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  • Why Mother’s Day Will Always Be Special to Me

    We celebrate Mother’s Day during the month of May. For many, Mother’s Day is a time to reflect and show gratitude to our mothers who have been caregivers and ultimately helped shape us into who we are. Also, for me, Mother’s Day is a chance to show my loving mother how much I appreciate her. My

  • It started with mom

    When I think of Mother’s Day, I am reminded of a quote from Gaspard Mermillod, “A mother is she who can take the place of all others, but whose place no one else can take.” Wow! For me, that quote captures the enormous impact, importance and significance mothers have in our lives. We depend on our

  • Farewell from the wing commander

    On the eve of my last day leading Dover Air Force Base, I am again reminded of Simon Sinek’s lesson in humility: I deserve a Styrofoam cup. Sinek says that the ceramic cup was never meant for me, it was meant for the position I held. I deserve a Styrofoam cup. I love this lesson, not just as a

  • Shouldering, shedding and sharing burdens

    The word burden often carries a negative connotation. The word burden often conjures up thoughts of hardship and despair. Years ago, my greatest source of inspiration for leadership, “The Book,” changed how I viewed the concept of burdens. My favorite chapter provides three major takeaways on the

  • Celebrating military children

    What is the origin of the Month of the Military Child? The Month of the Military Child is part of a legacy left by former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. Since his establishment of the Month of the Military Child in 1986, there have been an increasing number of campaigns, recognizing the needs

  • The Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust 2021

    Great evil challenges us to become great human beings. During World War II, the United States became the greatest military champion of the world, fending off the “Axis of Evil” and bringing Adolf Hitler’s diabolical dreams of destruction to an end. But, by the time the dust of war settled, more than

  • Leveraging Technology for More Effective Teams

    In March of 2020 a public health emergency was declared on Dover AFB due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea that we have been operating with constraints of various forms for over a year at this point is absolutely astonishing to me. I’m sure most can relate when I say some days it seems like this

  • The Importance of Leading Up

    When I arrived at Dover for my command tour, I was coming off a year as an instructor at Squadron Officer School, followed by a year as a student at Air Command and Staff College, where I was introduced to a concept called meta-leadership. The concept was originally developed at Harvard and is

  • Rethinking how we lead

    While there are many theories on leadership, it is inherently up to each individual to determine how they will lead. I used this as motivation to read multiple leadership books leading up to my Change of Command to prepare myself for what was to come. Knowing that I was leaving a staff position with

  • Overcoming “It”

    Have you had a life altering moment? Not like dodging a car accident that made your heart skip a few beats. I’m talking about a moment where the fundamentals of who you are become questioned. The type when you look in the mirror and the reflection you see is not yours. If you have, I want you to