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I have desired to be a military officer since I was a young man reading about the Generals who have served this country. Generals such as James R. Allen, Curtis LeMay, and Daniel “Chappie” James Jr demonstrate duty, honor, and loyalty. These distinguished leaders provide an example to young men on what hard work and perseverance can help you achieve in the United States Air Force. I strive to face challenges in life that will force me to confront difficult situations. Serving in the United States Air Force will aid me in success because the military embodies courage and integrity. Commitment to a career of service will prepare me for leadership in the upper echelons of command, citizenship, and government. I aim to become the first military
officer in my family. Watching my grandfather’s dedication in the United States Air Force in and my father’s in the United States Army influenced my commitment to sacrificing different aspects of my life for preparation to attend a service academy. I view both men as examples of service and dedication to our great country. Continuation of this legacy weighs upon me to advance the ball further. I trust that if given the opportunity, I will prove to my fellow Americans that I am committed to serving and protecting our great state and country. Honesty and loyalty are guiding principles of any young man growing up in the United States. A service academy, I trust, will guide me in learning these attributes. Therefore, I humbly ask that I be given an opportunity to sacrifice for my community through leadership by an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy. If so honored, you have my commitment to always do my best and bring credit to God, my family, the academy, and the United States of America.
In order to better understand my leadership philosophy, you must first understand who I am. I spent 8 years active duty in the Marine Corps. Afterwards, I did a multitude of different civilian jobs while pursuing my Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Management and Leadership from Friends University. I have been married for almost 20 years and have two awesome boys, ages 1 and 5. I think family is imperative in keeping Soldiers grounded and in a good state of mental health.
The topic of leadership has been explored and written about by thousands of authors who are considerably more qualified than I am to write about the subject. However, I’ve always maintained that developing, evolving and articulating one’s own leadership philosophy is an essential part of a professional’s growth. Through academics and experience, I’ve concluded that leadership is a “soft” skill, more art than science, and that leadership principles can be universally applied. As a topic of discussion, leadership can be ambiguous and seldom does everyone agree on a single definition. Organizations and the people they consist of crave leadership, even if not overtly. Undeniably, strong leadership is essential to achieving
For years I have aspired to become a part of an elite organization such as the military, and more importantly, the United States Navy. Its reputation for instilling high moral character was encouragement for me to develop into a more mature, responsible, and independent young citizen. There are certain qualities that an officer must possess such as: honor, courage, commitment, and attention to duty, responsiveness to orders, cooperation, loyalty, leadership, integrity, and discipline. Throughout my high school career, I showcased these qualities while an active member of The American Legion of Ohio Buckeye Boy’s State, The National Honor Society, as a leader in the Ohio State Highway Patrol Junior Cadets, Clay and Waite High School Marching Band Alumni, Quiz Bowl, and Top Ten Scholars. I was actively involved in charitable activities such as Math and SOS tutoring, community volunteering, and the Indian 100 Leadership Team, (a volunteer organization on my high school campus). I have shown strength, perseverance and leadership in my participation in wrestling, cheerleading, and bodybui...
There are many things that have impacted my life in a positive way as a result of my military service. For starters, joining the Navy was huge. It got me organized and opened my eyes to an entirely new world, and not just the military service world. The variety of experiences that I’ve had in the service interacting with people from all over the world has helped me grow as a person. However, from the day I entered service, one item or one rank in the structure of the Navy struck me as critical to the operation of the Navy. That item or rank was the position of the Chief Petty Officer. As I entered service I quickly discovered that the Chief was the go to guy and the old saying “ask a chief” had a profound meaning. The Chief was a leader, mentor, and an expert in just about everything, all qualities that I lacked at the time. Then, twelve or so years later, the life changing event for me of being selected as a Chief Petty Officer in the US Navy came to fruition.
My journey into the Air Force was one that started off as a business transaction which transformed into one of duty, honor, and service. I have had the distinctive honor of leading joint forces to search for downed aircrew and leading multinational forces to increase combat capability on the Republic of Korea. I know that I am a part of the Air Force lethal force and am prepared to answer my nations calling in any way required.
As our forefathers before us stated, ‘‘No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as “The Backbone of the Army (“The NCO Creed writing by SFC Earle Brigham and Jimmie Jakes Sr”). These words to Noncommissioned Officer should inspire us to the fullest with pride, honor, and integrity. The NCO creed should mean much more than just words whenever we attend a NCO’s school. For most of us this is what our creed has become because we learn to narrate or recite. The military from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard has an overabundance of NCOs who fall under their pay grade of E-5, E-6 and etc. Yet somehow there still not enough leaders. I believe that the largest problem afflicting the military today is our lack of competent leaders, ineffective leader development, and how we influence our subordinates under us who are becoming leaders.
Introduction “Leaders have always been generalists”. Tomorrow’s leaders will, very likely, have begun life as specialists, but to mature as leaders they must sooner or later climb out of the trenches of specialization and rise above the boundaries that separate the various segments of society.” (Gardner, 1990, pg. 159). The. In a recent verbal bout with my History of the Military Art professor, I contended that the true might of a nation may be inversely proportional to the size of its military during peacetime.
Given the “new” Air Force communication to the public, the USAF is now marketing education benefits to make people believe by choosing an Air Force career that he or she will have a successful life (Air Force, 2002). For example, the Air Force is relaying that they are dedicated to educational development and will make it easy for a person to build on education throughout his or her career. The Air Force is offering a number of unique academic opportunities and experiences in the Air Force. The public can choose from a variety of colleges, universities, and tech training programs to complete his or her education.
I have asked myself, “Why do I want to be a military officer?” I want to be a military officer so I can be a role model to all Soldiers and civilians. To be an expert in a field of study, so that Soldiers approach me for advice and be a leader to look up to. An officer that knows right from wrong, willing to put the needs of their Soldiers before my own. Lead, mentor, and form young Soldiers to know what it is to be an American Soldier. To keep the traditions of being a military officer as it moves forward in our generation. This is why I want to be an officer in today’s military.
When reflecting on my leadership styles, strengths and weaknesses I am rushed with thoughts, memories, regrets and actions of personal ways that I have handled past situations in the work place and ways that I plan to handle new situations at my new work place. I have had many successes with the way I handle my leadership role but there are also things that I wish that I could go back in time and change. The way some situations are handled, I think to myself, well this could have been done differently or I could have done this instead of what I did to enhance the outcome of the situation. There is always room for improvement in whatever job or task someone takes on and this is just one of those things. During the development of my PLAP, I have had the chance to weigh out my strengths and weaknesses of my leadership and it has been very effective to seeing where improving needs to be met. The plan has also let me evaluate the direction I hope to head in to achieve my leadership goals.
Leaders will no matter what have an influence on our world. They have missions, dreams and ambition, and with these things they are bound to go far. For leaders, what makes these dreams come true is having strong qualities such as leadership practices, values and strengths. If developed and learned how to use correctly, these are what take leaders to the next level and accomplish great things. In the following paper I will talk about leadership in our ever-changing world, explore my leadership practices, values and strengths as well as elaborate on the goals I have made to challenge myself as a leader.
U.S. Armed Forces Overview." Military.com. Rbodapati, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2017. "Thread: Military Service Builds Character."
I want to be and officer so that I can be the example for the new soldiers who come in full of ambition and dreams. I want to be the leader they can trust and follow into any situation no matter what it is. However, I also want to be someone they can rely on and talk to whenever something is going on in their lives. I want to be an officer so I can help those around me and change the Army for the better. I know as an officer I’m set to a higher standard and that what I do and the decisions I make impact everyone around me.
Some people were born to be great leaders and some were born to be great learners. I ask myself this question, “How was I created?” Was I born a leader or was I molded to lead. As I explain my philosophy on how I want to lead, I will first dive into my past to recognize and pin point my creator. October 27th 2004 I raise my right hand in order to serve and protect the United State against all enemies, foreign and domestic. At this moment in my young personal leadership journey, I get my first glimpse of a leadership style, “shut up and listen.”
As an adolescent, I heard countless Army stories from my father, a Vietnam veteran, about the life of a soldier, and in those moments, I dreamt of one day joining the Army. I pursued that goal in early adulthood by joining the National Guard. However, it was not until I graduated college and became an active duty Army officer that I understood the breadth of my father’s stories. As an adult, I am a proactive thinker that works toward achieving long and short term goals. Military service was a childhood goal, and I remain confident, driven, focused, and goal oriented with numerous skills gained over the course of a 12 year Army career, and my Army experience and formal education continue to expand my career and life goals.