior year of high school and it’s probably the reason I ended up here. You know, end up, you know, some other things fell by the wayside, and I came to the Air Force Academy. You know, people can say anything they want, but I don't want to connect them to my office to work with me. They say, “Hey, Capt. Kap. Can we do this, this, this, or can we change this class and change this major?” So I can. And sometimes I just want to say, “No, you can't do that.” But instead, I don't, I don't say that. I say, “Why? Why do you want that?” And what I learned by asking why, and asking why again, is there is a root cause of these things. And when we address the root cause, because you actually care enough to ask them, we can actually fix the problem, and we don't need to do any of those things. And so you get to the root of what something, what someone really has going on in their lives, and it's just proven to be so worth it for me. Every single time I get the chance to do it, I've learned that if I can pour a little bit into someone's glass — OK, first of all, don't pour from empty glass if you're empty within yourself, right? Like I was when I left to go home and be with my family — I didn't have energy for everybody else in that moment, trying to pour from empty glass is — that's not a sustainable effort. Fill your glass, make sure your people, your family and yourself are squared away and good to go. At that point when you have an abundance of water in that glass, pour from it, it's the most rewarding thing in the entire world. And I realized this. And you know, I think everything in my life getting up to that point created this, whether it was the highs of life, the opportunities presented to me through the Air Force Academy, through travel, through football, whatever that may have looked like, but then the lows of life that rooted me in gratitude, what I realized is happiness, and this is my little theory, that happiness is a box. I consider it a box of happiness. The amount of happiness you actually feel in your life is the area of that box. So, many people are predicated, they're so focused on raising the ceiling of the box. Raise the top. The problem is, if your gratitude dissipates along the way, the area never increases. So what happens is, oftentimes, people create more opportunities for themselves in their life and they take for granted all the places they've been and all the places they were. And so because of that, the gratitude dissipates as your opportunities increase, you never become happier. And they wonder why it's not so happy at the top and cheery…  Because they weren't rooted in gratitude. If they never leave the ground and they keep the base of their box, in fact, they continue to drive that base of the box down into the ground while they create more opportunities, you will have more height to your box. What about the width   Naviere Walkewicz I was gonna say, what about your gratitude being wider?   Capt. Garrett Kauppila Now I’ve got a long, skinny box, right? That’s not a lot of area. This is the people you get to share with, the friends and the family, the people you get to support and give back to. Right? You create opportunity. You root yourself in gratitude so you understand the people to your left and right. And now I believe it's your job to share it with them, expose them to it, so they can increase their opportunities. So they never leave their feet on the ground and they keep their gratitude. My job, I believe in — I'm a utilitarian, right? It's a philosophy concept. Increasing the ultimate world happiness — if there was some world happiness meter, an arbitrary meter in the world, if my actions are going to raise it, I want to do that. If they're going to diminish it, I'm not going to do that. So if it benefits me and hurts five others, I'm not going to do it. But if it benefits five others and it may take time out of my day, that sounds like a win, right? So I realized in every moment I'm with a cadet at a highly adaptable state of their mind — high brain plasticity. They're thinking, they're growing. They don't know quite yet who they are. They haven't lived on their own, haven't cooked their own meals, right? I was the same. I was no different. There was a moment that you realize how precious this moment in time is, they are. And I'm teaching firsties right now. They are about to go create everything that they are. But, I mean, you've met people you haven't seen five years, 10 years, 20 years since graduation. You're such a different person, right? At that time, when the leave the Academy, they really find themselves. So I don't take for granted conversations that I have, the moments I share with them in the classroom. I tell them my gratitude every day: “Thank you for letting me do what I love.” I say that to them almost every single day: “Thanks for allowing me to be here.” They're like, “I have to be here,” but that's not the demeanor that I dress it with, right? So root myself in gratitude and I just pour into them as much as I physically can. Maybe it’s selfish of me. In fact, maybe I do it for myself. Think about it this way. I realize that pouring into people actually makes me happy. It really does. So maybe I pour into some people because it makes me happier. What if everyone was that selfish? If they actually knew what makes them happy? How many people go create massive success in their life, but they don't ever give back? And they find out, later on, they create these companies, they see all these things, and then they come back and go, “I really want to give back to my Air Force Academy. I really want to come back and teach in the classroom.” Heck, I remember sitting the NextGen Advisory meeting, you and I were in there with individuals highly successful, far more successful than I, and many of them were saying, “All I want to do is come back to the Academy and teach.” Gosh, what a moment for me to realize and to be introspective on the fact that I can't take this for granted. They can do all these things of all this success. People are oftentimes trying to chase someone on a ladder and try to be like them and have their success. And really, they're just trying to do what I do every day, and they want to do it for free. I get paid to do this job. What a blessing that is. And so those are the moments that help you to sink your — or dig your heels in and say, “I'm here.” Gosh, imagine me as a two-degree. You told me you're gonna get the Air Force Academy teaching the exact subject you want to teach, finance and investments. I bet that's a dream come true. Well, I can't be here now and forget about that, because then I'm gonna miss this moment. I'm gonna move on and wish I had it back. Don't put yourself in that position. Naviere Walkewicz You said something really interesting. It was about — I think it was something to the effect of you can't have something extrinsic, like chasing some kind of like opportunity and make you happy, right? It won't fulfill in like an intrinsic unhappiness or a hole or something. So how do you — how does that translate, I think, as you're helping to lead others and help others to think that way, as they progress? I know you talked about being rooted in gratitude, but is there more to it than the gratitude piece, right? Like, how do you also make sure that you're thinking about the intrinsic pieces? Capt. Garrett Kauppila Yeah, so I think that I have a great opportunity while I'm here. I get the opportunities to work with and see a lot of our recruits coming into the campus, and I get to speak with them and families. Get to see the excitement they have to eventually, one day, hopefully, arrive at the Air Force Academy. I get to work with a lot of cadets every single day, thankful to do it, and I get to see a lot of cadets. Sometimes that attitude changes. The gratitude they once felt, they become skeptical, it becomes challenging. They can't see the forest above the trees. They're caught up in that moment. But I also work with a lot of grads. I'm thankful to work with the Bolt Brotherhood and thankful to work with the NextGen Advisory Council, and have a lot of touch points to our grads. And I've never yet met a grad that is not grateful that they had gone through the Air Force Academy, that they graduated from the Air Force Academy. I've never met one that regretted that experience. I know a lot of recruits that are excited as hell to be here. I know a lot of cadets that are questioning their decisions at times. I know a lot of grads that would do anything to ensure that their loved ones or other people know about the Air Force Academy and what it did for them in their lives. And so what I asked of them is just to reflect back and remember themselves and how excited they were to have the opportunity to earn that appointment to be one of the, you know, 10, perhaps, you know, applications that had the opportunity to say that they were accepted and that they were gonna attend the Air Force Academy. Remember that pride they felt when they got their congressional nomination right? Imagine the feeling that parents feel when they drop them off at IDay, right? All of those feelings, they're real. You can't let them dissipate so quickly. Naviere Walkewicz Well, I mean, Kap, this has been amazing. There's a couple more questions I want to ask you. The first one is, because you're so passionate, and obviously you take care of yourself, how do you how do you feel your glass every day so that you can pour into others? What does that look like?   Capt. Garrett Kauppila Yeah, for me, I have to stay busy. And that's the part of me that, you know, when I was younger, I was smaller, I think that's never changed. I have to remain busy. I tell people all the time, if they apply — because we've all had that experience of leaving the Air Force Academy and realizing, “Wait the people at the Air Force Academy are really fantastic. There are such high-quality people, intellectually, emotionally. In all ways. You go into society, it can be a little sobering, a little like, “ Whoa. We are not the Air Force Academy anymore. These people don't operate on the same frequency." That's not within our service, that's just in life, that's going around day to day. So I tell cadets all the time, “You have proven yourself that you can do this. You can commit to your goals. You can complete these long hours, these long days. Life will only get easier in terms of your time commitments.” Now, kids and things like that could change that, but at the end of the day, they prove themselves they can do it. I challenge them to continue on that trajectory when they graduate — not to let off the gas and continue to find things that actually make them passionate. OK, it's so easy for me to wake up every day with this passion, with this desire to do what I do because I love what I do. It doesn't feel like work. So biggest things for me in order to stay ahead, whether that be health, whether that be my sleep, whether that be my accomplishments, whatever it may look like — your leadership ability — I have to wake up and accomplish something. Wake up in your day and accomplish a task. I like waking up before everyone else. I did start doing that as a cadet; I'd finish ball practice and realize I have no mental capacity. I cannot do homework. It is 8 p.m. and I'm exhausted. So what did I do when I was exhausted? I went to bed. I put on my eye mask, my earplugs and slept like little baby angels, right? My hands crossed over my chest, right? And people always make fun of me. “Why are you always in bed at 8 p.m.” “Well, why are you always in bed when it’s 4 a.m.?” What I realized was there's a time of day that no one can schedule anything on my schedule. No one's scheduling anything from 4 to 7. Just the reality. So if you wake up early in the morning and you accomplish tasks, now, I’m not getting up at 4 in the morning, usually it's about 5, but I accomplish tasks early in my day. I get ahead of my day, and I prioritize fitness, I prioritize my health, I prioritize my sleep. We can't possibly learn, lead, network, meet people, accomplish. I mean, we're gonna get injured. We're not helping ourselves.   Naviere Walkewicz For less money, though, we can do an eye mask, because I also sleep with an eye mask. It's a game changer. Capt. Garrett Kauppila Read reviews on Amazon. Like is this easy stuff, right? I love classical conditioning, the idea that earplugs, eye mask mean sleep; earplugs, eye mask means sleep. Eventually you put in your ear plugs, your eye mask, whatever does your body do? It goes to sleep. Your brain turns off and stops thinking, because that's your routine. So I go to bed early, I wake up early, and I love to accomplish tasks early on in my day. By the time I arrive in the classroom, we're a couple hours in, right? The brain is operating. We're fully awake. We're ready to go. So I challenge people, if they want to achieve more in their life, they need to learn how to achieve more in a day, and once you learn how to achieve more in a day, learn how to achieve more in a week. And now can you make it sustainable. Some people have — they're 75 hard. They can do these things for a period of time. Their new year's resolutions — we love the gym in January, the first week of January. March…   Naviere Walkewicz Everyone gets the gym back.   Capt. Garrett Kauppila Yeah. And then all of a sudden, the gym is empty by February, right? You know how that goes. So it's like, do you actually mean this, or do you think that you want to do it? So I think if you can accomplish — learn how to accomplish more in one day, do it again the next day, and then repeat it the next day. But in order to do that, you have to be pursuing something that is yours. It can't because my family wants me to. It'll never be sustainable. It can't because someone else thinks it. It can't because I saw it on the internet. It has to be because Naviere Walkewicz wants to do this right. She wants to do this for her life. And so Kap wants to be this person. I want to strive for more and be the best version of myself. My mom tucked me into bed every single night when I was a little kid, you know — 4-year-old, 5-year-old — and she always said, “Hey, Garrett, the only thing you can do is be the best person you can be.” That's all you can do. That's your sphere of influence. So I try my best to be the best person I can be every day. That way I can be consistent, and people can always look to me and know what you see is what you get. You know that if I hop on the call, if I show up in the classroom, you know exactly what you're gonna get from me. I'm not gonna waver on that, and I think that's worth a lot so that someone can look to you and be admired by you, and hopefully you can exhibit reverent power. Naviere Walkewicz Well, I would ask you, what would you recommend to others and what they can do to be better leaders every day? But it sounds like you might give them the same example you just gave, because you're gonna practice what you preach. Is there anything else you might offer then for our — I mean, you do this with the cadets regularly, but just for anyone listening as they're trying to develop themselves as a leader or be a better, more reverent leader. What else might you offer that they can do each day themselves just to turn that dial a little bit? Capt. Garrett Kauppila Find who you really are. You can read all the books. You can read all the headlines. You can hear from me right now. You can hear from everyone else in this podcast. But if it's not you, it won't be true. You won't be able to make it sustainable. It won't be consistent. You will not be able to replicate those actions. OK, I love football so I love football analogies. You can be Nick Saban and Bill Belichick and have success by not being a player's coach or being a little rough around the edges. Or you can be Sean McVeigh and Dabo Swinney, who, if you don't know any of those people, they are younger in personality and in age. They have handshakes with their players, that's who they are trying to be. Don’t try to be the other one, though. If Nick Saban tried to be cool with his players and have handshakes, now you’re fake. Now you’re just fake. Either one can prove to be successful, but you need to find who you are. And so if you don't know who you are, stop telling other people who they are, right? You have time to go. Your glass isn't full yet. Stop pouring it out. Right? Fill this thing at the top. Doesn't mean be selfish. It's the most selfless thing you could ever do is to pour into yourself, fill your glass so you have an abundance to give to others. If you give yourself a full glass and learn how to make it, you know, replenishing — this is some… we're talking like Red Robin fries here, like truly bottomless glass that we can pour from…   Naviere Walkewicz Do you eat Red Robin fries?   Capt. Garrett Kauppila I actually have not. But I'm not opposed to eating unhealthy in there, right? It's all aboutcalorie deficits. I just gotta work out more, I guess. But anyway, so my point is, if you don't know who you are, go find that first. That's the most important thing. Naviere Walkewicz How do they start? What's the first step in that? Because you just said you can read all the books, but if you're not this person, that's not you. How do you find out who you are?   Capt. Garrett Kauppila You find out who you are by finding out what you actually care about. Learn what you really care about. Think about the times you're at peace. Think about the moment, if you could do anything in the world, money didn't matter, what would you be doing? OK, it sounds really cliche. The reason I teach finance, I teach investments, is to provide I believe that finance is a tool to allow you to be happy. I would never subsidize happiness for money. I believe that you have your finances together and they're squared away, and you are investing properly, doing all those things to take care of you, your life, your family, your stability. You can be present where your feet are, and you can make decisions based off what you really want to do. If you find what it is that you are passionate about, we'll find a way to monetize it later. I truly believe that. I think that we have a role for everyone in this life. Whatever it is that you really care about, find a way to be the best at it. Stop being complacent with being, you know, average. I don't care what it is, I don't care what your job is. Be the best at it, and you will find a way to monetize it. This is a silly story, but I learned so much from it. There was an individual who reached out. He's a content creator, does videography. I actually don't remember the gentleman's name, but he was reaching out every single day to Tyreek Hill. He wanted to video — now, Tyreek Hill is not someone we’ll resemble for leadership qualities. That is not what I'm saying in this conversation. However, he was reaching out to Tyreek Hill because he's his biggest fan and he wanted to film videos, take videos of Tyreek Hill to create cool content videos, hype videos, etc. One day, Tyreek Hill’s manager saw the message and told him, he said, “I'll come out for free. I will come out for free and do this for you.” What I learned in my life, throughout my time so far, and I have so much more to learn as I go forward, is if you're willing to invest yourself for free, the person that does more than they're paid for will soon be paid for more than they do. If you are willing to put yourself out there and prove to others that they need you, once they realize they want you, now you can charge them for it. So, what he did is say, “I'll come out for free on my dime.” Nothing to it. “Well, OK, sure. This guy wants him out for free and work with me and create videos for me. It sounds fantastic.” Well, then he does such a good job, he's like, “I want to hire you.” Oh, well, now it's gonna cost you, right? That individual ended up being contacted by the NFL because Tyreek Hill took his phone out of his hand, did it back up with him, created one of the coolest videos ever seen on, you know, terms of a game day touchdown celebration. That individual has now gone on to make tons and tons of money. He runs a company. Only happened like two years ago. The point in that story is he offered himself for free to show off his talents, but first you have to invest in yourself. You have to get great at something. Get great at something. Figure out what it is you really want to do and offer yourself for free. And once people realize that they want you, now you can charge them for it. Charlie Jackson, football coach, Air Force Academy grad, Class of 2000. He told me stories in Los Angeles Air Force Base. He was at Los Angeles Air Force Base. His dream was to coach in the NFL. He wanted to coach at the highest levels. And you can go coach a high school, get paid a little bit of money, and then spend decades to work your way up. Now that wasn't what Coach Jackson wanted to do. So he offered to be a free intern at UCLA. “I'm gonna work for free.” And he happened to just sit next to a couple of unpaid interns, one named Kyle Shanahan, head coach of the 49ers. The other is the current GM for the Washington Commanders. Those were the three unpaid interns in UCLA’s office. Well, he offered himself for free. He tried to show him that they needed him. Once they realized they wanted him, now, they needed to hire him. He ended up on a quick path coaching at the Atlanta Falcons. He's now coached many other places here. He's now come back to Air Force. How do they always come back to Air Force? It's because they love it here. Something about this place is special. The same reason you're back here, same reason I am too. So I really, I really challenge everyone to find what is their truly love and find a way to be the best at that. Whatever it may be, there's a way to monetize it. Naviere Walkewicz This is amazing. Was there anything that we didn't touch on today that you want to share with our listeners?   Capt. Garrett Kauppila Thank you. I appreciate it.   Naviere Walkewicz Thank you. Thank you.   Naviere Walkewicz As we wrap up today's conversation, I keep coming back to Kap's reminder, don't take for granted the things that matter most. That lesson first struck him in the hardest way when he thought he lost his brother, and it's become the driving force behind how he lives and leads today. Kat also shared another truth worth carrying with us be the best version of yourself, not someone else's version of you. That conviction shows up in how he teaches cadets, how he respects others, regardless of rank, and how he purchase every day with passion and gratitude. So here's the takeaway, Leadership isn't about chasing titles or timelines. It's about showing up authentically, valuing every moment and lifting up the people around you. The question we can all ask ourselves today is, what or who am I taking for granted, and how can I choose to lead with more gratitude and authenticity, starting right now. Thank you for joining us for this edition of lovely leadership. If Cap's story resonated with you please share it with someone who might need it and don't forget to subscribe, you'll find longer leadership on all your favorite podcast platforms we don't want you to miss what's ahead this season. I'm Naviere Walkewicz, Class of ’99.   KEYWORDS Leadership, gratitude, authenticity, adversity, Air Force Academy, personal growth, mentorship, self-discovery, resilience, life lessons.       The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation

People matter more than position, and leadership starts with taking care of others. Doing that right means a million acts. SUMMARY Those are lessons Lt. Col. Steven “Meathead” Mount ’08 shares with listeners in the Season 4 premier of Long Blue Leadership. For Col. Mount, becoming a pilot was a major milestone, but becoming a husband and father had the biggest impact. Don’t wait, listen today and become a better leader tomorrow.   SHARE THIS PODCAST FACEBOOK [https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A//www.longblueleadership.org/e/one-leader-one-million-acts-lt-col-steven-meathead-mount-08/?token=5575cfa44db4fbc7234789fdedc20d04]  |  LINKEDIN [https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A//www.longblueleadership.org/e/one-leader-one-million-acts-lt-col-steven-meathead-mount-08/?token=5575cfa44db4fbc7234789fdedc20d04]   COL. MOUNT'S TOP LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS * Adoption shaped my understanding of support and love. * Leadership is about lifting others to achieve their best. * Mentorship plays a crucial role in personal and professional growth. * Balancing family and career is a continuous challenge. * It's important to have tough conversations as a leader. * Resilience is key to overcoming setbacks in life and career. * Listening more than talking is essential for effective leadership. * Recognizing the importance of support systems can enhance leadership effectiveness. * Leadership is defined by consistent, everyday actions. * The military community thrives on teamwork and mutual support.   CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction to Leadership Lessons 06:43 The Impact of Adoption on Leadership 14:53 Navigating Challenges at the Academy 22:49 Career Path and Opportunities in Aviation 33:31 Balancing Family and Military Career 44:18 Continuous Improvement as a Leader     ABOUT COL. MOUNT BIO Lt. Col. Steven “Meathead” Mount is a decorated officer in the United States Air Force with a career marked by leadership, operational excellence, and a deep commitment to mentoring the next generation. A command pilot with thousands of flight hours, he has served in a variety of demanding roles across multiple aircraft and theaters, bringing a wealth of experience in both combat and peacetime operations. Beyond the cockpit, Lt. Col. Mount is widely recognized for his ability to lead diverse teams through complex challenges, foster innovation, and develop leaders at every level. His career reflects not only technical expertise but also a people-first leadership philosophy that emphasizes accountability, resilience, and service. Known by his call sign “Meathead,” he brings both humility and humor to the serious business of leading Airmen. His story is one of dedication to mission and country, but also of shaping culture, inspiring others, and leaving a lasting impact on the Air Force community.   CONNECT WITH THE LONG BLUE LEADERSHIP PODCAST NETWORK TEAM Send your feedback or nominate a guest: socialmedia@usafa.org [socialmedia@usafa.org] Ted Robertson | Producer and Editor:  Ted.Robertson@USAFA.org [Ted.Robertson@USAFA.org]    <---> Ryan Hall | Director:  Ryan.Hall@USAFA.org [Ryan.Hall@USAFA.org]  Bryan Grossman | Copy Editor:  Bryan.Grossman@USAFA.org [Bryan.Grossman@USAFA.org] Wyatt Hornsby | Executive Producer:  Wyatt.Hornsby@USAFA.org [Wyatt.Hornsby@USAFA.org]      ALL PAST LBL EPISODES [https://www.longblueleadership.org/]  |  ALL LBLPN PRODUCTIONS [https://www.podbean.com/podcast-network/longbluelinepodcast] AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS     TRANSCRIPT SPEAKERS Guest, Lt. Col. Steven Mount ’08  |  Host, Lt. Col. Naviere Walkewicz ’99   Naviere Walkewicz Welcome to the first episode of Season 4 of Long Blue Leadership, the podcast where we share insights on leadership through the lives and experiences of Air Force Academy graduates. I'm Naviere Walkewicz, Class of ’99. We're kicking off this season with a story that shows how our earliest experiences can shape the kind of leaders we become. Lt. Col. Steve Mount, Class of 2008, call sign “Meathead,” didn't fully realize that truth until later in life. Adopted as an infant, he came to understand that love and support aren't guaranteed. They're gifts. Over his 17-year career, Col. Mount has flown missions across a wide range of aircraft, from the C-130 to special operations to the U-2. And today, he's in command. But through every stage, one belief has stayed with him: People succeed not only through their own efforts, but because someone believed in them. In this conversation, we'll talk about how those early lessons have shaped criminal mom's approach to leading airmen, mentoring the next generation of pilots, balancing mission and family and building teams that are rooted in trust. His story is a powerful reminder that leadership isn't about the me game, it's about lifting others so they can achieve their best. So what better way to start our new season? Col. Mount, welcome to Long Blue Leadership. Lt. Col. Steven Mount Thank you so much, ma'am for having me. I really do appreciate this opportunity to at least try to share some of my stories, experiences and honestly, if anything touches base with those who listen in and resonates, that's why I'm glad to be here. Naviere Walkewicz Well, let's start right with a way for them to connect with you. You mentioned your call sign is Meathead. Let's start there. Lt. Col. Steven Mount OK, I'll do my best to tell the story as quickly as I can. And the fun thing about being a pilot — but also I think this plays true in any type of storytelling environment — is, you know, only 10% of the story has to be true when it comes to your call signs. So to start… Oh my gosh— I know there's some friends out there who are going to laugh at this, especially of mine. Going through pilot training… The last part of the pilot training, when I was in the T-1s, when you get to that last part, you know, after you've gone through all the ups and downs, you kind of celebrate a little bit more. And that's what I've done. I had gone out with a couple of my rugby brothers that I played with at the Academy, and we'd gone out to just a country, a little country dance hall, and, you know, we're just enjoying and celebrating. And one of my rugby brothers introduced me to one of his friends through his wife, and this individual, who I didn't know much about at the time, had said— I said, “Yeah, I'm starting T-1s here and all that good stuff. And I immediately, immediately — especially in the celebratory mood I was in — thought, “Oh, this is another awesome student that's coming through. Like, hey, let me start giving you the tidbits. Let me start laying out what to expect.” And that's how I treated this individual for the rest of that evening. You know, we're dancing and having fun and just talking it up. And it was a good evening. It was really good evening. Come Monday morning, I get the word I'm flying with this new instructor in the T- 1s. And I had no idea who this individual was. I did not recognize the name at all. And I asked our flight schedule, like, “Who's this?” Is like, “Oh, it's a new person coming in. I think you're one of his first flights back in the T-1s training wise.” And I was like, “Well, OK, I'm ready to go.” And I sit down, and then this instructor sits down right across from me, and it's a major and sure enough, it's this, the person I thought was a student at the Texas dance, the country dance hall that we were at.   Naviere Walkewicz Oh boy!   Lt. Col. Steven Mount He looks me up and down. Oh, it was one of those moments of shock, of like, “What do I… Where do I go from here?” And he looks me up and down, he goes, and he laughs, and he goes, “Man, you are just such a meathead.” And so that's where it started. And call signs and nicknames— sometimes, some people like, wanna try change it throughout their careers and try to like, “No, that's not who I am. I don't want that to define me.” So as I'm leaving pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base, Del Rio, I'm heading towards my first assignment in Tucson, Arizona for the EC-130 and I'm like, “OK, here we go. I'm gonna start fresh. I'm not that meathead that went through the Academy playing rugby. I'm not that meathead in pilot training to I just like to have fun. Just like to have fun. I do my own thing, and I'm gonna start fresh.” And I get out, and one of the very first meetings I had in the new squadron was with the DO, Lt. Col. Reimer. He sits down with me, and he says, “Come on in, because I'm in blues. He goes, come on in. Sit down. And then he's just quiet. I'm like, this is interesting. He looks me up and down and goes, “Yeah, you definitely look like a meathead.” And I'm like, “Whoa.” So sure enough, the major that I flew with was really good friends and had flown with this squadron, told this DO about me, and the DO got through his spiel, introduced me to my first flight commander before I deployed in Afghanistan, and goes, “Hey, this is Meathead. Take care of him. He's a good one.” I was like, “No, no, everyone, please, let's stop.” And then throughout the years, things kept happening that just reinforced the call sign, Meathead. I got into U-2s, me and a buddy, also pilots. We popped both tires on a T-38 at Long Beach Airport, and we closed down the airport for about five hours. It was on the local news. Not happy about that. And then there were multiple times where I tried to, like, get rid of the Meathead persona, the callsign, but I think it was finally solidified on a CNN interview on one of my U-2 deployments, where the lady interviewing us goes, “OK, we can't use your real name. So what name should we use? And before I could even say anything, one of my buddies just pops up and goes, “ It’s Meathead.CNN lady, use Meathead.” And I was like, “OK.” And then international news in that interview, I am Capt. Meathead. And I never got away from the call sign, Meathead.   Naviere Walkewicz We are gonna find that clip of Capt. Meathead.   Lt. Col. Steven Mount It is out there, just U-2… I think the article under CNN: “U-2 spy plane carries out the mission against terrorist organizations.” You know, not that I didn't remember what it was called.   Naviere Walkewicz Well, I would say you heard it here first, but you didn't. You heard it maybe, if you heard it in the U-2 world or what have you. But we're gonna find it again. And so we're gonna resurrect here first, but we're so glad you're here. Yes, yes, this is awesome. And you know, I think one of the things I really enjoyed in our early conversation, and what we're gonna share today is how you kind of look back and you are very grateful and thankful for the upbringing you have. And so let's kind of go back to the fact, you know, not a lot of our guests share kind of their background, and the fact that you share that you were adopted. What did that kind of, what role did that play in your life? And, you know, was it insignificant? Or, you know, what did you glean from that? Lt. Col. Steven Mount Yeah, I really appreciate that question. And honestly, I really appreciate you giving the opportunity to kind of share that. It has played a huge role in my life. Adopted 11 months. And what it did for me is set the foundation of the family. It may not necessarily be one you have, it's the one who who's there for you, who supports you, who loves you. And then, honestly, the other part about being adopted, which I kind of— there were struggles, like, it wasn't perfect, but there were struggles in my mind where I wanted to show that those who adopted me, I wanted to show them that I could be more and thank them, you know, on a daily basis, for everything they had done for me, supporting me. So that drove me, that motivated me to get into the Academy, or even— back up, even like, do well in high school, get into the Academy, become a pilot. All of that was the basis of— I want to show that in a weird way, I want to show that your investment was worth it. You know, you found me, you gave me the love and support. So I'm going to give back to you by showing you what you were able to, you know, give a second chance, small, little child. And then the— but the other side of that, and I don't know how many of those who are adopted, who feel like this sometimes. Can't be the only one, but I can at least convey it here. There's a sense of, you know, “Why? Why was I adopted?” You know, what really happened in the sense that those who biologically brought me into this world, was I not worthy enough? Was I just a bad situation. And so there's that part I keep motivational wise to be like, “Well, I'm going to show them what they're missing out on.” And I know that's more of the negative kind of side of the whole internal conflict of being adopted. But I would be lying if I didn't say that that was part of the drive that kept me going throughout those years.   Naviere Walkewicz Something that came to my mind when you were saying that was, you know— when did you find out? And how old were you to kind of start having those, those thoughts and questions, you know, not only why, but how do I show that I am worthy?   Lt. Col. Steven Mount Yes, so my mother and father did an amazing job of, I remember, I can't remember the name of this particular book, but there was a book that she had given me that she read to me, and that, throughout the years, as I she utilized, helped me start reading and whatnot. And the basis of the book was, you know, cartoon with a little bit of words, is, “You were not purchased, you know, you were not bought at a store. You know you were, you were brought in and chosen and to be a part of a family.” So she, she wanted to have this idea that I always knew, that was adopted. She never wanted to surprise me, or she never wanted to be like, one day, like, “Hey, just so you know…” She did an awesome job of leading into that, Hey, you were adopted. But don't look at it as this, ‘We went to the store and we picked out the one we liked.’ It's more of a, ‘We wanted you in our family.’ And that's where it started.” It started, “We wanted a bigger family.” Whether they were, at the time, not able to grow or have themselves, they decided that, “We still want to grow a family. So let's look through adoption as a means.” So she had that book, I remember that book, and then the other book, which I still love to this day, and I got a copy for my kids, I Love You Forever, and how she would read that book to me every single night with the words, “…and I love you forever, like you for always. As long as you're living, my baby, you'll be.” That showed me that it didn't matter where I came from. This was my mom, you know, this was my family. So she did a really good job laying that foundation for me, for who I’ve become to be.   Naviere Walkewicz So would you put your parents in that bucket of inspirational leaders for you that have shaped you? And are there others?   Lt. Col. Steven Mount One-hundred percent. Like I said, the foundational piece of being that inspirational leader, to me in the sense of working on it all the time, right? It's not simple but accepting people for who they are. Where they're at in life. Accept them for their faults, accept them for the things that they don't like about themselves, but just accepting them and giving them the support, giving them the love that they need to show them, that they can do anything, I like to think for the most part, I'm an example of that because of what my parents did for me.   Naviere Walkewicz So, as a young boy, and you talked a little bit about this, you wanted to prove to them. So Was that something you feel over time, you continue to develop this desire to show your worth? And where have you seen that show up I guess even throughout your going— maybe even at the Academy, how has that kind of formed you as a leader individually?   Lt. Col. Steven Mount Yes, yes. So the showing the worth, the showing the value, or paying it back and showing my parents, once again, I use the word “investment” like it was good— I was good investment. Like I was a good return on investment. But it's helped when I've gone through those struggles, when I've gone— because the first time I put in for the Academy and… back up just a little bit. My dad likes to tell a story that I even told my fifth-grade teacher that she was, you know, “What do you want to do?” I was like, “I'm gonna be a pilot.” I said nothing else. Like, I want to be pilot. I want to fly. And then I had had an awesome mentor whose son, at the time, was going through the process of the Academy, sophomore year in high school, and she helped me with that. Good ol’ Mrs. Williams, amazing. When I first initially applied for the Academy, I did not get it. I got a “Sorry, you are not competitive at this time.” Here starts some of those moments in your life to where, like, “OK. How can I bounce back? Do I accept the rejection, or do I find another means?” And even when that happened, that first time, my parents, they were like, “It's OK, it's OK. You don't need to…” They were always like, “You don't need to prove anything else. We love you, regardless.” I was like, “No, I need to prove this.” So I found other means, and I was, I will say, blessed in the sense that at that time, my running back coach for the high school reached out to the Academy. This happened early my senior year, and reached out and was like, “Hey, we have, I have someone who I think might do well for your program.” And then, sure enough, I got invited to come out for a football recruiting visit and I sat down with Fisher Deberry, and he just goes, “Would you like to play for this program?” And once again, I was like, “Wait a minute. No, no. I already got rejected. You know, I already gotten the…” But obviously I was going through my head, but all I said was, “Yes, sir, I would love to play for this program. I'd love to go the Academy.” And he made it happen. And I got recruited, and I got the invite to come out, to go the United States Air Force Academy. Wow. And once again, that only happened because my parents, they said, “Hey, we don't care what happens. We love you. Support you. You make the decision and we're here behind you.” And then I had a coach who was like, “I got you. I've seen what you do. I support this.” And went out on a limb for me. And then, in a sense, I guess Fisher DeBerry was also like, “I'm taking this football recruit, I hope he makes it through the Academy. So the love and support is, was there throughout.   Naviere Walkewicz What a path, I mean, that is quite unique. And, yeah, that's something to just kind of sit in a little bit, right? You know, the path of to your point, it just comes from support. And obviously you have to do the things to make sure that when the opportunity presents itself, you're ready to take that step, but what an incredible story of those who have supported you. Let's talk about a little bit before we kind of get into I think, what I think is the next real moment in your life — when you talk about becoming a father in your family. But while you're at the Academy, I'm just curious what more you learned about yourself as a leader, because you no longer had to prove to your parents that you were worthy of their investment, right? Like this is investment, right? Like this is a new season of your life. What did that look like for you as a leader?   Lt. Col. Steven Mount The challenges and the experiences I had the Academy — and I know I talked about this in one of my interviews previously with the foundation — was that I had to I went through my sophomore year and the rigors of academics, of the military side, of sports. It was taking this toll. I will say this many times. I'll continue to say I'm not the smartest crayon in the shed.   Naviere Walkewicz Wait, did you say crayon in the shed?   Lt. Col. Steven Mount I did. A little mixture of the sharpest tool in the box, exactly. I love it! I’m glad someone caught it. That’s perfect! But yes, hard work was probably the foundation of what the Academy taught me was you persevere by hard work. You do the day in; you do the day out. You get after it. Because I was not getting after it after sophomore year. My GPA was not the best, and I had to approach my sophomore year, which very fortunate, because I had done my best to put in the time with the football program. But obviously I was losing ground in the academic side and that came back to almost biting, in the sense that I could have failed out. So I had had one of those— Once again, my father being an amazing mentor himself, whether he knows it or not. And I talked to him, and I said, “Dad, I think I have to quit football. I don't think I can continue with this, the rigors of all of this with the Academy.” And he goes, “Well, what was your dream?” I was like, “My dream was to fly.” He goes, “Well, did you go there to play football? Or did you go there to fly?” And that was an easy answer. But then I was thinking about all those coaches and mentors and those who helped me get to where I was, and I never really quit at something, and that's what it felt like. It really felt like I was quitting. I was quitting my teammates. I was quitting my coaches. And that weighs heavy on your soul, for all those out there who just are struggling, like, “Should I continue?” But my dad was right. My priorities weren't to become a football player, because I wasn't gonna be. I wasn't going to be. I wasn't going to become, you know, some — who can I name drop? — Chad Hall, you know, going to the NFL, doing amazing things. I wasn't going to be out there starting on, maybe third if they still have fourth string… maybe fourth string. So my dad helped me with those priorities by, once again, just being supportive. He never said one way or the other. He said, “What do you want to do?” And so I had that hard conversation with him, and went down to the Field House, and I said, “I apologize. I have to quit so I can concentrate on what I want to do for my dreams.” And once we had that was hard, that was very difficult. So that was one of the challenges at the Academy presented, and how I bounced back from that was you always go two ways. You always go into the woe is me and you know, just kind of beat yourself up and just hold on to that, that pride and ego being shattered. Or you can find a community, a support group, that will be there with you. And I found that almost immediately with my rugby brothers. They're just like me. They're like, “Hey, we just like to hang out at our own little table at Mitchell Hall. We like to just come out, play the sport, do what you love to do, athletic wise, and you'll have some more free time, obviously, for academics.” Not that I’d utilize that correctly still, but that's what it took to get me through those next couple years, that and my amazing roommates. I think all of us Academy grads and those who are going through right now, a support of a good roommate is huge. I that, uh, I appreciate the question, because now it’s just dawning on me how much I just really appreciate my roommates at the Academy for their support as well. Very similar to my parents, it's like, “Hey, I don't care what you do, but I'm here to support you, love you regardless.” So I got a lot of that the Academy, and that's what helped get me through.   Naviere Walkewicz That's amazing. I think there's a couple of things I want to dig into a little bit. The first one is, you know, I think deciding to have that tough conversation where, one, you felt like you’re already prideful, and you're having to, I'm putting in air quotes, “quit.” Can you talk about how you approached that, other than, I know you went and did it. But I think sometimes one of the most challenging things we can do as leaders is have a tough conversation when it involves us either stepping back or taking a step down from what seems to be the trajectory of what's next. And so I'm just— if you could just share a little bit more about that, I think that would be helpful.   Lt. Col. Steven Mount So, and I just want to clarify: As leaders, we have to recognize and we have to have the courage to have the tough conversations, because that wouldn't be the first time that I'd have to make a decision in that regard, or have the tough conversations to where it was gonna affect me personally or those around me. You deal with it understanding, one, give yourself a little bit of grace. Give yourself a little bit of grace in the sense that whatever tough decision you have to make, you're not alone. And I imagine you might not always be the first person who had either to make that decision or was going through something like that. I was not the only one going through something at that time like that. I didn't know that. And so I've had other conversations where others were like, “Yeah, I also, you know how to make that type of call to not play anymore or give up something, because my priority was this...” You know, what was driving me to succeed was something else, and that followed me well throughout my career, because I've had many, many tough conversations. I've had the tough talk as a leader. I've had to tell someone that, “I'm sorry, your dreams to become a pilot…” It's not going to happen because of their performance. I've had conversations on how to get through those tough moments and said how to get on the other side. And I know it's like a broken record, but it just comes through with the support of being there for that individual or being there to guide them to the next step. And I had that. I had that when I made that tough decision. I had someone want to give myself grace. Two, I realized I was not alone. And three, I had the support to get from this side of that tough decision bridge to the other side. And because that support was there, I learned that, and I learned to pass that on from all my leadership opportunities, to be like, “Let me be the one who guides you over this bridge. It's not gonna be fun. There's gonna be parts are gonna hurt. It's gonna be painful. But I will be next to you to get to the other side, to where we can get back to a good place. We get back to what really matters and get back to succeed in maybe another sense.” So the tough convos as leaders, you have to have those tough convos. Do not shy away from them. They're gonna happen, whether you like it or not.   Naviere Walkewicz I'm really glad you shared it that way, because I think it created a pathway to how to approach it, to your point. You know, it they're not comfortable, they're not designed to be that way. But if you start it with, you know, being that support in mind, and how to get someone, even if you're giving the worst news, the worst news where, “This was your dream, you're not gonna be able to do it because of this. And here's now where we're at, and how can I help you succeed through that?” I think that's what a wonderful lesson you just shared. And so I want to dive now into your career, because you had a really broad career, one that's not a traditional path, and I want to understand why it looked that way. So C-130, EC-130, Special Ops, you— talk a little bit about how you navigated that and what was the driving reasons behind that navigation?   Lt. Col. Steven Mount Yes, ma'am. So something you said earlier, which I really liked, I really love to try to convey to those around me, and actually, I've gone through some of these conversations over the last month and a half with younger instructor pilots. Luck is just the crossroad of opportunity and being prepared, and I'm pretty sure someone super smarter than me said that. I barely remembered. But the opportunities that present themselves to me for what I wanted to do, for my goals in the Air Force. So thankfully, even getting through pilot training, that was, in itself, amazing, transformational. Getting those wings, right? Getting those wings because pilot training, just like my Academy career, I had some ups and downs and some challenges but was able to get through because the sense of me becoming a pilot was first and foremost to fly. I want to be up there in the sky. I want to rush past the clouds. I want to touch the highest point I can. I want to be a pilot’s pilot. And then right behind that was I want to accomplish the mission for whatever platform or whatever weapon system I'm given, aircraft wise. So those are my two biggest priorities. And that helped me understand that I had some failures of pilot training when I got to my first assignment, EC-130s. But that was perfect for me. That was— I never knew that. I never knew that in pilot training, that the EC-130 would fulfill me in that sense of my sense of purpose as much as it did. And I'm and getting out there, like said, four or five deployments to Afghanistan, as well as multiple TDYs. I was doing the mission, and I was happy, because I was— that's exactly what I wanted to do. That's exactly what young Meathead Mount was built for. But there were parts of me that still wanted to do more. Like, I felt like I could do more. I could be— I could help out more. I could— it's just itching, or not itching, but just burning in the back. It’s like, “Hey, you are built for so much more. You can do more. Let's look for those opportunities.” So, funny enough, the first opportunity I had at that time, or I thought I had, was I reached out to— it’s no longer around — but the 6th Special Operations Squadron at Duke Field. It was a combat aviation advisory mission. These individuals got to travel the world. I got to learn languages. Literally, they were sent to school to learn languages, to embed with other nations, to build those relationships, to be on the ground but still flying multiple different aircraft. I was like, “That's awesome. That sounds like me. That sounds like something I can do, and I can bring value to the table, and all the above.” So I put in my application; it was immediately rejected. In their eyes, I did not have the experience yet. I did not have what they were looking for, understandable. So here I am in another situation to where, like, “OK, well, what do I— is there any other means or ways that I can continue to fulfill my purpose as a pilot and get after the mission? Because that's what I really wanted to do, get after mission, whatever that looks like. I thought the sticks was an opportunity. They had said no to me, that's fine. And then I had an amazing friend reach out. He goes, “Hey, I heard you're getting a little long winded out there at EC-130s. You should put an application in for the U-2.” And I was like, “What are you talking about? I have no jet experience, other than the T-1. I don't have that background to be that type of caliber pilot.” He goes, “Nope, nope. They’re looking for good guys and girls. They’re looking for those who are motivated to do the mission. And if you could fly, you can fly, if you can't, well, you know, they'll figure that out, and they'll send you home.” And I was like, “OK.” And so I submitted for the U-2, put my application in, they call me out, and it's a two-week interview. The first week they have you in service dress, and you meet all the leadership, and you meet all the other pilots, and just have conversations. That's all, they just wanna get to know you. You know, “What's your true motivation for being here?” And I explained it, just like I've explained to you: “I wanna fly. I wanna do the mission. I wanna be a pilot's pilot. I wanna do all the cool stuff.” And they go, “OK.” Well, week two, they put you in U-2, a two-seater. They have two-seater trainers. They put you in a U-2. They give you all the weekend prior to study, and they say, “Cool, let's see what you got.” And they have an instructor, he instructs, he does his best to give you tidbits on how to safely land the U-2. And you have three days. You have two training flights and then a sort of assessment evaluation flight on that third day, and oh my gosh, did I ever humble myself as a pilot when I realized how horrible I truly was. I felt like I could not land the U-2 safely. I felt like I was messing everything up. I felt like— as soon as we got done with that third day of flying, and we got back into the squadron, and I remember the IP just being like, and then, you know, walks away because they have to talk to the squadron commanders. They have to go talk to the other leadership there. And once again, I find myself like, “OK, I 100% failed. I mean, I gave it my best. I gave it everything I had. But, you know, here I am gonna fall short again.” And they do this. And I realized this afterwards, that they do this, they do that like wait game, you know, they keep you in suspense for a reason. And I waited, it felt like hours and hours and hours. I imagine it probably might only be like hour, hour and a half. And a squadron commander called me in. He goes, “Yeah, the IP definitely didn't like some of this, some of these, these type of landings, some of this airmanship you're showing. I didn't really like this. But overall, he says you're a nice enough guy, so do you want the job?” And I was like, “Whoa.” And it blew my mind. And that was awesome. That was awesome because once again, leading up to that moment, it was the support of my friend who reached out. It was the support of my wife being like, “Yeah, I think you can do this.” And I had even called, my parents were like, “I had this opportunity to fly this really unique aircraft. It's going to be challenging. What do y'all think?” They're like, “Hey, we love you. Go get it.” And I was like, no other words of advice, no other like, inspiring — you know, my dad, a Florida farm man, was just like, “No, I think he'll do fine. We love you and just let us know how it goes.” I was like, man, I'm really missing out in motivational speeches. But you know what? The sentiment is there, and that's all I need. So I got that position, did a few years with the U-2. And then towards the end of the U-2 career, I got word from another friend saying the 6th Special Operations Squadron is growing. “We are looking for readily qualified and experienced people.”   Naviere Walkewicz And this is the one that rejected you.   Lt. Col. Steven Mount Yes, ma'am, I got rejected last time. He goes, “It's OK. Put in another application. You know, you're a little more experienced now, you’ve got a little bit more under your belt.” And I said, “OK,” and I put in an application, it got rejected again, and here I am, like, “What is going on?” My buddy reached out to me—   Naviere Walkewicz Your name is blacklisted in that group across the board. Like, “Oh, there's that Mount guy. Cross it out.”   Lt. Col. Steven Mount But I think that ended up being somewhat of a blessing. It was like, “Wow, This guy is motivated to come out here.” Because they had seen the last application years ago. They'd seen this one. And I think the word finally got around that's like, “Hey, he's actually really motivated to come try out, at least for this mission.” And so once again, from good mentors, they’re like, “Go ahead, try it out. Put the application in one more time, see what happens.” I did, got picked up for assessment selection. It's another week, week and a half interview. They challenge you mentally, they challenge you physically. They put you in situations to see how you react. I don't wanna give too much away for that process, even though, you know, unfortunately that process is not there anymore. But after that grueling week, they once again, here I am in front of another squadron commander, and here they are opening my life in front of them, and they're saying, “Well, we don't like this. We definitely don't like this. Tell us a little more about this,” you know. And that was about an hour interview, sit down, and it's not just the squadron commander. It was leadership — four or five individuals. It was an Army lieutenant colonel's flight doc behind them, you know, kind of doing that very watching, waiting, assessing, and another one of the situations, I'm like, oh, “Here we go. I don't think it's gonna happen.” But then at the end of that interview, they sit down, squadron commander stands up and goes, “Welcome to the 6th.” And the only things I can think of — and I know a lot of listeners or viewers out there do the same thing, and I tell this to my young when they get their wings, I tell them this as well — think of that first person, or persons, that when something amazing happens to you, you immediately reach out to them and you tell them, “Thank you for the support, thank you for the love, thank you for believing in me when others didn't.” And that's exactly what I did after that one. I called my wife, and I called my parents. I said, “It happened. We got it. I got it,” you know, because it wasn't just me, and I know those experiences going from one mission to the next, and those setbacks have— I get to share these stories all the time with these young instructor pilots that I'm with, as well as students, because I get to utilize it as a leadership tool to be like, “Don't give up on yourself. That's first and foremost. And then even if you believe you might give up on yourself, trust me, there's someone like me or your family members or your squadmates, they won't give up on you. And just remember that.” And that's why I get to share these stories throughout my career, of like, “Hey, I failed at this. Look where I'm at now, because I had the support and because I kept going, Hey, I failed at this. Look how it played out. I'm here.” So a lot of my transition from different platforms and different experiences has helped shape that leadership side of me to say, simply put, “It's OK to fail, all right?” I mean, you’re never going to succeed if you have this tried and failed a couple times, right? So, right,   Naviere Walkewicz Wow. Well, I want to go into— because you've mentioned this a couple times. We've talked about your parents, but you know, to have a career that's successful and to navigate that, you talked about your wife. So I'm curious if you can share with listeners who have to maybe the word is not choose between. But how do you navigate the importance of your marriage and that relationship with your profession, and trying to succeed in that trajectory, whatever that trajectory is for you. So maybe you can talk a little bit about how that, how that worked throughout all of those transitions.   Lt. Col. Steven Mount Oh, OK. I usually do better at this from a better half nearby, which she is, in a sense. She's trying to work out and give me her working space right now, which I love. I'm gonna start with this. It's not easy. It is work. It is reps, the day in, the day out. It's not easy. I don't believe I've ever had a convo with someone when they're trying to balance the work and family life to where it's like, “Oh, that was easy, you know, I just do this and they do this, and we're good to go.” No, it is constant conflict of schedules. It is sharing what's going on. It's the ups and downs. So I'd like to start with that: It's not easy. And if anyone ever tells you it is easy, please ask them how they're doing it, and then spread their wise words of wisdom to all of us. Because that's probably the first thing: It's not easy. Once you recognize that you can get past understanding like, “OK, I'm not alone in this, that this is not easy, and I can start talking and sharing my experiences and seeing from those who seem to have it together. What are they doing to make it work? So I start there. It's not easy. Second, you have to be a team. I think there's a lot of us that think that, and my wife definitely did initially, and that was on me, that she thought that my career was the most important, that what I did and how I executed the mission and where I was going, that that was the No. 1 priority. And I found it that's not the case. I found that's not the case, because, sure, when we didn't have kids yet, and we were in Tucson, it's a little easier, because I would go on my deployments, and she would go to the job, she would go to work, and she had and she supported that, because I was out there, you know, fighting the good fight, accomplishing a mission, doing everything the Air Force needed me to do. And that's what she knew was important for me. So she supported that through and throughout, and she supported it to where I imagined, to the sense of she didn't feel like she could speak to say things that maybe I would like in the sense of me doing my mission, or coming home from Afghanistan with some of my experiences. Ahe felt that maybe sometimes, that she didn't have a word to convey to like, “Hey, this really scared me.” Or, “Hey, when you were gone, I saw the news and I was frightened. And you know, when I saw this happen, I just wanted to reach out to you, and I just want to make sure you're OK.” And she never felt initially like that she could convey those feelings, because it might affect me. It might affect my, you know, mentality while being overseas and down range. So she held that in, she held it in. She kept strong. She put on the “I'm here to support you” and I feel bad, you know, thinking back on that, that I should have given her the space to like, “Tell me what you're feeling. Tell me what you're going through. I don't want you to, I don't want you to struggle in silence. If you know you see something or there's something that scares you, let me know.” And unfortunately, I didn't learn that lesson until way, way later in my career, because she'd always kept that strength in and even when we started having kids, she still did. I kick myself all the time now that— we got to California, in the U-2s, we had an incident down range to where they needed me to bump up my deployment out there, to get out there to take care of the situation. And I'd asked, I was like, “Well, how much sooner do you need me?” Because we had just had our first son. You know, the dynamic’s changing. The family dynamic is changing, and especially with your first born. And they said, “We need you to leave in about a week.” Here I was once again. And I know we have kind of kind of mentioned that I was I was in the mean mentality I was in. I was gonna be a pilot's pilot. I was gonna get the mission done. I was going to do everything I could to prove myself, and if my country needs me to be out there in a week to take care of this mission, that my family and my wife will understand. And that was that was not the way I should look at it. It really wasn't. But because I was not seeing her as a teammate, and she held it in — and thank goodness we had her mother-in-law. We had some family come out and support with a new baby. But I could tell that was one of the first times to where looking back on it now that maybe I could have said, “Can you find someone else?” You know, maybe I should have what I'm doing, hopefully you're doing now and teaching others. You have to balance that family with mission and the prioritize what is truly important at that moment. And that's something I failed to do at that time. It would happen again later on, but thankfully— so when I got to the 6th Special Operations Squadron, and at this time, especially after we had our second child in California, the wife had mentioned more. She started coming out of the shell like, “Hey, I do need you a little bit more now. I need you, and I need to be able to express and convey what I do and don't like.” And I was listening, but I was not listening the way she needed me to listen. I was not being that teammate on my side. So I heard, “Hey, I just need more support with the family. So whatever career decision we make next, let's align that.” And I was in my head, I was like, “Yes, you're absolutely right.” That's why the 6th Special Operations Squadron, when I got that interview and I picked up, it was so important, because I had family in that area, and family could get to us easier. So I was thinking, “Awesome. I have the support system for you there. I got the assignment. You're going to be taken care of.” I can tell that's not yet what she was wanting. And I will credit good old Col. Valentino. I was spinning up to go to Lebanon with the team, and we're about to have our third child. And here I was once again, like, “Yep, gotta get back to the mission. Gotta show my value. Gotta get in there, do it.” And the wife understands. We have two kids already. We're gonna have a third. So we've already had two. We kind of know how this goes. We're good to go. But I could tell, once again, looking back, everything's— that she wasn't happy, but she was ready to put up that wall again, to be like, “OK, I have to support him. Have to support what he does, and I have to, because that's what the military is asking me. That's what this new community…” And then Col Valentino, he came down. He goes, “Hey, are you about to have another child?” And I was like, “Yes, sir.” He goes, “When?” And I gave him the date. And he goes, “Your deployment date is like, a month after that.” I was like, “Yes, sir. This is our third child. We'll be good to go. I have the support system for the wife now, and she'll be taken care of. Good to go.” And he goes, “No, you're staying home. I don't need you.” He goes, “Did you want to ask me if there's anyone else wants to go so you can be there for your wife and your family?” And that blew my mind, that just, I don't know. It came out of nowhere for someone in a leadership role to say, “No, I'm not gonna send you on this deployment. I want you to be there with your family.” And that held in tight, and from then on, everything changed, and how I led and how I would push the mission. But I wouldn't do it to the extent of, could I not help someone balance their family life with their mission? And that took too long for me to realize. So what I say to everyone out there, it's not easy, but you come home from a long day and you're mentally exhausted and the mission is not going good, or you're getting ready for deployment, take a moment, sit down and just talk with your teammate at home. You have to look at it as teammates. They are your partner. They will be just like I mentioned before. They will be your support system through thick and thin, because they've probably seen you at your worst, and they want you to be at your best. But you can't do that unless you take care of that home front and treat them as your teammate. Because I am still, to this day, trying my best to become the man that I hope that she sees in me and that she wants me to be one day, but I had to fail in seeing it back then so that could see it now. And I think that's one of these things I want to convey. Not easy, and they have to be your teammates.   Naviere Walkewicz Thank you for sharing that. And I think to have a leader that showed you that, which is, now you've imprinted that in your leadership style. You're thinking about the airmen that you come across and how to help them navigate some of those tough choices, but doing it with a, you know, a bigger view of not just the mission, but, like, how do you fit in that with your family? I think that's so powerful, and I'm really glad you shared that, because I know that some of our listeners and our viewers, that's gonna resonate with them as well, because they're gonna remember a time when, “Wow, I didn't even ask if I didn't have to go, or if I didn't have to do this, just because I'm so used to jumping when you say, jump,” right? And I think sometimes it's OK. It's OK. Just a question, like, I'm willing and ready to jump. I just want to make sure is someone else able to do it too because of these reasons, right? So I love that you share that.   Lt. Col. Steven Mount And those leaders have to know their people enough in that regard to also know because ultimately, when you get the mission, then yes, that's what we signed up for, yes. But those leaders know their people, and they know what situation they're in. For example, there's a few times in Special Operations to where we're going on another deployment. But we knew our people, and we knew that some did not have the balance at home, and things were not looking the best they could. “Hey, we can help you out. We can give you all the resources you need. We don't need you on this deployment.” But that takes good leaders, recognizing and taking care of their people and understanding that these individuals cannot be effective down range or where they go if their home life is not taken care of. So, I know that is something that's been talked about for all my leadership training for all the years, but actually applying it is going to start with our future leaders coming up to realize, know your people, know where you can take care of them so that they can take care of the mission.   Naviere Walkewicz That's right. That's right. So this has been incredible. I think the underlying lesson that you shared with us is, obviously having belief in yourself and doing the work and proving your worth, so to speak. But I think it's also recognizing that support network. So if I may ask, you, I have two questions. The first one is, what are you doing to be a better leader every day? Yourself, like, what is something you are actually doing to be a better leader?   Lt. Col. Steven Mount Oh my gosh. Well, I'm recognizing I know I'm not doing it right. Knowing that I'm about taking command already has the underlying nervousness and anxiety, and I realized taking command, why I have these emotions is because I'm afraid to fail, which that makes sense. That makes sense to any logical human being out there. That's like, yeah, I get that. But I have to realize, in that same token, it's OK to fail. It's OK to make mistakes. It's OK that some days you go in there, you're not gonna get it all right. This last year as a director of operations, I've walked out of that building, and there's days been like I didn't accomplish anything. I've messed things up. I didn't do this right. Why am I here? They could have found someone better. And then there were days where, like, yes, I did it, right? I got something accomplished. And on those days, I realized it's because I was taking care of the people and people's needs. And once again, when that happened, they were able to take care of the mission. And that's one of the things that every day I go into work and I ask myself, “Who can I help out? Who needs the motivational kick? Who needs someone to just talk with them? Who needs to share their story?” Because that's what leaders, ultimately, are. We take care of the people. And if I can go in there and just help one person every single day, I would like to think that that's a small success. So that's one thing I'm constantly working on. And it is an effort. It's not easy. It's not easy because you are taking so much and leaders, I don't care what level you're on, all the way from your very first flight command, all the way to your mission command, aircraft commander, all the way to where I am now. You're going to take a lot on your shoulders. You're going to bear, you know, the burden of others, pains, their grief, their successes, their failures. So I guess that's also answer that question. Get ready for that. OK? Because a good leader will do that. They will bear they will help hold the weight. They will support those who need it the most. And we got to do it day in, day out, the reps they have to. So I think I answered the first question, I apologize, was it was.   Naviere Walkewicz The second question is coming. So you're good, you're good. OK. What's something that you know now after having your 17-plus years in the in the military, but also just your life experience — but what's something you know now that you would share with a leader to kind of shorten that timeframe of, like learning those painful things to be better, right? So what would be something you'd share?   Lt. Col. Steven Mount Something I’d share to close that learning gap? Because once again, my call sign is Meathead— I learned lessons the hard way. Do your best to listen more than you talk. Do your best to just take the experiences of others, talk to others, but just listen. Just hear them. Just hear them. I believe that a lot of the things that I could have prevented may have already been told to me, or may have already been, you know, mentored to me, but I just didn't listen. Maybe they said something and “I was like, well, that doesn't jive with being cool or being a pilot, so I'm not gonna listen to that.” I'm pretty sure all of these lessons that hopefully either conveying or passing on, in a sense, I think I learned them early on. I just, I just didn't listen. So for all the leaders out there, do your best to listen, listen more than you talk. It will be wonders. Naviere Walkewicz Oh my gosh, that's just outstanding. And I what I really appreciate about that is, you know, you talked about how you're doing things to get better every day, but even just in the moment, you recognize like that's such an important piece of that is taking the time to listen and reflect so that you can actually really pick up on those cues, maybe, that someone needs your support. So yes, well, this has been incredible. As we wrap up today's episode, I keep coming back to something you said, which was all someone needs to do is just support you. Yeah. So here's the takeaway, leadership is found in how we show up for our people and how we believe in them, and how we remind them that they are capable for more than what they think they are. The question we can always ask ourselves today is, who needs me to believe in them right now? And you actually said that really well. So Col. Mount, I just want to thank you for joining us for this episode of Long Blue Leadership. Is there anything else you want to leave with our listeners today? Lt. Col. Steven Mount Yes. I don't think I'll ever be that leader that does one great act, and everyone's like, that's a great leader. I don't think I'll ever be that leader that gives like, one great speech, like, that's it. He nailed it. He's a great leader. No, if I'm gonna leave something with all of those you know at the Academy and the leaders in the Air Force now — which, by the way, thanks all of you. Me too, man, thank you for your service. You have no idea how much the world needs us right now, so you get out there and see it. So sorry. That was an aside. But thank you to everyone who's at the Academy now, who have served, whose families have served and will continue to serve. But one thing I'll leave to all those young leaders: Your leadership is defined by the acts, the million acts every day, not just by one act, not just by, like I said, not just by one amazing thing that you do. It's defined on you being there, and a million acts per day over a lifetime of your career, of showing up, showing that you care. That's huge, showing that you're fair and consistent. And they will see that your people will see that that those million acts day in day out, of how you treat them, and how you present yourself as a leader. And they will watch. They will watch, and if they can see that you care, and if they can see that you are doing those million acts day in, day out, and you're in there and you're in the grind and you're in the mud with them, they will give you everything, they will, and it's amazing to see, it really is, but that starts with you as the leader. So yeah, that's it, it’s those million acts every day of a lifetime career that shows that you're a leader.   Naviere Walkewicz Well, we are so glad that you're out there leading and influencing so many. We're grateful for all of your years and more that you will do. Thank you so much.   Lt. Col. Steven Mount Thank you so much for the opportunity. I really, really enjoyed this. Thank you.   Naviere Walkewicz Good. Thank you for joining us for this edition of Long Blue Leadership. The podcast drops every two weeks on Tuesdays and is available on all your favorite podcast apps. Send your comments and guest ideas to us at socialmedia@usafa.org [socialmedia@usafa.org], and listen to past episodes at longblueleadership.org.   KEYWORDS Leadership, Resilience, Mentorship, Adoption / Family Foundation, Support Network, Perseverance, Tough Conversations, Mission & Family Balance, Trust, Listening       The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation

In this special presentation, Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind ’91, USAFA’s 22nd superintendent, shares an inside look into cadet development and answers graduate questions. Hosted by Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz ’99, this episode dives into the Academy’s mission and how it is preparing our nation’s future warfighters.   FULL TRANSCRIPT SPEAKERS Guest:  Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind ’91  |  Host:  Lt. Col. (Ret.)Navire Walkewicz ’99   Naviere Walkewicz This special edition of the Air Force Gradcast is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network, presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation. I'm your host, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz, Class of ’99. We're honored to feature the superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy, Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, Class of ’91. In this presentation, Gen. Bauernfeind will share important updates on current initiatives and developments at our Air Force Academy. Following his remarks, he and I will sit down for a conversation, during which he'll respond to questions submitted by graduates in our alumni community. So now, without further ado, Gen. Bauernfeind. Thank you for being here, sir.   Gen. Bauernfeind Well, Naviere, thank you so much for allowing us to come and share our story of our wonderful Air Force Academy. And thank you as well to the Association of Graduates and the Foundation for all of the incredible support that we receive to develop our future leaders into the warrior leaders that we need on Day 1 in our Air Force and Space Force.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir, we are grateful you're here, and we can't wait to hear what you're able to share with us today, sir, so we can jump ahead if you're ready.   Gen. Bauernfeind Wonderful. So I would like to share with you an updated mission brief of where we are going at the United States Air Force Academy. And during this time, I'd like to share not only our leadership team that's taking on the transformation that has been mandated, but also to update our alumni on our mission, our vision, our priorities and our mission sets, as well as talk about how we are creating warfighters, leaders of character and quality, and critical thinkers, and provide an update of how we are transforming this amazing institution to develop those warrior leaders that we need to keep our adversaries at bay. So as always, I'd like to start all briefings with a little video that highlights what our cadets are doing and our incredible public affairs team and video team put together the following video that shows what our cadets have been doing over the last six months... ...So you can see that our cadets have been absolutely busy over the last few months, and I can attest that this summer is they brought the problems up even more and are bringing even more energy to their training, their education, their development. But let me first talk about the amazing team at the senior leadership levels at the United States Air Force Academy, because we cannot do what we're doing without this incredible team. So first, we're welcoming reader Gen. Nicholas Evans as our new vice superintendent, coming out as the 18th Wing commander at Kadena Air Base, bringing a wonderful operational experience to bear, as well as academic bona fides to be our vice superintendent. Our command chief remains Command Chief John Alsvig and our commandant remains to be Brig. Gen. Marks and Col. Steve Hasstedt is our acting dean as we work to bring a new dean into bear. Ms. Gail Colvin is our stalwart chief of staff, with her wisdom from the Class of ’80 that keeps us moving forward. Ms. Jen Block is our executive athletic director. Mr. Nate Pine is our director of athletics, and our brand new wing commander, the 10th Air Base Wing, Col. Ahave Brown. And we all know that nothing happens at USAFA without the 10th Air Base wing providing the foundational support. But also Col. Taylor from the 306 Flying Training Wing, and Col. Silva is our space detachment commander, and it's important that we have all those leaders that are helping us transform USAFA. And to that transformation, we talk about our updated mission statement that was approved last fall. And that updated mission statement is that “USAFA’s mission is to forge leaders of character motivated to a lifetime of service and developed to lead our Air Force and Space Force as we fight and win our nation's wars.” And for the alumni, as we went through this mission statement development, we realized that there are many activities we take on at the United States Air Force Academy. There's education, there's training, there's motivation, inspiration, development. And we realized that we are taking the most amazing women and men from all four corners of this United States, and we're bringing them here as raw materials, and we are taking them through high-stress military, academic and athletic programs to forge them into something stronger than what they were when they showed up. And those are the leaders of character. We also wanted to make sure that we highlighted that it's about delivering a lifetime of service to our nation. It doesn't mean that every graduate needs to do 34-plus years in active duty like I'm currently doing, but continue to give back, whether that's in active duty, the Guard the Reserve, to your community in the defense industry, as an elected official or as a key supporter in our alumni networks — keep serving our nation. And then finally, an acknowledgement that we, alongside our teammates at West Point and Annapolis, have a very special mandate that we are developing those warrior leaders that will fight and win our nation's wars. While we hope that we will achieve peace through strength and deter our adversaries, we must always be ready when the nation calls and we will go forward and deliver victory for our nation. So it's important in our mission, but a mission will only take us so far. And the next step is acknowledging that we must have a vision. What is our North Star? And our North Star is we will remain and continue to be the nation's premier service academy. That we're bringing in rigorous, adversary-focused military training, military training that achieves a standard, that achieves a requirement, and not just training for training sake. But also maintain our level as a nationally recognized academic program with highly competitive athletics, and acknowledging that for us to deliver on those four, we must continue to sustain a world-class installation. But more importantly, continue to bring in professional and dedicated permanent party into our faculty. Our coaches, our headquarters, our installation support requires our outstanding permanent party. And so our vision moves us forward. And from our mission and our vision, we have established three key priorities, and those priorities will guide our decision making. But let me take your attention to the bottom first. The bottom is our foundational aspect, that we build all of our aspects upon our service core values of our Air Force and our Space Force of integrity first, service before self, excellence in all we do, courage, character, connection and commitment. And those we build upon further foundationally to acknowledge that we are in the military and all aspects of military operations activities require a strict adherence to standard. What is the task that we are executing? What are the conditions on which we will execute those tasks? And what standards do we expect, especially in high end warfare, where our standards are so tight. We also acknowledge that what is special about us is our Honor Code. It is foundational to our character, and we'll talk more about that as we build upon this. But realizing that the Class of ’59 that established our Honor Code. It has been foundational to the development of our leaders of character and quality as a board, and then adding into the fact that leaders who built lethal warfighting teams — they do it from a position of respect and teamwork, that they take their team and they support them, they hold them accountable, but they push them to rise above what they could think they could personally achieve. And how do we build those future leaders that are going to take teammates from all four corners of this United States and make sure every single teammate is seen, heard and valued and can give everything possible to the mission at hand? And that leads us to our priorities. That our priorities are we are here to forge warfighters to win, to inspire leaders of character and quality, and finally, to motivate critical thinkers to adapt, because all three are important. And that takes us to our mission sets, because those three priorities span across everything we do in a cadet’s journey at the United States Air Force Academy. And the first is acknowledging the military training aspect. That military training goes beyond just learning how to put a uniform on, just how to march correctly, but also understanding how to operate inside of Air Force and Space Force norms and take on those military training activities that our Air Force and Space Force are taking on right now with Ready Airmen Training and the ability to execute agile combat deployment. And that's activities like being able to shoot, move, communicate, medicate and automate, but also acknowledging that we also must have that world-class academic program that challenges our future leaders not what to think, but how to think, and to do that from a warfighting-focused curriculum that is very STEM focused, but also leans in hard to how we can leverage the incredible intellect that these cadets are bringing in today and unleash them on some of the hardest Air Force and Space Force problems through our research programs as we lean into it. And then finally, as we talk about our competitive athletics, that athletics is a key aspect of the cadet’s journey, whether it be through our 30 incredible intercollegiate sports teams, our intramural programs, our physical education programs, or finally our physical fitness tests that demonstrate the warrior ethos that is being expected of a military service academy, and it's important that we look across those. But let me talk about a little further of our priorities from those three lenses. The first is the aspect of warfighters win, of how we're bringing in training such as shoot, move, communicate, medicate and automate. And I've heard some teammates are going, “Why are we doing this ground focused training?” And at the end of the day, it's not ground focused training, it's joint force training. This is where our Air Force is going. That we still need to be able to succeed in the air, space, cyber domains, but we must also deliver excellence in these domains. With shoot, I requested that all of our cadets now become qualified in their long gun, the M4, and their sidearm, the M18, every single year. So now they'll have the confidence of their weapons when they have to go forward into harm's way. The same with move and communicate. Can they understand the aspects of mission command, especially in future fights where we may not have the best connectivity with our highest headquarters? Will they understand commander's intent and still be able to generate the combat power we need to keep our adversaries on their heels? Finally, to medicate. Over the last few decades, we have benefited from the golden hour, where we had such dominance that when we had a teammate isolated or injured, we would have medical care a rescue capability to them inside the hour. Future battlefields will likely not give us that luxury. So we must teach our future leaders those advanced medical capabilities to take care of their injured teammates while they're continuing to generate combat power. And finally, as we have seen from the Iranian wars and the Ukrainian wars, automation is here and part of modern warfare. And so how are we going to bring automation capabilities to our future leaders so they can develop the new TTPs that we are working through. And again, thank you to the Association of Graduates and Foundation, because you all provided the seed funding for our first automation efforts this summer. So thank you so much. And let me dig in a little further on why warfighters win. And from our president and our secretary of defense, it has been very clear that they want us to establish peace through strength, that we must develop our ways in three areas: to restore the warrior ethos, to rebuild our military and to reestablish deterrence. And we have gotten that guidance very clear from our leadership, and we will prepare our future leaders in that mind. And we have added that over the last year by bringing in year round warfighting training. So not only during the summer periods, but also through the academic year, are we asking our future warrior leaders to take on the military mission, the academic mission and the athletic mission as we move forward. And as discussed, it is directly aligned to our Air Force with Ready Airman Training and our agile combat employment. And over the last year, we took our baby steps. We're not where we need to be, but I can tell you I'm proud of how far we've come, because we moved forward with energy and violence through the fall and spring culminating exercises. I'm proud of how far we've come, but now for this year, we're gonna enter into the walk phase, because we have more to go. And with that in mind, there's been conversations of recognition and promotion, and that is tied not only to our leadership development, but also to our warfighting training. And it's an acknowledgement that for every year you at the Air Force Academy, we are purposely developing you and increasing your capabilities. And so we are going to provide the expectations for your year, whether you're four-degree, three-degree, two-degree or first-degree — a firstie — and you must meet those training standards, and if you do not meet the training standards, then we are not going to recognize you for your past work, but if you meet our standards, then we are going to recognize you for the good work and promote you to the next grade. But the ultimate promotion being a Second Lieutenant in our Air Force and Space Force as it goes forward. Over the last year, there are teeth of this. We did have 153 cadets that were not recognized due to not meeting the standards, but we are now providing them the options over the summer and this fall to now meet the standards as we move forward. Also this year, focusing on warfighting, is acknowledging that we must arm the cadets to be the instructors. Last year, we did it very quickly. Now we're going to take advantage of our incredible cadets, just like our cadets do exceptional things — teaching each other how to fly, teaching other each other how to jump during our freefall program — but now we are working through the cadet warfighter instructor course, a beta course, where we will teach cadets to be those instructors inside of our squadrons in the academic year, to take on how to teach, how to shoot, to move, to communicate, automate and medicate. And we are one more week left in our inaugural cadet warfighter instructor course. I know we will learn much from this beta iteration, but I'm excited to see what we learned from this as we go into the academic year and unleash these cadets and train ourselves. We're also very appreciative from the Foundation for the establishment of the Institute for Future Conflict. And the Institute for Future Conflict has been around for a couple of years and has already forced us to focus and think differently. And I would offer to you the reason behind that is because they are focused on our adversaries. So I like to call them our adversary focused disruptors. They are going to bring ideas to bear that force us to change the way we develop our cadets for the future, because they're looking at what our adversaries are doing. And as such, we made the decision to elevate them into Headquarters USAFA, so they can have a wider impact, not only within the dean of faculty, but also within the Cadet Wing and the Athletic Department, so we can ensure that we are bringing those disruptive thoughts and putting them into in place so we prepare our leaders for a very uncertain world, to include bringing realism into the training that our cadets are taking on. We're also acknowledging academically, there's more that we have to do with our intellect. And over the last year, we have added three additional warfighting minors, one on quantum, one on aerospace materials, and we're in the final stages of establishing a warfighting minor on future conflict. Hopefully that we will be able to start providing that to our cadets over the next year, as we went into that so very excited to the growth in our academic options. And then finally, athletically, we're updating our PT standards, and we're adding additional PE courses for our future leaders. Our future leaders — we will increase water survival, especially when we look to the future and the regions where we expect to potentially have conflict, increased water survival is important — as well as increased combatives, and we're still in the final stages of planning of how we can bring a team focused final warfighting capstone physical education course that brings all of that physical education together for a team-focused event for our firsties, but still in the planning stages of that. And as discussed, updating our PT standards to align with our Air Force and our Space Force, with an acknowledgement that simply what we were doing is adding minimums to each of the caveats to ensure that you must pass each individual event while also meeting a score-based event as we move forward. Again, aligning with our Air Force and Space Force. Now, as we transform, it's not just about warfighters to win. It's also about leaders of character and quality. As I like to say, it's developing leaders who do the right thing the right way, even if it's unpopular, because we must have leaders that are willing to stand up and do the right thing for the formation. And we focused on that. We have focused on reinforcing standards and accountability. While initially it was permanent party coming in fairly strong to establish the standards and accountability, what we quickly saw from our amazing future generation was cadets going, “We've got this. We will establish it. We will uphold our standards. We will uphold our accountability.” And to me, that's very important to see that our next generation is taking ownership of that key leadership aspect, to even include honor. As many know, we had a pretty significant honor violation last year. The bad news is that occurred. The good news is it was the cadets themselves who came forward and said, “This happened, and this is our way forward.” As in all situations, though, anytime you point a finger at somebody, three fingers pointing back at yourself, we realized that institutionally, we had probably lowered the standards too far. We didn't expect enough, and we had parsed the Honor Code. And we made the decision to return to our roots and say, “No, the Honor Code is holistic. It will not be parsed.” But we do acknowledge that these amazing men and women that come from all four corners are coming to us in different stages of their character development, and so the sanctions that come from an honor violation for somebody with us for a few weeks or a couple months may be far different than the sanctions of somebody that are weeks or months out from commissioning and graduation. So ensuring that we have a tiered sanction system to deal with our honor violations. I'm very proud of the ownership that our cadets took with our honor system, and we are reinforcing their efforts as we move forward. We've also pivoted strongly to a four-class system. My observation was is through time at the Air Force Academy, we've ebbed and flowed from a four-class leadership development system to a fourth-class leadership development system. I would offer that we had gone to the point where the majority of training and focus was on the four-degrees, when we are blessed to have these our future leaders for 47 months, and we should be developing them the entire 47 months. And so we have developed the fourth-class leadership system, where for their four-degree year, we will focus them on being good teammates and followers. For the three-degree year, we will focus on them being good frontline engaged supervisors, two-degrees as team leaders and firsties as unit leaders, representing those roles in our Air Force from cadet squadron commander to DO, to executive officer, to A1 through A6 staff positions and flight commander and taking on those responsibilities. And again, just like we talked about work by training, there's assessment mechanisms for each of these that they must meet leadership assessments that will go into whether or not they are recognized and promoted to the next grade, as it moves forward. We executed the first year. Last year, I would offer that it was successful, but we've learned much from the process, and as we go into the second year, I think we're going to be able to go even further with our four-class leadership and development. We've also doubled down on discipline, that standards and accountability are important, and if you fail to meet our standards, then you must be held accountable, not only with punitive aspects, but also with rehabilitative aspects. It's a two-edged pincer movement as we went forward, and from my time at the Academy, I will offer to you, while I may not have enjoyed it at the time, I benefited greatly from both, because it forced me to reflect upon what got me in that situation and how I can take ownership of my own development as we move forward. So that is one of the aspects we return to. And then finally, for our National Character and Leadership Symposium: Let's focus on those character elements that we find through warfighting. And so last fall’s was focused on, how are we going to develop warfighters to win? And then for next year, we're going to focus on the courage required to overcome adversity in a warfighting environment. And so I'm very excited as we get the speakers identified for both the fall, a shorter fall iteration, and the normal spring iteration, sharing those speakers with the wider alumni environment. And then finally, talking about those critical thinkers to adapt. I jokingly tell our cadets that, since I was in the ’90s, we got to solve all the easy problems, and all that is left are all the wicked hard problems, but we need those critical thinkers to adapt, because they are going to bring the ingenuity, they're going to bring the innovation, and what I've challenged them is they also have to bring the courage to challenge the status quo. Too many times in our military, when we ask why we do something, if the answer is, “We've always done it that way,” then maybe we need to rethink and understand, are there better ways to do it? And I can tell you, our cadets bring that to bear. And so for this year, we're really focused on cadet empowerment and responsibility. Last year with the mandate, we moved very quickly, and we were more directive in nature. And what we heard loud and clear is that cadets hurdled over our expectations. What we heard loud and clear from them was, “We want to control the way forward.” And so how do we empower them more? And how do we make it clear that they are responsible not only for their mission, but their people? And adding to that of spending more time with them with these changes of why are we doing this change, and making sure that they understand the rest of the story. You may not always like the why, but if you have an appreciation of the why, its foundation will be able to execute mission command, because you now understand commander's intent, and you now can go, “I know the why. We can keep moving forward, because we can move forward with that.” We're also focusing on operationalizing all of the United States Air Force Academy, bringing that operational mindset to bear, from whether it would be establishing an A2 directorate in the headquarters and the cadet wing and in all cadet squadrons, and the DA2 director being our intelligence directorate, so that we can start to bring in classified intelligence briefings and give them not only to a permanent party, but to our future leaders. And we started that last January to great success, so that our future leaders can start to understand not only our and our allies capabilities, but our adversary capabilities and how we will conduct our joint warfighting aspects as we move forward. And it's important that we continue to bring in those operational matters so we prepare the cadets of today for the second lieutenants of tomorrow that can seamlessly nest in to how our Air Force and our Space Force operates. And that's a nicer way of saying is some of the USAFA unique things we've done— we probably need to think about how we're doing that in our Air Force and Space Force. We're also doubling down that cadet squadrons are the unit of action, just like it is in our Air Force, that the squadron is the unit of action. And it's tough at USAFA where you may prioritize your IC team, or your major, or your club, but at the end of the day, it's going to be the squadron that succeeds together as a team. And so we are focusing on making sure that we are reinforcing what the cadet squadrons are doing. They are going to go through their military training together. They're going to go through their culminating exercises together, same as recognition and promotion. And that's important as we focus on the four-class system of those teammates, followers, frontline engaged supervisors, team leaders, unit leaders, but also acknowledging that we must empower cadet leaders to own the responsibility of their units. And I recently sat down with cadet squadron commanders and their special staffs and said, “Congratulations, you're the cadet commanders. You are responsible for two things: your mission and your people. It's not just about marching at the front of a formation. It's about executing the mission you've been given, whether that mission be military, academics or athletics, and taking care of your people.” And as such, we have established special staffs inside of each cadet squadron, every wing in the Air Force, most groups and many squadrons have special staff to both support the unit, but more importantly, advise the commander, because the commander is the one who's ultimately responsible for their people. And so we are bringing cadet special staff — which they may not be the subject matter experts in equal opportunity, integrated prevention response, spiritual matters or medical matters. They are there to support the squadron, advise the commander and have that connectivity to our subject matter experts, whether it be our chaplaincy, whether that be our amazing medical group and cadet clinic, our amazing SAPR team and all the helping agencies across USAFA to make sure that we can support all of our cadets going through a high-demand developmental program at the United States Air Force Academy. And the twist on that is again, saying, “Commanders, you are the ones who are responsible.” And now let's give you the tools to be successful as the permanent party are there to advise and oversight, empower our cadets even more. And then the final one is a return to decorum training. We conducted a beta test last year to success, and now we're looking to see how we can bring forward that decorum training for the entirety of the Cadet Wing. I am not this is not a return to the days of wine pairings, you know, but it is an acknowledgement that as an officer in our Air Force and Space Force, when you go to events, you're not only representing yourself, you're representing your team, you're representing your unit. And what are those decorum skills you need to have at events so that you can develop networks with teammates that might be outside your normal operational circle, or how do you ensure how you engage with other teammates so you can learn more about the world you're in? And so it's important that we establish that decorum focus and looking forward to how we can squeeze that in into the complicated lives of all of our cadets as we move forward. And then, just to reinforce on the critical thinking, I've already talked about the three minors we added, but I'm proud to say that we're in close coordination right now with Gen. Tullos at Air University and about to sign the memorandum of understanding where we will start a beta test for offering master's degree classes at the United States Air Force Academy, with the long-term intent of offering master's degrees at United States Air Force Academy under the Air Force Institute of Technology certification. So we have much to learn, but the doorway is open, and I can tell you from looking at so many of our cadets that come in with 20, 30, 40 college credit hours already, I think we have cadets that are ready to take on that journey, and I look forward to giving an update on that after we get through some of our initial how does this work process. So just to summarize: Our mission, our vision, our priorities are delivering what we need. And it’s those warrior leaders that are ready on Day 1 in our Air Force and Space Force. And thanks to our amazing team, whether it be in the senior leader team, but more importantly, those incredible permanent party that are working long hours, whether it’s in Fairchild Hall, Sijan Hall, Vandenberg Hall, in the tunnels, in the heat plant, in the Child Development Center, down at Clune Arena, out in Jacks Valley — our permanent party are crushing it, and it's important because our nation deserves the best leaders that we can give the 330,000 airmen and guardians that are standing watch for our nation. Thank you.   Naviere Walkewicz Thank you for sharing the mission brief. I think many of us as graduates think we know what happens at the Academy, but you actually sharing what you accomplished in just a year is a bit mind blowing, sir.   Gen. Bauernfeind Thank you. And I, at times, am concerned at how fast we are moving, but I also know that we must move this fast. The adversaries are watching us, and they are choosing when is the right time to test our nation. And so in order to achieve peace through strength, we must display that deterrence, that warfighting ethos, that warfighting capability. So we keep our adversaries waking up every single morning going, “Today is not today to test the United States.”   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir, that is right on point. Yes, sir. Well, I would like to thank you in advance for taking on additional questions from our alumni and our graduate community. So if we might start, general, with some of the information across various channels that cuts about to our academics and the Department of Faculty, what would you be willing to share about the civilian workforce reductions and any next to the Academy's academic faculty?   Gen. Bauernfeind First and foremost, the reduction of civilians is not just civilian faculty. It's through all civilians at the United States Air Force Academy, and as we're tracking, throughout the entire Department of Defense. What makes it a little more challenging at the United States Air Force Academy is we have so many different civilian teammates, from firefighters to childcare workers to coaches to headquarters staff, personnel and faculty. And as we lean into the aspect, the conversations about all of our civilian teammates. The first challenge that we faced is historically, the United States Air Force Academy has been over our civilian paid budget, and we've received great support from the Department of Air Force to address our over execution. This year is a little different, and so that has to be a baseline consideration as we understand that— that we have to hire and maintain civilian teammates within the budget that the American public has given us as a lean forward. And to that point, thank you to the Association of Graduates and the Foundation, as well as other Academy-focused foundations that have provided volunteer and funded volunteer support to give us that additional margin of excellence that helps us mitigate this matter. With respect to fiscal year ’25, our Air Force is going through a reduction of civilian personnel to the tune of 5,000 billets. Of those 5,000 billets, the portion of the United States Air Force Academy was a part of was a 140 billets. And as we have moved through that reduction of 140 billets, we identified 104 billets as we went through our prioritization that were unencumbered or empty, but lower priority. Unfortunately, there are 36 billets that were encumbered, so someone inside of that billet as we move forward. And the goal with that is to continually work over the coming months of how we can move teammates laterally into open billets, either at the United States Air Force Academy or other locations. So we keep their expertise inside of the greater Air Force, Space Force enterprise, and our A1 team continues to work that aspect. But it's also making sure that we're being very clear with our teammates that when those billets become unfunded, at some point without funding, we're having to pay for that billet via other means. And so it's important for us to have frank conversations with our teammates, to say, “Update your resume. Start looking. At some point this will move forward.” With respect to our faculty members, 16 took advantage of the government's deferred resignation program, which was a well-funded early retirement program which allowed them to leave in the spring under and basically on admin leave and retain their pay to later in the fall/winter timeframe as that moves forward. We also had three that already had planned retirements, so they were moving forward. Unfortunately, we see a hiring freeze so no backfill. But also three whose terms are many of our senior faculty, our term employees, at the end of their term came. And so we have backfilled them with active-duty and Reserve military faculty to keep our academic progress going forward. And thanks to our dean and their team, they are, you know, quickly adjusting, but they are making the changes they need to ensure that we continue to offer the majors that we promised through the Class of ’26 and continue to offer the courses as we move forward. For the fall semester, in addition to the three minors we've added, we've also added four additional classes, and there are 10 classes of the 753 in our course of instruction, there are 10 that we will not offer in the fall semester, but we will continue to still move forward.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir, thank you for that. You talked about backfills. Can you talk about some of the most important competencies for those instructors, as they were backfilling these positions right?   Gen. Bauernfeind As I testified to the Senate earlier this spring, the two most important things to me inside of our classroom is: One is subject matter expertise, and we value the subject matter expertise brought to us by our professors, associate professors, our assistant professors, our permanent professors, our senior military faculty, and the depth they provide, initially with a master's degree, but more importantly, those Ph.D.s that were an extreme depth of that subject matter expertise. But also as a military service academy— that operationally relevant experience, how do they apply what they're learning in the classroom into their futures in the Air Force and Space Force, whether that be in labs on operational units and future battlefields, and how they can connect that to the future. And we have many of our civilian faculty are also veterans, who are able to bring that strong connection to bear as it moves forward.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. Well, you mentioned you were adding a couple a few minors. Have there been any majors that have been removed from the program, and has this affected our accreditation in any way?   Gen. Bauernfeind No, ma'am, no majors have been impacted during this time. Every single year, we go through a curriculum review, and we have a curriculum review committee where we will adjust as we move forward based upon guidance we receive from the Air Force and Space Force, but also what demand signals we're seeing from our cadets. You know what they're signing up for. But that is just an annual aspect to make sure that we have the right instructor core to support the curriculum we need to develop and educate our future leaders what the Air Force and Space Force is expecting. But zero majors have been eliminated from the United States Air Force Academy.   Naviere Walkewicz Thank you, sir for clearing that up.   Gen. Bauernfeind Oh, and accreditation. We're in a good spot with accreditation. We maintain continual conversation with our accrediting bodies, whether it be the Higher Learning Commission or several of the engineering- or STEM-focused accrediting bodies such as ABET, we're still in a good spot. In fact, this year, we just approved our quality initiative, which is a key aspect to sustaining not only our accreditation, but showing that we're continuing to improve ourselves, and that quality initiative will focus strongly on data science, throughout all of our curriculum.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. I think that's wonderful. I know a lot of graduates were, you know, maybe didn't have all the information, so I think that's wonderful that you just shared that. Something interesting you talked about your brief was some master’s, a beta testing for a master's program, working with AFIT. Can you expand a bit more about that? And then do you see the Academy becoming a five-year institution, or we will stay four years, 47 months?   Gen. Bauernfeind Right now, I believe that we will still stay a 47-month program because our academic program is 47 months; our athletic program is 47 months, and most importantly, our leadership development and military program is 47 months. For the AFIT program, the vision is — these amazing young Americans come in with so much academic credit. Many of them now are part of the Martinson Scholar Program. And thanks to Mr. Martinson’s great support, we have a program that can focus on them going even further. What we can offer them now, the majority are taking multiple majors and multiple minors. What if, in the future, you didn't want to do multiple majors or minors, but you want to go and start on your master's degree, which many other institutes of higher learning are offering in a parallel aspect? And so in conversation with Gen. Tullos, how can we start allowing cadets as early as their junior year start taking master’s programs and achieve what would be required? Initial assessment is we will have some that can probably achieve it in 47 months, but probably the greater group will need to stay the Academy for maybe six or 12 more months as a second lieutenant to finish up their AFIT courseware. So they would stop their 47-month USAFA program, but continue with their master's program in the classroom in Fairchild and finish out their master’s here. Is the vision— and we're working through this. I want to be very clear that this is beta. We have a lot to learn in this. And from my perspective, as I work with the Air Force to get greater support for this, this is going to be a strong cost saver for the Air Force. When our Air Force officers go to get master's degree, as a general rule, they are out of their operational career field for two years as they go to execute their 18-month AFIT program, plus two associated PCSs. Now we show not only a time saving, but a cost savings. And now these second lieutenants are entering, a portion of them, are entering their air force or Space Force with a master's degree. And it is not uncommon for many of our second lieutenants right now to even start their initial training, depending on what training is available until the spring of the next year after they graduate. So I see a strong promise, but we've got a lot of work to do to make it a reality.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. Well, that's creative and innovative thinking right there. I think that we're very excited to hear more about that, especially as the beta testing moves forward. Sir, maybe we can move into the warfighting realm. Graduates have been very interested in the renewed focus on warfighting that you’ve taken over the past year. What recent programs or military training taking place at USAFA right now are really supporting this development of the warfighter. Ready to lead on Day 1?   Gen. Bauernfeind So I believe we've always had a strong foundation of warfighting training, whether it be our airmanship programs, our powered flight programs, our jump programs, our special warfare programs and basic cadet training and cadet survival. But we're building upon that, and we're adding to those as great examples. As discussed earlier, if we can fight for the ammunition, we will have every single cadet qualify on both weapons every single year. The Class of ’29 for the M18, the pistol, they qualified at a rate at about 65%. For the M4, the long gun, at a rate of 93%. I'm very proud of those numbers, because many of those young men and women— that was the first time they touched a weapon in their lives. And now, if they do it three more times before they graduate, those qualification rates are going to skyrocket, and they're going to have the confidence, when they deploy into harm's way, of their weapons. Additionally, thanks to the great work by the Cadet Wing, we have received 4,000 sets of chemical gear. And so not only in basic training, are they learning how to establish a forward operating base, defend it, but we're going past the days of where we walked into a tent, took our mask off and then dealt with the wonderful fluids that came out of our bodies. But now, going forward, to how are you going to conduct ATSO operations, or the ability to survive and operate in deployed locations with chemical gear on? And we're very proud to partake in some of that training with the basic cadets, and they are really taking to understanding what is required. And then the final aspect is, as discussed, the cadet warfighter instructor course, is acknowledging that to be really good at those items, we need some subject matter expertise. But the subject matter expertise required to lead, train and certify 4,000 cadets every year, we have to rely on cadet leaders, and as discussed, they're in the field as we speak in the inaugural cadet warfighter instructor course. And I look forward to seeing the feedback of how they will come back and do the squadrons. And tying that back to the cadets wanting more ownership of their training — the intent is 12 cadets inside of each cadet squadron that will now take on the responsibility through the academic year of that warfighter training that we will assess in the fall CULEX, and the ultimate assessment in the spring CULEX.   Naviere Walkewicz Sir, it really shows how you're building that expertise within the squadron to support the squadron commander so they really are taking care of their people. I think that's outstanding.   Gen. Bauernfeind And very excited about it.  And I just want to say thank you again, because it was due to the generosity of the Foundation that got us the seed to start the automation, with 29 Group 2, the smaller UAVs, as we see automation and all monitor warfighting, unleashing the cadets on how they're going to use those UAVs to defend their forward operating bases, to understand what's across the ridgeline as they move forward. And very excited to see where the cadets will take us in this, because I'm sure they're gonna be far more innovative than my generation.   Naviere Walkewicz Our generation, sir, yes, sir. Well, you talked about the four-class system and I think that was really relevant for our graduates to hear. How are cadets feeling motivated through this process? And have you seen them evolve over the past year since you started implementing that?   Gen. Bauernfeind I think the first aspect was— it took them time to truly understand what we were laying out as it went forward. And every year we do this, we will get a little more advanced at the end of the day. I think our four-degrees understood it. That was good. It was that they understood what it meant to be a teammate. What it meant to be a teammate, follower, and that was an easier aspect to develop them through. The team leaders at the senior NCO level for the two-degrees and the firsties as unit leaders, they started understanding that. The biggest challenge we saw was with the three-degrees. What does it mean to be a frontline, engaged supervisor? And we have to troop lead them through, “This is what it means to be a frontline, engaged supervisor.” That they are your subordinate. But to take best care of your people, you should know where they're from. You should know about their parents. You should know their dog's name. You should know where their birthday is. You should know when their next chemistry test is, when their next PT test is. And while you may not be able to tutor them on chemistry, you can gather and motivate them for, “Hey, if the PT test is three weeks out, let's go run together. Let's go get on the pull up bar together. Let's, you know, be engaged.” And the more you know your teammates, what I offer to you, whether it be in morning formation, noon meal formation, at the tables at Mitchell Hall, in the halls of your squadron, inside of 30 seconds you're gonna see your teammates, your subordinate, and you're gonna know if they're gonna have a good day or bad day, because you're close enough to know, just quickly, OK, they're gonna have a great day or something's going on. “Let's go take a walk. Let's figure out what's driving you down. And how can I, as a frontline engaged supervisor, start taking barriers out of your way?”   Naviere Walkewicz I mean, I can only imagine that giving them more pride, even now that they understand, “This is how I can be a frontline supervisor,” when you give us very specific examples. Well, if we might shift gears a little bit to admissions and graduation. Since we just had a class join us, and we had a class recently graduate, maybe you can tell us how the Class of ’29 how they're faring so far.   Gen. Bauernfeind The Class of ’29 are doing great. I am impressed by their professionalism. I'm impressed by their energy. And as you saw, as we just did the recent march back, they were loud and proud. That was really good as it went forward. And for the Class of ’29, I’m proud to report that they are faring very well. Just so everybody knows, we had over 9,000 completed applications. We offered 1,411 offers of admission, and 1,112 took the oath on I-Day as it moved forward. We had cadets from every single state and territories of Guam and Puerto Rico, as well as 12 international cadets that joined us. Of those, 117 from Prep School came up the Hill. And then 76 are, you know, part of a prior Long Blue Line as it's coming forward as it goes. Of the Class of ’29, 55% were in the top 10% of their class, and 96 were all invited on varsity sports. Right now we are, as coming out of basic training, of 1,095 and during that time, they're still going strong. We did have some teammates that didn't have a full appreciation of what military life was, or may not have been as impassioned about the Academy as their parents, and so we've parted ways with a few small numbers. But during basic training, I can proudly say— we talked about the qualifications on the weapons, but also say they took their very first PFT test, and looking back over the last five years, they, on average, scored 15 points higher than the last five years. And that's a testament to two teams, I would offer to you, well, not only the cadets themselves, who had to do it, but all of our admissions team that's out there saying, “Hey, congratulations, you've been admitted. Start preparing now.” But also our athletic director, athletic department team that was out there giving them good, focused training to prepare them for those physical fitness tests. And they just took PFT No. 2 a couple days ago, and we’re accessing the data but all indications are it’s trending up.   Naviere Walkewicz No, yes, sir. Those are outstanding numbers. As a country, we're seeing admission rates and the challenge of getting the best of the best into the door, the fact that we had such wonderful numbers coming in, and we're attriting very low, I think it's something we should be proud of.   Gen. Bauernfeind I'm very proud of it, but acknowledge it's a tough— it's a knife fight to get the best of the brightest, and so thanks to Air Education and Training Command and Accessions Command, we are going to try a new marketing contract this year to further make sure that the amazing young Americans throughout all four corners truly understand the opportunity in front of them with the Air Force Academy, and make sure they're aware of it. So I'm excited to see how that marketing campaign goes to even up our numbers, even a little bit more.   Naviere Walkewicz Awesome. Yes, sir. Well, sir, in the realm of athletics, last year, you shared an emphasis for cadet support and participation at more of our athletic events. What have you seen come from that? And what can you share about athletics, intramurals most currently?   Gen. Bauernfeind It's one of our three mission sets: athletics. And it's not just for our IC athletes. I jokingly tell some of the teammates to say, “Tell me about a cadets life.” It's like, well, they have three full time jobs, a military job, an academic job and an athletic job, and they really get a bachelor of science in time management. And that's as we go forward. But I've asked the athletic department, you know, during COVID, our intramural program atrophied, and now we have to see, how can we really enhance our intramurals as it goes forward. But I'm especially also proud of our intercollegiate athletes, 30 intercollegiate programs. When we talk about the blood, sweat, tears, the hard work that our IC athletes representing 25% of the Cadet Wing — they are really jumping in hard. And my expectations as the superintendent is all 30 of those programs earn home field advantage. And so we've recently published an operation order to the team as we look into the fall sports. And the basic synthesis of it is, protect this house. We will come strong to all home events, and we're working through that aspect. And so as a whole, not only will we figure out how to be strong at all of our home events, whether it be, you know, this fall with women's soccer, men's soccer, cross country, water polo, volleyball and, importantly, football. And proud to report here at our AOG that the entire Cadet Wing will be marching onto the football field and protecting this house and our amazing stadium at home games.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir, thank you for that. That's fantastic. Sir, you know, you can't come out of this Air Force Academy, this 18,000 acres of amazing Academy, without seeing some of the changes, whether it's facilities or capabilities. You know, of course, there are two questions we hear often about the chapel in the box. When will the chapel be done? And then also, you know, what about the visitor center? When can we actually get into it?   Gen. Bauernfeind No, those are two great questions, Naviere. First of all, I think that the box has become so routine there that we received a formal request from cadet. So how can we have a — no kidding — drive in movie theater screen? And the request came in at $300,000 so we thought the prudent action was, let's get the chapel done so we can take the box down instead of putting up a new theater. But right now, for our chapel, again, it is an amazing piece of architecture, and to maintain the historical relevance and the hard work that went behind it, it's going to take time. Right now, we're on schedule for 2028 and we are focused on making sure all the involved teams take every single day out and we can find out as soon as possible when we have any sort of deviation, so we can swarm it. And so as such, we hold monthly meetings with IMSC — the Installation Management Sustainment Command — Air Force Civil Engineering Command, the Corps of Engineers, to go through all of our military construction projects so that if something comes up, we are aware of it within days of the issue, and we swarm it together instead of letting issues boil for a long period of time. And so excited to get the chapel back open as such a spiritual icon of the United States Air Force Academy. And spirituality is so important to the holistic leader’s readiness— not just physical, mental, social, family, but also spiritual. And I think it will be important for that development. And then to the visitor center. We're on track to open up in May of ’26 before the graduation, and excited to finally open that visitor center and share with a much wider audience what all of our alumni and we know of the amazing story behind the Air Force Academy, all the amazing exemplars who have come from our Academy. And I will share with you, I'm excited to get a whole ton of young Americans inside the visitor center so they can start getting excited about being part of the Class of 2032, 2038 and beyond.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. Well, they say things are worth the wait, good things are worth the wait, and I think the interactive displays that are gonna come with this are really gonna help people understand truly what our cadets go through.     Gen. Bauernfeind Absolutely. And thank you again to the AOG and Foundation. As money got tight, the Foundation came forward and we now have that beautiful glider, you know, in position that shows what all of our cadets are working through.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. Well, our sole existence is to support the Academy, serve our grads and prserve the heritage. Well, sir, I’m cognizant of your time. We’re so grateful you're here today. Mind if I ask you one final question?   Gen. Bauernfeind Please do.   Naviere Walkewicz What's on your mind that you want to leave with our graduates to be thinking about when you think about our Academy and your vision and mission. What can you leave us with?   Gen. Bauernfeind I just want to thank the Long Blue Line. We are 55,000-plus strong. There have been so many of our alumni, every single one of us that have gone through this journey. And we're proud of this institution. And I just say, continue to support this amazing institution. Spread the good word of what our Air Force Academy is, because we want amazing young women, amazing young men that are in your communities, in your churches, at your work centers, to say, “Hey, have you heard about the Air Force Academy? That's the place for you, because our nation deserves the best.” And just a final thanks to the alumni, and as a superintendent, I'm proud to be in this position with my amazing teammates. And any alumni that wants to ask me, “What's the rest of the story?” I am always available. Please hit me up in the hallways, on the Terrazzo, on the field, and I look forward to your conversations.   Naviere Walkewicz This has been a special edition of the Air Force Gradcast. On behalf of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation, thank you for joining us. It's been a privilege to hear directly from Lt. Gen. Bauernfeind and to share updates and perspectives relevant to graduates across our Academy community. Thank you for your continued connection, commitment and support of our United States Air Force Academy. I'm Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz, Class of ’99. Until next time.       The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation

Lt. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers ’11 joins us from orbit! SUMMARY From cadet to astronaut, she shares how the U.S. Air Force Academy prepared her for life aboard the International Space Station, the lessons space learned in the space program about leadership and how viewing Earth from 250 miles up re-shapes one's call to serve.   SHARE THIS EPISODE LINKEDIN [https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A//www.longblueleadership.org/e/lt-col-nichole-ayers-11-a-falcons-flight-to-the-stars/?token=5d1407756889f6c8f0eb9639a1b1a1d2]  |  FACEBOOK [https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A//www.longblueleadership.org/e/lt-col-nichole-ayers-11-a-falcons-flight-to-the-stars/?token=5d1407756889f6c8f0eb9639a1b1a1d2]   COL. AYERS' TOP 10 LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS  - Seeing Earth from space changes your perspective on leadership.  - The fragility of Earth inspires a desire to protect it.  - A lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut requires hard work and dedication.  - Teamwork at the Air Force Academy prepared me for life in space.  - Daily routines on the ISS are structured and focused on science and maintenance.  - Astronauts are normal humans, not just heroes in space.  - Quick thinking and calm leadership are crucial during space missions.  - Community support is vital for success in unconventional paths.  - Inspiring the next generation is a key part of my mission.  - Curiosity and exploration should be fostered in young people.   CHAPTERS 00:00 Journey to the Stars: Becoming an Astronaut 03:32 Life Aboard the ISS: Daily Routines and Responsibilities 07:23 Lessons in Leadership: Quick Thinking in Space 10:54 Observations from Above: Humanity and Resilience 12:10 Inspiring the Next Generation: A Sense of Purpose 13:17 The Long Blue Line: Community and Support     ABOUT NICHOLE BIO U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers is a trailblazing pilot, leader, and astronaut whose journey began at the United States Air Force Academy, where she graduated in 2011 with a degree in mathematics. An accomplished F-22 Raptor pilot, Ayers is one of the few women ever to fly the world’s most advanced stealth fighter—and she’s one of even fewer to command them in formation for combat training missions. Col. Ayers earned her wings through years of training and operational excellence, logging over 200 flight hours in combat and playing a critical role in advancing tactical aviation. Her exceptional performance led to her selection in 2021 by NASA as a member of Astronaut Group 23, an elite class of 10 chosen from among 12,000 applicants. As a NASA astronaut candidate, Col. Ayers completed intensive training at Johnson Space Center, which included spacewalk preparation, robotics, survival training, systems operations, and Russian language. Now qualified for spaceflight, she stands on the threshold of a new chapter that led her to the International Space Station. Throughout her career, Col. Ayers has exemplified the Academy's core values of Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do. Her journey from cadet to combat aviator to astronaut is a testament to resilience, determination, and a passion for pushing boundaries.   LEARN MORE ABOUT NICHOLE NASA Astronaut Nichole Ayers [https://www.nasa.gov/people/nasa-astronaut-nichole-ayers/]     ALL PAST LBL EPISODES [https://www.longblueleadership.org/]  |  ALL LBLPN PRODUCTIONS [https://www.podbean.com/podcast-network/longbluelinepodcast] AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS   TRANSCRIPT SPEAKERS Guest, Lt. Col. Nichole "Vapor" Ayers ’11  |  Host, Lt. Col. (ret.) Naviere Walkewicz ’99   NASA  00:00 Station, this is Houston. Are you ready for the event?   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  00:05 Houston, Station, I'm ready for the event.   NASA Air Force Academy, this is Mission Control, Houston. Please call Station for a voice check.   Naviere Walkewicz  00:13 Station, this is Lt. Col. Naviere Walkewicz. How do you hear me?   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  00:17 Hi, ma'am. I've got you loud and clear. Welcome to the International Space Station.   Naviere Walkewicz  00:20 Welcome to a special presentation of the US, Air Force Academy, Association and Foundation’s, Long Blue Line Podcast Network. I'm Naviere Walkewicz, Class of ’99. I was honored recently to speak with a true pioneer, United States Air Force Academy graduate, accomplished fighter pilot, 2022 Young Alumni Excellence Award recipient and now NASA astronaut, Lieutenant Colonel Nicole “Vapor” Ayers, Class of 2011, Vapor joined us from the International Space Station orbiting about 250 miles above Earth. Her journey from Cadet to astronaut embodies the pursuit of excellence and the spirit of exploration that distinguishes the Long Blue Line. For this conversation Vapor and I explored what it means to be a human in the vastness of space, how one's perspective shifts when Earth shows up as a distant blue marble, and what her journey can tell us about courage, connection and the Future. Lieutenant Colonel Ayers, this is such an honor. So excited. Seeing Earth from space forever changes your perspective. How was the experience for you? And how has it changed the way you view your role as a leader?   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  01:32 Yeah, you know, I think for everybody, the experience is slightly different. For me, seeing the earth from the Dragon window for the first time was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. And then seeing the Earth every day from the cupola and then the lab window that we have here, you know, you don't see country or state lines on the Earth, right? There's not like each state has a different solid color, right? There's just geography and just terrain. And so you get to learn the world all over again in terms of colors and textures and geography and water. You know, there's so much water on this earth, and it's hard to put it into perspective until you're actually looking at the Earth, and it's, it's something that has really hit me, because the Earth is so fragile. You know, we see these beautiful auroras, we see thunderstorms, we see different natural disasters, and it's really kind of made me want to take better care of this earth. And you know, when I get home, I want to just do things a little bit better and just take that extra step, to take my make my part in taking good care of this earth.   Naviere Walkewicz  02:38 That makes amazing sense. And, you know, I think it takes us to kind of your path to becoming an astronaut. Can you walk us through what that was like?   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  02:47 Yeah, sure. So, you know, I was, I've been saying that I wanted to be an astronaut since I was little kid. And, you know, I always had an affinity for space and for the sky. And growing up in the Shuttle era, you know, as soon as I learned that you could fly the shuttle be the pilot. I was like, “Ooh, that's what I want to do.” And so, the very serious little Nichole set my goals really high and started working towards that path. And, you know, grew up right there in Colorado Springs, watched the Air Force Academy graduation, you know, and the Thunderbirds fly over every year. And it just kind of seemed like a natural path for me to go to the Air Force Academy, become a pilot and try to pursue the astronaut dream from the pilot’s perspective. So you know, I worked really hard, set my goals really high, and never got bumped off that path and was able to apply and actually get selected. And now here I am talking to you from the International Space Station.   Naviere Walkewicz  03:36 And it's pretty incredible being able to see you weightless there, and you're here in its full glory. It's pretty amazing. Can you, talk about your time at the Air Force Academy? Specifically, what foundational experiences would you say have really kind of played a part with your life in space right now?   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  03:54 Yeah you know, I think the Air Force Academy, for me, the biggest part was just being on teams. You know, I played volleyball there. And, you know, I would say every Squadron is its own little team. And you know, as a four degree, you're there with all of your classmates, and you're going through training sessions together. And so being on these teams in different environments, and some austere environments and high pressure situations, and learning how to take care of other people in those moments, I think, has been huge in my path to getting here. You know, those, all those words speak truth here on the International Space Station, you know, we're in an austere environment. Sometimes we're under pressure situations, and it's just a few of us up here working together with the ground to make this International Space Station stay in orbit, to execute all of the science and the maintenance and keep it running and continue to learn everything we possibly can, both about space and about Earth in order to inform how we do life on Earth and how we get to the moon and Mars.   Naviere Walkewicz  04:47 Thank you. So maybe, can you share with us what your daily routine aboard the ISS is like...   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  04:53 Yeah, you know, it's not unlike yours. Potentially. You know, our schedule is pretty set to the ground team figures out about, you know, what science and what maintenance needs to be done, and who's going to go do it. We are scheduled from about 7:30 in the morning to 7:30 in the evening, and we get, you know, two to two and a half hours of exercise time so that we can maintain our bone and muscle and cardiovascular health up here. And then when we're not working out, we're, like, I said, executing science. You know, I'm surrounded just here in this module, every single rack has some sort of payload or science experiment going on, so we just kind of follow the schedule. We work with the ground team to figure out where the things are that we need, and the procedures and all of that. But it's not unlike life on Earth...   Naviere Walkewicz  05:37 Maybe a little bit different. What's the biggest misconception people have about life on the ISS, you think? And what's something that surprised you while you're being there?   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  05:48 Man, you know, I've been asked this question before. I'm not sure if I know the biggest misconception. You know, I think that often people kind of put astronauts up on a pedestal, but, you know, we're just humans who like to do, like the work that we do. We're really passionate about what we do. We're good teammates. So we're just normal humans, and it's not the most glamorous job, you know, we do, you know, often wear diapers, or we're working really hard, or things like that. So, you know, just normal humans up here. I think one of the things that surprised me the most, I'll see if I can do this without bumping the Astrobee off the wall here. But for me, it took my brain a while to, you know, get used to seeing people on the wall, or, you know, our treadmills on the wall, or seeing people upside down, and there's no up and down in space. And so it took a while for me to get used to that, and for my brain to kind of remap what I consider up, down, left and right in space. And you know that people are just floating, and we get a float every day, I can let go the mic and talk to you.   Naviere Walkewicz  06:46 So we have a lot of cadets and young officers that listen to us. What advice would you give them in the dream of following in your footsteps?   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  06:56 Yeah, that's a great question. You know, I love to preach hard work and teamwork. You know, find something that you really enjoy doing. You know, NASA needs, I studied math, right? I'm a pilot, but we need doctors. We need scientists, we need engineers. So figure out what you really enjoy doing, work really hard at that thing, and then go find a team you can be on, and figure out how to take care of other people, and figure out how, how you mesh in this world, and how you can and thrive in these small environments or austere environments with other people. So I love to just say, you know, work hard, be a good teammate, and everything will work out in your favor. I think.   Naviere Walkewicz  07:30 Can you share if you've received any valuable insights or advice from other Air Force Academy grads who were astronauts?   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  07:37 Oh, yeah, I think tons, is what I would say, you know, Eric Kjell, and specifically Nick and Roger, who just recently flew and came back, you know, I think that there's been a ton of advice just in terms of of how we do life here on the International Space Station and how, you know, we're going to continue to explore on the Moon and Mars, and how we can share our story, and how we can share all of the science that we're doing. But I think one of the most practical things that I got was from Nick during the handover, when we, we had a couple days up here together, and he said, “Don't forget, you're still squishy.” You know, we're surrounded by a bunch of metal up here. Nothing is very soft. And so if you, if you get moving too quick, or you get too confident, it's very easy to stub a toe or hit something. And so we're still just squishy humans. And you know, if you take that one step further metaphorically, I think, you know, we're still just humans, and we make mistakes, and that's okay, as long as you can bounce back, and as long as you're not going too fast when you hit a handrail too hard.   Naviere Walkewicz  08:31 Absolutely. Well, you talked a little bit about the austere environment. What do you hope your mission and your story inspiring the next generation of Academy grads, especially those who feel called to serve in bold and unconventional ways.   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  08:46 Yeah, you know, I think the bold and unconventional part really hits me, because, you know, growing up during the shuttle era, and then I was at the Air Force Academy when the last shuttle flight flew. And you know, as you grow up, you say you want to be an astronaut, people often say like, Wow, that's awesome. And then when you become an adult, sometimes you don't quite get the same response, you know, sometimes you get a laugh. And so, you know, I would say that even if people don't believe you, or they don't necessarily support what you want to do, if you've got a goal or a dream, just continue to, like I said, work hard at it, you know, put your nose to the grinder. Get really good at whatever it is that you want to go do, and don't let the naysayers get you. You know, there will always be someone there who thinks it's silly, but you will always find someone who supports you. My old commander, Robin, again, he was the one who supported me and got me here, and he said, “Are you silly?” Like, why would you ever think that's silly, or hesitate to tell me what you want to do? So, keep talking about your goals, keep working towards it. And yeah, like I said, maybe someday you could be up here with us.   Naviere Walkewicz  09:44 Absolutely bold and unconventional, for sure. And speaking of such space missions demand precision under pressure. Can you share a moment, whether in training or on the ISS where quick thinking and calm leadership made a difference for you?   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  09:57 Yeah, definitely. I think that I.... Actually, a great example is our space walk that Anne McClain and I did about a month and a half ago. You know, right in the middle of the space walk, the priorities changed and the game plan changed. And if you were just an onlooker watching, sitting at home watching, you may not have even noticed that. And I think that's a huge testament to our ground team and our flight director, Deanna Trujillo, for the day, you know, her ability to lead that ground team and change the game plan on the fly, and then get those words up to us through some calm loss and some other hardships that we were working through, and then for us, for Anna and I, to work together, both just the two of us out outside the space station and the vacuum of space, but also us with the ground to make that all look very seamless. We're very proud of how that space walk went, and our ability to kind of change the plan on the fly, execute, come up with new ways of doing things, and figuring out how we're going to leave the station in a good state, and also achieve all those objectives. So think that was we're actually really proud of the way that we, you know, manage all of those changes, and hopefully to the onlooker like yourself. It looks seamless.   Naviere Walkewicz  11:04 Absolutely and it kind of talks a little bit to what you said earlier about, you know, seeing Earth from a different vantage point and wanting to protect it. I'd like to actually ask you more about that. So can you share, from your vantage point what you've observed about humanity and the resilience as you, as you look on it, from us, from our perspective here on Earth, and you being up there,   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  11:24 Yeah, you know, I think that one of the biggest things that, you know, I mentioned the natural disasters that we see and, you know, and I feel a sense of duty to photograph and to try to document the things that just humans endure on a daily basis. You know, I talked about thunderstorms or landslides, forest fires, all sorts of things. You know, we see it from such a different vantage point up here. And, you know, knowing that there are people down there who are trying to survive, and knowing that those people will survive, and that we have an entire community that's going to rally around those people in those instances. And you know, just trying to do our part from up here and give, you know, that unique vantage point and give as much data and as much help as we possibly can. I think that's one of the biggest things that our world does well, is, you know, helping each other when we're in need.   Naviere Walkewicz  12:09 And Lieutenant Colonel Ayres, maybe you can share what's been the impact of this mission on your sense of purpose, and how do you think it will shape your next chapter when you come back on Earth?   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  12:22 This is a great question. I've done a lot of thinking about this, you know, you know, finally achieving your childhood dream. What's next? You know, what do you do next? And I think for me, the biggest thing that I want to continue to do is just inspire the next generation. You know, all those little kids who say they want to be astronauts, and then they get laughed at as adults. You know, I think that's it's so important to just foster that curiosity and foster that sense of exploration. And really, you know, encourage the next generation to go do what they're passionate about, because we will always need someone in that niche thing that you're passionate about. And so helping people get there is, is really what I want to do next. And, you know, helping the next youth get to their dreams and their goals and continue to just build this society that continues to explore and as you know, especially as we go to the moon and onto Mars and we commercialize low earth orbit, I think there's so much that we can do. And it's I feel, again, a sense of duty to help the next generation do that?   Naviere Walkewicz  13:21 Well, we talk about the next generation and the long blue line being enduring. Is there anything else you'd want to share with Air Force Academy grads in general?   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  13:30 Yeah, you know, I think it might be a dead horse that I'm beating at this point, but the teamwork is so important. You know, just, just take care of the people around you. Make sure that you're always looking out for each other. You know, the long blue line is a very special thing to be a part of. And, you know, like yourself, you know, I met you a couple years ago, and it feels like I could just go, you know, hang out with you, have dinner, and we could pick up like old friends. And that's what the long blue line is all about. You know, having friends all over the world who can help you. You know, I got to hang out with Nick Hague in space, another member of the long blue line who told me I was going to be squishy. You know, things like that are just the unique moments that we have as Academy grads. You know, there's always going to be someone there who supports you and who loves you and who wants to see you be successful,   Naviere Walkewicz  14:15 Wonderful. Thank you so much for this time. There's probably so many more questions we could ask you, but I think the biggest one is just, you know, we would leave you with it's such an honor and a privilege to see you out there. We're proud of everything that you're doing, and we can't wait to see more of what you're able to accomplish while you're in space and when you come back.   Lt. Col. Nichole Ayers  14:34 Thank you so much. Like I said, so excited to talk to you today and to just share the experience and also, you know, have a have an influence on the AOG. I'm excited that the AOG is interested in space and interested in all of us who are out here. You know, again, the Long Blue Line is a really cherished and unique group to be a part of. So honored and proud to be a part of that group, and excited that I got to share a little bit of what we do up here with you guys today.   Naviere Walkewicz  15:02 Thank you so much for the time. Naviere Walkewicz  Well, before I close, I'd like to share what happened after the podcast. My cell phone rang, and I had a call from government, and I said, “Who could be calling me?” Well, I answered, and wouldn't you know 250 miles above the Earth, Vapor Ayers was calling me on my cell phone just to say what an amazing conversation we had. What technology we have, that she sounded like she was next door. It was an incredible opportunity for us to talk a little bit more about the podcast and highlight what you might hear in an upcoming Checkpoints article. So for now, I'll sign off. I'm Naviere Walkewicz, Class of ’99. Thank you for listening. This has been a special presentation of the US, Air Force Academy, Association and Foundation’s Long Blue Line Podcast Network. You can listen to this and all our podcast network programming at LongBlueLinePodcast.org once more, that's LongBlueLinePodcast.org   NASA  16:03 Station, this is Houston. ACR, thank you. That concludes our event.   KEYWORDS NASA, astronaut, International Space Station, Air Force Academy, leadership, resilience, teamwork, space exploration, inspiration, Earth       The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation