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Robert Sinn, (aka Goldfinger on CEO.ca and CeoTechnican on X) and publisher of Goldfinger Capital on YouTube and Substack, joins me to share his pricing and sentiment reflections on gold, silver, copper this year, and the opportunities in related resource stocks that we are seeing in tax loss selling silly season. We start off discussing the corrective move in the precious metals that we've seen in since they peaked out in October, and how this has affected pricing trends in PM mining stocks and thus sector sentiment. This is a longer-format conversation with Robert that really covers a lot of ground. We get into the overall good year that gold, silver, and copper have had, and the profitability of the metals producers, but also contrasted across a fair bit of negativity towards the overall junior mining stocks. We discuss the Newmont earnings miss as one of the triggers of the correction; as the largest and most followed gold stock, but also with an outsized weighting and effect on the GDX. Then we compare that muted to negative reaction with some of the other larger gold producers that in contrast have had much more constructive fundamental results and pricing charts, like Kinross, Agnico Eagle, IAMGold, Wesdome, and Alamos Gold. We then get into investor psychology around trading during pullbacks, the recurring seasonality of tax loss selling, and some of the opportunities that Robert see's at present. He also highlights the fundamental value proposition of 2 specific companies he is animated by in Barksdale Resources Corp. (TSXV: BRO) (OTCQX: BRKCF) and Endurance Gold Corp. (TSXV: EDG) (OTC Pink: ENDGF). In full disclosure, Barksdale and Endurance Gold are positions that Robert holds in his personal portfolio, at the time of this recording, and Endurance Gold is a sponsor of Goldfinger Capital. https://ceo.ca/@goldfinger Click here to follow Robert on X/Twitter https://www.youtube.com/@GoldfingerCapital/videos Follow Robert's analysis on Substack
Last week, we talked about the mystery regarding whether or not Deputy Blake Hassell ever went out to the area in Kingston where on August 5th at 12:34 AM, a 911 caller reported that she heard a woman screaming - that it sounded like she was being raped or tortured. The dispatch report reads, "A caller advised she believes that she heard a woman in the woods behind her house yelling. Stated she believes at one point the woman screamed for help. Caller advised there is not a physical address but it is in area where a bunch of homeless people were camped out.” We know that the caller waited all night for the Madison County's Sheriff's Office to respond, but no one ever came. And that a few weeks later on September 9, Taylor Barksdale's remains were found just a few hundred feet from where that 911 call was placed. Her death was labeled a homicide. The Madison County Sheriff's Department said that only one deputy, Blake Hassell was working the overnight shift from August 4 to August 5. And Sheriff Ronnie Boyd said that Blake Hassell told dispatch that he responded to the call when he didn't. Later that same day, August 5 when his supervisor Sergeant Drew Scott questioned him, he said that he didn't respond to the call because he ‘had just been out to that area 30 minutes or an hour earlier.” But is that true?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dr. Quinton Hennigh, Technical Advisor to Barksdale Resources (OTCQX: BRKCF | TSXV: BRO) points out that silver is going to be in a supply deficit for a long time to come, and current valuations aren't in line with reality. Quinton also provides his outlook on the copper market and why supply is nowhere near meeting demand, along with explaining why he's bullish on Barksdale's copper-silver, lead-zinc Sunnyside project in Arizona.Barksdale Resources Website: https://www.barksdaleresources.comFollow Barksdale Resources on X: https://x.com/BRO_TSXVBarksdale Resources Deep Dive Video: https://youtu.be/NbAxfGD-hWE?si=pywrNMqXEsYGlapHDisclaimer: Commodity Culture was compensated by Barksdale Resources for producing this interview. Jesse Day is not a shareholder of Barksdale Resources. Nothing contained in this video is to be construed as investment advice, do your own due diligence.Follow Jesse Day on X: https://x.com/jessebdayCommodity Culture on Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/CommodityCulture
We've been trying to figure out what happened to Taylor Barksdale in the last few weeks of her life that led her to Kingston, Arkansas At 12:34 on August 5, a 911 caller reported that it a woman was screaming on a rural property in Kingston and that she sounded like she was being raped or tortured. Just over a month later, on September 9, Taylor's remains were found in a field near where the 911 call was made. We have made some headway in finding out what was going on in Taylor Barksdale's life during the last few weeks of her life. We know that she had been staying on and off with her ex-boyfriend, Kenny. Apparently, Taylor and Kenny got into an argument. After that, Kenny's neighbors say that they didn't see her come back to Kenny's residence. After July 20th, Taylor was staying on and off with different friends, and two of those friends who she was hanging out with were men. Men who were also, and two of those friends who she was hanging out with were mutual friends of hers and Kenny's. One of the men lived in a camper on a piece of land near where the 911 call originated from. So who are these men? How do they know Taylor, and what happened to Taylor on that last day of her life that ended with her remains being found in a field? If you have a case you'd like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sheldon Primus, Justin Barksdale, safety consulting, leadership development, Barksdale Safety Solutions, Barksdale Leadership Solutions, safety consultant podcast, organizational culture, leadership coaching, John Maxwell, mission and vision statements, small business growth, safety culture, workplace safety, leadership training, safety entrepreneurship, leadership principles, coaching and mentoring, safety professional tips, personal growth plan, safety compliance, OSHA consulting, consulting strategies, business acumen, safety leadership, communication breakdowns, employee development, leadership workshops, safety podcast, Maxwell method of DISC, safety solutions
Wednesday November 20th, 2024
Our Sounds of Service Series continues for Veterans Day 2024 with two inspiring individuals who have and continue to serve our country. Note* Audio quality was affected due to our interview being over the phone.Thank you for making this interview happen Wil!"Catastrophic aircraft failures", "Averting Catastrophe", Exceptional Airmanship""Heroic recovery at 1,200 ft and dropping", "worst possible case emergency"Air Force Global Strike Command gave the bomber crew the famed General Curtis E. LeMay Award - a rare, high honor.In the first episode, little Wil Powell from LMS isn't little anymore - he's all grown up and soaring high above the clouds and seeing the world with the US Air Force. A master B-52H Stratofortress pilot, Captain Wil Powell is living at one of our nation's two main Air Force bases for this beast of a plane - he is down in Louisiana with the 11th Bomb Squadron. Hear about him almost freezing to death and now how he is practically melting in the summers. Now with a family, Wil shares about growing up on Lookout, his friends, Baylor, McCallie, Auburn, and how he made it to the controls of such an important aircraft. Also, hear about a recent incident that made both national and world news and how Wil was directly involved. Join in and hear from the man himself, making Lookout proud!Thank you, Wilson Powell - thank you for your service!Come home and visit Lookout!Spread the word! Find us at ...theMountainEcho.orgPlease "Like" and 'subscribe' for notification of new episodes on your media player's podcast menu. Also, on regular, full length, non-bonus episodes, many thanks for closing music featuring the Dismembered Tennesseans and vocals by the amazing Laura Walker singing Tennessee Waltz. Opening fiddle music played by the late Mr. Fletcher Bright.
The Madison County Sheriff's Office got a 911 call in the early morning hours of August 5, 2024 from caller who heard sounds that she believed could be from a woman being raped or tortured. But the police never came. Then a few weeks later, people were expressing concern about Taylor Barksdale, a 30-year-old woman who had been living in Huntsville and who had gone missing. When police finally went to the area of the 911 call to investigate on September 9, they went out to a residence in Kingston, and they found Taylor's remains. Taylor was a mother of two young children, someone who was loved by her friends and family and someone who was vulnerable. Someone who died screaming in a dark field, desperately waiting for help that never came.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On September 9, 2024, searchers on a property in Madison County in the area of Kingston, Arkansas, broke open a hay bale and found a body. Police have shared almost no information about this investigation. And while Sheriff Ronnie Boyd at the Madison County Sheriff's office has publicly denied this, some people in Madison County think this body was discovered while the police were searching for Jason Lierl. We did several episodes about that case: 41-year-old Jason Lierl was going through a tough time. His 14-year relationship with his wife Jamaica had deteriorated and they were divorcing. Jason had had issues with drugs in the past and then sometime in the winter of 2022, it seems he relapsed. In January of 2022, Jason Lierl was visiting friends in Madison County. He was last seen at various residences in Huntsville and then...Jason disappeared. His abandoned car was found in the parking lot of a mall in Fayetteville, Arkansas. His car keys, motorcycle and other belongings were found in different places, spread across Arkansas and Missouri, but to this day, no trace of Jason has ever been found. And some people a serial killer is on the loose. If you have a case you'd like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
While at the recent conference in Beaver Creek I received an update on Barksdale Resources (TSX.V:BRO - OTCQX: BRKCF). The Company just commenced drilling on the Sunnyside Project, in Arizona adjacent to the Hermosa Project, being built by South32, comprising the Taylor CRD deposit. Alan Roberts, VP Exploration and Quinton Hennigh, Director of Barksdale Resources joined me to provide insights into the ongoing Phase 2 drill program. We discuss the historical significance of the Sunnyside district, known for its classic CRD (Carbonate Replacement Deposit) model, and the adjacent Taylor CRD deposit. As Barksdale Resources progresses towards its goal of earning a 51% stake in the project, Alan and Quinton break down the specific drilling techniques employed, the geological context, and the challenges and expectations of this exploration. We focus on the multiple targets being tested in this program. Please email me with any follow up questions you have for the team at Barksdale Resources - Fleck@kereport.com. Click here to visit the Barksdale website to learn more about the Company.
Sunday September 8th, 2024 (9AM)
As we step into the back-to-school season, we're diving deep into one of America's most iconic academic institutions: Princeton University. In this episode, I'm joined by W. Barksdale Maynard, an architectural historian and author, to explore Princeton's storied architecture and the rich history that has shaped its unique aesthetic.From the stunning Gothic Revival buildings to the meticulously planned quadrangles and gardens, we'll uncover the architectural marvels that define Princeton's campus. Barksdale will share insights into the evolution of the university's design and the ongoing challenges and decisions that impact the preservation of this historic campus.Join us as we celebrate the institution's legacy and its influence on American architecture and academia. Whether you're a history buff, design enthusiast, or simply curious about the beauty of one of the nation's oldest universities, this conversation promises to offer a fascinating look into Princeton's architectural heritage.Resources:Book: Princeton: America's CampusBook: Woodrow Wilson: Princeton to PresidencyUniversity of Delaware's W. Barksdale Maynard Photographs of Delaware CollectionBook: Artists of Wyeth Country: Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, and Andrew WyethBook: The Brandywine: An Intimate Portrait
In this episode, Shawn talked about his lived experiences and how they could help the community and other returning citizens. To reach Shawn call 434.446.6633. To learn more about the Southside Wellness Coalition and Southside Behavioral Health: Southside Behavioral Health Prevention Services has training and initiatives that will help you to prevent suicide, recognize the signs of overdose, and support wellness in our community with trauma-informed care. Learn more and sign up with us here: Prevention Services You can also email our team at: prevention@southsidebh.org If you are experiencing an emergency, help is available, please call SBH Emergency Services at 1-833-377-7272
Send us a Text Message.Coming from a strong military family, Tom entered the Air Force just after the Vietnam War ended. Now, the US military could concentrate all it's attention on it's biggest threat, the Soviet Union. Tom's first assignment was in northern Maine, one of the last lines of defense during the Cold War. He then was sent to various other bases throughout the US, where he tested air launch nuclear missiles and spent time as an instructor. After 20 years in the USAF, he retired but continued to work as a contractor, training new crew members in B-52 operations. He has been associated with the B-52 for nearly half a century.If you have any questions, comments or ideas for future episodes, please contact me at: RememerMyNamePodcast@gmail.com
Sunday July 28th, 2024 (9AM)
Start your day RIGHT with our new coffee brand Little Ground Top by ordering your bags here www.addressinggettysburg.com/cafe Help us hire a staff for these labor-intensive episodes. It'll only take a few thousand of ye! ;-) Become a Patron and learn more about the Civil War with over 300 episodes just for you. www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg During the early morning hours of July 2, an already sleep-deprived Union Army of the Potomac commander, George Gordon Meade, arrived at Gettysburg to find fresh Federal soldiers reinforcing the battered elements of the army from the previous day's battle. After conferring with his subordinates, Meade rode out to look at the ground. He decided to stay and fight. The Union position was a strong one. Cemetery Hill dominated the surrounding landscape and offered the Union defenders a strong artillery position. Two key roads that led into Gettysburg from Maryland intersected just north of the hill. Those two roads were crucial avenues of resupply and, if necessary, retreat for the Union Army. The side controlling the hill controlled the field, but the position had one weakness. When he arrived the previous day to act in Meade's stead, Union Second Corps Commander Winfield Scott Hancock assessed the position and reported to Meade that it was strong, but the Confederates could turn its left flank. This fact didn't escape Robert E. Lee's experienced eye, either. He astutely turned his attention to planning the action for July 2, devising a strategy that would test the mettle of the Union Army. With Meade deciding to stay, Lee needed to determine the best way to knock the Federals off their strong position. A direct assault on Cemetery Hill could prove devastating for Lee's infantry as they would have to cross open farm fields to attack the hill. Subordinate commanders convinced Lee not to attack the Union Right near Culp's Hill. Just before dawn, Lee dispatched reconnaissance parties to determine the terrain on the Union left and the dispositions of the Army of the Potomac. One such party returned and reported no Union soldiers in the area of Little Round Top. After conferring with his commanders, Lee made his decision. James Longstreet, his trusted second-in-command, his "old warhorse," would take two divisions and, under concealment, get into position to attack the flank of the Union Line. Once Longstreet was in position. His orders directed him to attack north, along the Emmitsburg Road, and roll up the Union left. While Longstreet was executing this move [getting into position?], Ewell's Second Corps would demonstrate on the Union Right to prevent reinforcements from being sent to meet Longstreet. Ewell's demonstration would become an attack if Ewell thought it feasible. [Chas Fennell on this part of the plan] It was a bold plan. One that Confederate General James Longstreet did not care for, but, ever the consummate soldier, he followed orders. Longstreet's Corps, consisting of three divisions under Generals McLaws, Pickett, and Hood, was initially delayed due to the absence of Pickett's division, which was still over 20 miles away. Despite Longstreet's request to wait for Pickett, Lee urged action but acquiesced to Longstreet's request to wait for one of the brigades from Hood's division before commencing the attack. It would be nearly One in the afternoon before Longstreet's march began. While Lee dealt with the logistics of implementing his plans, Meade had his own difficulties with Daniel Sickles, a New York politician-turned-general and Meade's Third Corps Commander. Meade had assigned defensive positions to all of his commands in what is now known as the Fish Hook line. The reason for Sickles' assigned position was either not made apparent to him or was certainly not to his liking. Throughout the morning, Sickles tried to get Meade's permission to redeploy his Corps to what he thought was a better position on higher ground along the Emmitsburg Road. Sickles believed that if the Confederates occupied that ground, they could use it as an artillery platform and make Sickles' position, and much of the rest of the Union line, vulnerable. Every time Sickles tried, Meade brushed him off until he eventually reiterated his original order. Still nervous, Sickles ordered a reconnaissance into a stand of woods just west of the Emmitsburg Road. The reconnaissance discovered Rebels extending the Confederate lines along Seminary Ridge. This information convinced Sickles to take his entire Corps and occupy the ground he desired. However, Sickles' decision to advance detached his Corps from the rest of the army, leaving his command exposed on neutral ground. This decision would prove to be a turning point, almost leading to the destruction of his Corps and having severe consequences for the Army of the Potomac. But it also had the effect of confounding Lee's plans that day. [Jim Hessler on Sickles' thinking] It was nearly one in the afternoon when Longstreet's Corps began its march to the south. During the march, fears of having been discovered by a signal station on Little Round Top led him to order a countermarch to remain concealed. [Jim Hessler on Countermarch] This countermarch had eaten up precious time, and by the time Longstreet's men were in position, they discovered that the Union Army had changed its position since Lee conceived the plans. Instead of finding nothing on the Emmitsburg Road, Longstreet found the entire Third Corps blocking his attack path. This unexpected turn of events forced Longstreet to modify the plan and position of his troops on the spot. [read the following, but you probably won't need it] Longstreet determined to attack with the division of John Bell Hood first, finding and attacking the new Federal left flank. When that attack developed, McLaws' Division was to crash through whatever was in its front. Longstreet's Corps' objective was still Cemetery Hill, but Sickles' new position ensured Longstreet wouldn't get there without a fight. Around 4 in the afternoon, the Confederates launched their attack, forever immortalizing places like the otherworldly place called Devil's Den and Little Round Top. [Licensed Battlefield Guide Tracy Baer] The pastoral landscape of Gettysburg was transformed into a battleground, with ranks of Butternut and Gray clashing among the rocks and hills. The ferocity of the fighting was such that the air was thick with the sounds of gunfire and the cries of the wounded, creating a scene of intense drama and tension. Meade, realizing almost too late the danger the army was in, rushed reinforcements to the scene. Each new reinforcing command escalated the desperate fighting. One Union officer in the Wheatfield remembered, "The men were firing as fast as they could load. The din was almost deafening." By 6 in the evening, Hood's attack had stalled; Hood himself had been wounded early in the fighting. That was when Longstreet ordered McLaws forward. Barksdale's brigade of Mississippians crashed through the Union position at the Peach Orchard at the intersection of the Emmitsburg and Millerstown Roads, plunging the Union defense into a chaotic and intense struggle for survival, a scene that was both overwhelming and terrifying. [Licensed Battlefield Guide Ralph Siegel] The Confederate attacks, cascading from South to North, shattered the Third Corps. Longstreet's Corps fought fiercely, pursuing the remnants of the Federal commands. AP Hill's Corps joined the attack over the Codori Farm, including one small brigade from Florida. [LBG Paul Bailey] Wright's brigade briefly broke through the Second Corps line near a copse of trees on Cemetery Ridge. In previous battles, a situation like this might have unnerved the Army of the Potomac, leading to a defeat. But this time, the soldiers stood their ground, their determination and courage preventing a potential disaster. [Licensed Battlefield Guide Mike Rupert] Timely reinforcements, brave counterattacks from the Pennsylvania Reserves, and men from Maine, Minnesota, New York, and Vermont would stem the Confederate tide as darkness fell across the battlefield. Longstreet would claim that it was the best three hours of fighting that his men had experienced during the war. They had captured some ground and, in the process, had badly mauled elements of three Union Corps. The Third Corps alone would suffer over 4,000 casualties-- some 40%-- including the wounding of their commander, Dan Sickles. The Federals could also rightly claim this was their "best three hours of fighting." They had fought desperately and had not yielded. The shank of the Fish Hook line had held. Though daylight began to wane, the fighting had not, and one New York brigade was about to fight for its life. To bolster the Union left, George Meade had ordered the entire Twelfth Corps to abandon its position on Culp's Hill. But he was soon convinced to allow one brigade to remain. That brigade was that of 62-year-old Brigadier General George Sears Greene. As darkness descended, Confederate Second Corps commander Richard Ewell decided to turn the demonstration into an attack. [Chas Fennel on Greene's Brigade] [RECORD ALL CULP'S HILL STUFF, BUT IT PROBABLY WON'T BE NEEDED IN THE EDIT] Confederates would attack Culp's Hill and East Cemetery Hill, sometimes using the muzzle flashes to locate their target. On Culp's Hill, a Union brigade of New Yorkers under the command of 62-year-old George Sears Greene would be successful in repulsing or halting an entire Confederate division. Greene's little brigade was not enough to cover the whole of the position, and the Confederates did capture some fortifications, but timely reinforcements and the tenacity of Greene's men staved off disaster. At East Cemetery Hill, Louisianans and North Carolinians would brave the incline of the hill and almost make it to the Baltimore Pike before the timely arrival of the Gibraltar Brigade from the 2nd Corps, featuring the 7th West Virginia which, as legend has it, had attached a star "borrowed" from the colors of another regiment to its flag to represent the recently inducted state, pushed back the vaunted Louisiana Tigers. Here again, on this side of the field, the Confederates had some success. However, the tenacity of the Union defenders and the oncoming darkness meant the Union position had bent but was far from broken. [Jessie Wheedleton] General Meade called a Council of War for that night. Corps commanders arrived at his headquarters even as they could hear the dying din of battle in the distant darkness. Meade had received information from his Bureau of Military Information that, up to this point, they had engaged all of Lee's Army except for Pickett's Division. The Army of the Potomac had been bloodied that day, but fresh soldiers from the 6th Corps had arrived after a forced march of over 30 miles that day. In a room of the Lydia Leister House, Meade asked the opinion of his subordinates on what they should do next. The Union commanders decided that they would stay and fight. General Lee did not call a similar Council of War. Instead, in his official report, he claimed the plan for the next day remained unchanged, and the attack would renew on the flanks of the Union Army. July 2, 1863, was a costly day. In intense fighting, both armies combined would sustain over 21,000 casualties. As a point of comparison, The Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American military history, had 23,000 casualties. And still, some of the more dramatic scenes of the war were yet to come.
Sunday June 23rd, 2024 (9AM)
Vanguard's Ryan Barksdale discusses the firm's decision to reopen the PRIMECAP Fund and PRIMECAP Core Fund to new investors, along with the rise of active ETFs and recipe for successful active management. VettaFi's Stacey Morris highlights the recent performance of...
This week, Brady and Sarah sat down with Ashley Barksdale, who is a staff member at 5 Point Church, located in Easley, SC. You may have seen her leading at our Nights of Worship here at The Dream Center! Ashley shares her story of growing up in Italy and all the challenges of moving to the United States. From Visa issues to uncertainty of a job, lots of waiting, and choosing to have faith in God's plan, her story is beyond encouraging. Ashley reminds us that things won't always happen how we want them to, but when we choose to have joy in the waiting, it will be better than we could have imagined. His way is truly the better way. This is an episode you don't want to miss.
Omari Barksdale's roots in Alabama, Palestine, and Detroit's Westside have instilled in him a profound understanding of resilience, strength, and creativity. Today, he advocates for men to build healthy and constructive relationships with women, shares the factual history of race relations in America through artifacts, and lobbies for equity for all people. His extensive work began with organizing initiatives during his teenage years. Omari discusses the lessons learned from his grandparents and mother, which continue to influence him deeply, and how the Honorable JoAnn Watson shaped his understanding of politics and Pan-African support. This enlightening and impactful discussion includes moments of retrospective laughter. Check out Omari Barksdale on Detroit is Different. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com Find out more at https://detroit-is-different.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/detroit-is-different/d72b7f79-17d3-4a8d-8259-94de4b8a2ffc
Wednesday May 29th, 2024
We are LIVE following in the footsteps of the Army of the Potomac as they assault Marye's Heights at Second Fredericksburg. Barksdale's Mississippi brigade and the Washington Artillery tangles with the 6th Corps in the famed Sunken Road. The area came to be known as one of several "Gibraltars of the South." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/battlefields/support
A conversation between brothers in arms who have known each other since the early 1980s - one an athlete, the other his coach at the time.----more---- SUMMARY Neither has ventured far from the Air Force or the Academy. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark '86, the Academy's 21st superintendent, opens up about his leadership journey to Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Mike Gould '76, the man who first coached him all those years ago. Gen. Clark's leadership story is exceptional and Gen. Gould does a masterful job of helping him tell it. OUR FAVORITE QUOTES "The one thing that doesn't change is our mission. And our mission is to develop lieutenants, better leaders of character that are ready to go out and win our wars and that are ready to go out support defend the Constitution. That is it." "Whenever there's Americans on the ground, we're going to do whatever it takes to help them you will do whatever it takes." "Seeing those young guys go out there and do that, and do what they needed to do to help other Americans to help their fellow servicemen that made me prouder than anything." "I am very happy and comfortable to leave this torch with them to hand the torch off to them. And I'm just proud to have served with them." "I am leaving with a lot of gratitude in my heart, just from our cadets from our permanent party, from the alumni that helped us do this and the other supporters." SHARE THIS EPISODE FACEBOOK | LINKEDIN | TWITTER | EMAIL CHAPTERS 00:00: Introduction and Mission of the Air Force Academy 01:09: Lieutenant General Rich Clark's Background and Career 08:27: Making the Best of Unexpected Assignments 10:18: Leadership in Challenging Situations 00:09: Introduction 07:28: Enhancing the Academy's Facilities and Programs 14:57: Developing Leaders of Character 31:11: The Importance of Alumni and Supporters 37:51: Transitioning to the Role of Executive Director of the College Football Playoff 45:08: Conclusion TAKEAWAYS - Leadership is developed through challenging experiences like overcoming adversity, mentoring others, and leading in high-pressure situations like combat. - Support from family, mentors, and sponsor families can help one persevere through difficult times and find purpose. - Having an open mind and making the most of unexpected opportunities can lead to unexpected benefits and career success. - Giving back to one's alma mater through things like financial support, mentorship, and service helps continue its mission and benefits future generations. - Expressing gratitude to those who support your mission helps foster positive relationships and a sense of shared purpose. LT. GEN. CLARK'S BIO Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark '86 is the Superintendent, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He directs a four-year regimen of military training, academics, athletic and character development programs leading to a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force or United States Space Force. Lt. Gen. Clark graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1986. His commands include the 34th Bomb Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota; 12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB, Texas; Eighth Air Force, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, and Joint Functional Component Commander for Global Strike, Offutt AFB, Nebraska. He has also served as a White House Fellow in Washington, D.C.; the Commandant of Cadets, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado; Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché, Cairo, Egypt, and as the Commander, Third Air Force, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Prior to his current assignment, Lt. Gen. Clark served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. - Copy and image credit: af.mil ABOUT LONG BLUE LEADERSHIP Long Blue Leadership drops every two weeks on Tuesdays and is available on Apple Podcasts, TuneIn + Alexa, Spotify and all your favorite podcast platforms. Search @AirForceGrads on your favorite social channels for Long Blue Leadership news and updates! FULL TRANSCRIPT OUR SPEAKERS Our guest is Lt. Gen. Richard Clark '86 | Our host is Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Mike Gould '76 Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 00:12 The one thing that doesn't change is our mission. And our mission is to develop lieutenants, better leaders of character, that are ready to go out and win our wars and that are ready to go out and support and defend the Constitution. That's it. Announcer 00:27 Welcome to the Long Blue Leadership podcast. These are powerful conversations with United States Air Force Academy graduates who have lived their lives with distinction. All leaders of character who candidly share their stories, including their best and worst moments, the challenges they've overcome the people and events that have shaped who they are, and who willingly lend their wisdom to advance your leadership journey. Your host for this special presentation of Long Blue Leadership is Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Mike Gould, USAFA class of '76 and currently serving as a member of the Association and Foundation board of directors. And now, Gen. Mike Gould. Lt. Gen Mike Gould 01:09 My guest today is Lt. Gen. Rich Clark, the 21st superintendent of the Air Force Academy, Class of '86 at USAFA, and if I'm not mistaken, you're about 46 days away from retiring. After a 38-year career, that when you think about it, has spanned so much in our country, starting with the Cold War through conflicts in Southwest Asia, in the Middle East, and the culture wars that we all experience today. I think his experience in active duty is highlighted most by seven commands that he's held; a bomb squadron, a training wing, to numbered Air Force's, the joint functional component command for Global Strike, served as the commandant of cadets here at the Academy. And now like I said, as the 21st superintendent. In addition to that, Gen. Clark served as the senior defense official, and the defense attaché in Cairo during some interesting times, and also served as a White House fellow. And if that's not enough, he's flown over 4,200 hours in the B1, both the EC and KC-135, the T1, the T38, the T6 and the T21. And most notably, 400 of those hours are in combat. So Rich, as you look back on the past nearly four decades of service, I'm sure you have a lot to think about as it's all coming to an end. And really, how it all started. I'd like you to please share with us a little bit about your life as a young child. And you know, some of the influential people who you met in your formative years, and then kind of how that led you here to the Air Force Academy. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 02:58 Wow, well, first, can I call you Coach, General Gould? Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 03:02 You (can) call me Coach… Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 03:03 I'll call you Coach because you were my coach when I was here, and you saw me walk in the doors here. So, I'll talk a little bit about that. But I just want to thank you for letting me be here today. This is a real honor. So, thank you. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark But I grew up in the Bay Area, Oakland, Berkeley, California, and my parents were divorced. So, it was my mother, my brother and I. And then when my mom got remarried, we moved to the East Coast to Richmond, Virginia, and that's where I went to high school, and not a military family. My dad was drafted back in the Vietnam era. He served a short tour, so I don't really remember those days. So, I don't consider myself really from a military family and really hadn't considered joining the military. I played football, I played a lot of sports. Growing up, football was my primary — and track actually, but football the primarily, and I had signed to go to William & Mary in Virginia, and I was going with my best friend from high school and actually in junior high. And Coach Ken Hatfield came to my house. And the Air Force had been recruiting me. So did Army and Navy. And he actually came to my house though and visited my parents. And he had dinner at our house, and my mom thought, “He is such a nice man. And he was like, “Look, just come out and see the Air Force Academy.” Now what he didn't know was that I wanted to, I was very interested in flying more commercial. I always thought I wanted to be a commercial pilot. And he convinced me to come out. My mom was like, “Just go; it's free.” You know, I was like, OK, and so I still had a couple of college visits left. So, I came to the Air Force Academy. I'll be honest, I got here and after seeing the place and seeing the opportunities to fly — just to have a great education and to play Division I college football, I was hooked. And I, my dad — my stepdad who I consider my dad — made me call the coach at William & Mary tell him I was changing my mind. And I signed and came to Air Force. And when I got off the bus and got on those footprints , and they started yelling at me, I was like, “Hey, wait, I'm a football player. You're not supposed to yell at me.” That's what I thought. And that was not true. And the rest is history. And, you know, it was an important decision in my life, certainly. But, you know, I appreciate Coach Hatfield being persistent and coming to get me and, you know, talk to my parents, formative people, obviously. But it was a great decision. Great decision. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 05:48 Did you also visit West Point and or Annapolis? Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 05:52 I did not because I didn't want to go to a — I wasn't interested, really in a service academy. What I will say, though, I did fill out an application to Air Force before Coach Hatfield came. And I did go and do an interview with my congressional member. Because my guidance counselor convinced me to do that in case I didn't get another good offer from somewhere else. And I actually got a congressional appointment. But then the Academy contacted me, and I told them I was going to turn it down. And that's when Coach Hatfield came to my house. But I, I went through the motions, I think, but I didn't really have an intention to come. I wanted to go to William & Mary, and I wasn't even going to visit Army and Navy because, you know, there wasn't something I was interested in. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 06:46 I'll bet you've looked back and asked yourself the question, what would you be doing now had you gone to William and Mary, or one of these other schools? Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 06:54 Hard for me to picture my life without being in the Air Force and the Air Force Academy, right? Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 07:01 Now, you let on a little bit about falling in on the footprints. But as you look back at arriving at the Academy, and you're in now, you signed up and you're going to be a Falcon, what kind of memories do you have about basic training and leading into your first fall semester? Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 07:21 Yeah. So, here's the here's one memory I definitely have — and I talk to the cadets about this sometimes — I mentioned the phone-booth to them. And they're like, “What? “What's a phone booth?” Well, you know, I explained to them, there were these big boxes that had a telephone and you had a card that you could call home. And in basic training, about halfway through, you got to call home. And I call my mom. And I said, “Mom, this place is not for me. I'm ready to come home.” She's like, “Oh, that's great. Because the William & Mary coach called last week to see how you're doing. You could probably still get your scholarship.” And I was like, “Oh.” I was expecting her to say, “Well, you better not come home.” But she said, “You know, that's OK.” And truth is, I looked out the door, you know, they had the glass doors, and all my classmates are lined up out the door waiting for their turn to come in. And honestly, I thought, “Man, I'm not ready to leave these guys yet.” And so, she said, “You come on home, it's OK.” And I said, “Well, you know what, mom, I think I'm just gonna' finish basic training. And then I'll see. I want to stick that out with these guys.” You know, I made some great friends. It's not what I expected, but I liked the people. So, I stayed. And then after basic training, she asked me, “Are you still going to come home?” And I said, “Well, you know, I think I'll stick it out one semester, I'd really like to play football because I've gotten in with the team now. And I got some friends on the team. So maybe I could play one season. I think I've got a good chance to make the varsity.” And I did that. And then it was, “You know, Mom, maybe I'll stay for my rest of my freshman year.” It was like one step at a time until eventually I was like, “You know, I'm in.” But it was not a done deal for a while for me, you know, where I just said, “You know what, this is it. I'm in the right place.” I think after that first year, though, I realized that I was, you know — it took some time though. And football had a lot to do with it. The friends you make, the success we had as a team. That was just great. And I love my squadron. I was in 7th Squadron. Great, great friends there. So, after a year though, I feel like I was in but there was that moment in that phone booth and basic training where I was like, “Man, I don't know.” But I did it and I'm glad I did. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 09:52 Well, everything you just went through right there was referencing the people. That's what kept you there. But then you get into academics and you get your military training. How did you navigate some of those things? And you know, I know you had fun with your buddies and football is always a hoot. But about the other challenges that the Academy threw at you? Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 10:15 Yeah. So, I actually, I liked academics, I did pretty well, I was on Dean's List most semesters, like seven of my eight semesters, I made the Dean's List. So not that I didn't have some challenges. I mean, there's those certain courses that you're just like, “Oh, my goodness.” But overall, academics wasn't the big challenge. I think the challenge for me was not having some of the freedoms that you wanted early on because you're sort of getting acclimatized to it, you know, you're getting used to not being able to do certain things, the military lifestyle, you have to get used to that a little bit. But once I got that — and going back to the people, everybody's kind of struggling with that. And when you're all struggling together, it just makes it a lot more bearable and doable. And I think after that first year, I was in, I was like, “You know, I'm in the right place. And I'm gonna' stay here.” I did have a moment though. When I was a sophomore, I tore my knee up playing football, the last game, San Diego State. Just ripped my ACL. My MCL — meniscus cartilage — had [to be] reconstructed. And I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to play football again. And that made me kind of think a little bit about was I going to stay. And I had to come to terms with some things, you know, “Why am I here? What's my real purpose?” And as much as football meant to me, I was here for something bigger than that. And I realized that unfortunately, at that point when I was injured, I think that was also the point where I really came to terms with why I was here, that it was something bigger than myself. And I wanted to be a part of it. And so I stayed. I was still determined to play and I did get to play, you know, the next season. But my purpose was a bit different, you know, and that injury really helped me kind of figure things out and sort through my greater purpose. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 12:18 Gave you that confidence of overcoming adversity. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 12:21 Absolutely. Like sports does. Right. That's it. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 12:24 Now, back in my day, we didn't really have a sponsorship program — sponsor families in town. But I think by the time you were a cadet, that program existed to have a sponsor family. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 12:41 They were awesome. The Frables, Neil and Elizabeth. I just had lunch with Neil about four months ago. We still we stay in touch and they're just awesome. And they were so good. They sponsored four of us. And they actually gave each of us a key to their house. And a key to their third car. Oh, my goodness, that was a lifesaver. And they cooked a lot. And we ate a lot. And they just they really opened their homes up to us. So, I credit them. I mean, they were my second family, and still just love them for what they did for us. They were a great, great sponsor family. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 13:24 When you were a cadet, did you participate in any formal leadership programs? Did you hold some positions within the cadet wing? Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 13:35 O don't think they thought that highly of me. I wasn't that kind of cadet. I was the D.O. for my squadron. And that was because one of my buddies was a squadron commander. He's like, “Hey, man, will you help me?” And I was like, “Yeah, I'll do this.” But that was the most leadership experience I got and, you know, informal way. But I was glad to do that. It was my squadron. Although, when I told my friends to clean their rooms up and stuff, they'd always give me grief. You know, all these seniors. We were all seniors together. And they're like, “Who are you to tell me this?” Peer leadership is the hardest thing in the world. But yeah, I didn't rise to the level of like group or wing leadership or anything like that. So, the cadets were already surprised to hear that I'm like not, I wasn't that good of a cadet. I mean, I was like your average kind of cadet that did pretty well. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 14:28 Well, you're being modest here. I watched you lead on that football team. You guys had some success and a really tight group. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 14:35 We did. I loved our team. We had a lot of leaders on our football team, though. And people — I always characterize the leadership on our football team — people knew when they needed to lead. You know, there was just times where someone needed to step up and be a leader. And it might not be that you were the leader all the time. But when it was needed, somebody always stepped up. And that was I think the hallmark of our team. And it was just a great group of people, humble leaders, all about team success. And I learned as much leadership from football as I did anywhere else here at the Academy. And credit to Coach DeBerry, Coach Hatfield, you know, all of our coaches, and my teammates, for just helping me develop as a man and, and what kind of a leader and person I wanted to be. So that was as much of a leadership laboratory as anything for me. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 15:33 So, it sounds like when it came time to toss your hat and put on the gold bars, you were prepared to go out and be a lieutenant in the Air Force. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 15:43 I think I was. And my first job was right back and coaching football here. So that was a nice transition from the Academy. I taught unarmed combat, PE, and I coached the JV football team and you, you were at the prep school then I think, Coach, and so… But that was a phenomenal job. And there were like eight of us that stayed back and did that. That was just great. And you know, you had to employ some leadership there because you're trying to lead the cadets. And whether they're on football or in the PE class. So, I learned a lot doing that, but I really enjoyed it. I love being back here. And honestly, it gave me a whole different appreciation for the Academy. Because when you're a cadet, you are looking about five feet in front of you and you don't stop to look at the mountains and you don't stop to look at all that everybody's doing to make this place happen and the passion that people really have for our cadets. That was when I first kind of said, “You know what, this place really is special.” But you don't get that as a cadet necessarily. Some cadets, so they're special anyway, but cadets like me, I didn't know, and I was just ready to graduate. But that one year gave me a whole different appreciation. And I'm grateful for it. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 17:00 Right. And then you headed off to pilot training and like most lieutenants, you know, you're gonna' mix in with a new group of people, a new group of friends. Talk to us about your experience as a student pilot, and then on to start your career flying big airplanes. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 17:18 Yes. So, me and one of my good friends, Mike Chandler, we decided we were going to go to pilot training together. He was a teammate in football. And we were actually roommates when we traveled. And we decided we're going together. So, we both went to Laughlin. And we thought we'll go to Laughlin so there's no distractions, there's good weather, we're going to kill pilot training. And when we got there, we realized there's no distractions at all. And there was nothing else to do there. But we had a great time because of the people in our class. And we're the only two Academy grads in the class. But we just we bonded well as a class and pilot training was pretty good. I do remember though, I almost washed out, like in the first month, because I had a couple bad rides in a row. And you know how you get a couple, three bad rides, and you're out? And especially in those days, we lost half of our class, they washed out 50% of our class. And I had these bad rides. And I had to go to what they call an 89. You know, and what that was if you if you fail three rides in a row, right? If you couldn't do your no-flap landings, and you couldn't get them right in the T-37, then you went to an 88. You fail the 88, then you go to the 89. 89 was the elimination, right? And so, I had to go to an 89. And I had to fly with the squadron commander. And the night before, I call my mom again. I always called my mom. And I was like, Mom, tomorrow might be my last flight because I flew today, I failed the ride, and I don't think a whole lot is gonna' change between tonight and tomorrow. And she was like, “Well enjoy it. Because it might be the last time you get to fly an airplane, so you need to at least have fun. It's been your dream and my heart goes out to you. But enjoy the flight. Don't make your last flight something that was a bad memory for you.” And I was like, “Well, if I fail, it's gonna' be a bad memory.” She said, “But at least have fun. You can have fun.” But it was great advice because I went up there, Coach, and I was just relaxed. I even stopped studying when I called her. I didn't study that night. I went to bed, got up in the morning, didn't get up early and study. I went in there, I did my ground evals. I was usually pretty good in the ground evals and I just went up and I flew the sortie. I remember, he told me to do a cloverleaf, you know, the maneuver the cloverleaf, which was my favorite. I did the cloverleaf and he goes, “OK, we can head on back to the pattern now get your pattern work done.” And I said, “Can I do one more clover?” And he's like, “I don't recommend it, the one you did was fine.” And I said, “I know I just like the cloverleaf. Sir, can I just do one more?” He was like, “OK.” And I did another cloverleaf thinking, “You know, this might be my last time I did the cloverleaf.” I flew back to the pattern, I'm talking to the IP and stuff. I did my landings, you know, really uneventful. Got out of the plane, we're walking back, and he goes, “I don't even know why you're in this ride. That was a great ride.” And I was like, “You mean, I passed?” And he was like, “Yeah, great job today, Lt. Clark, you passed.” And what I realized, it was about just relaxing and flying the plane. And it was the best lesson I ever got in an airplane, when you can relax and just let your training kick in. And just don't worry and let your instincts take over. You just fly better. And my mom sort of taught me that. She's like, “Just relax and have a good time.” So, I sort of credited her with keeping me at the Academy. She got me through pilot training. I mean, she was my mom, too. So, I give her that credit. But yeah, that was a good pilot training memory. And, you know, everything's been great since then. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 21:12 So, you head off, and you're going to the EC135 first, right? So, talk to me a little bit about your career progression there as a captain and major and things you look back on from that period. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 21:27 Well, so, here's one big lesson that I got out. When I got the EC135, I wanted to fly C-130. Really I wanted to fly a gunship. And I thought, “I don't even know what that is I didn't put it on my dream sheet. How did I end up getting this?” I was bummed out. And then one of the IP(s) said, “You know, they handpick people to go into the EC135.” Oh, really? Well, because the EC135 was the airborne command post — the nuclear mission at Offutt and you always had a general officer on board. And you could only fly with instructor pilots and a co-pilot. You couldn't have a straight aircraft commander in that plane. And the co-pilot had an immense amount of responsibility in that mission, and you got a whole lot of flying time. And when you got done with that assignment in two years, you got your choice of your next assignment. And a lot of guys went to fighters. They had to compete for that. But then for me, it was the B-1 and I saw that that was available. And I learned that when I first walked in the door because several people got to FP111s and B-1s. And I was like, “Man, I could do this.” I got 2,000 hours in the T-38 because they had the ACE program, the companion trainer program in the EC. And between those two aircraft, I got 2,000 hours, which was plenty for me to go into the B-1. And then I flew the B-1 basically the rest of my career. And so, it was really one of the lessons I learned. Sometimes you get put somewhere that maybe it didn't want or maybe didn't expect, but you make the best of it. And sometimes there's these, sort of, hidden benefits and successes that you didn't even know about. But if you go there and just bloom where you're planted, good things happen. And I learned that early. Fortunately, in the EC135. I flew the B-1 for 17 years. I flew at McConnell which ended up moving B-1s out of there. Dyess Air Force Base, I flew at Ellsworth as a squadron commander. I did do a stint in the Pentagon and legislative liaison in there and I was also a White House fellow, which was an amazing opportunity for me. But those years and the B-1 and doing the Pentagon and the White House fellow were really amazing years. I met Amy in there and we got married. When I was stationed at Dyess as a captain, well, actually I met her as a captain — we dated, and I pinned on just a few months before we got married. But my flying career was just awesome. And my first command was just absolutely a pinnacle point. It was squadron commander and the 34th Bomb Squadron. And I got into that squadron. Sept. 5, 2001, is when I showed up for that and I had just left the White House fellowship, which was just a fantastic opportunity. But I was riding high Sept. 5, and then Sept. 11, happens and everything changed. The squadron deployed and I wasn't checked out yet in the B-1. I had to go through a re-qual program. And so, I can remember when they left. The squadron was heading out and they were, “…or maybe we could just take you as an unqualified pilot,” blah, blah, blah. There was no way that that was going to happen. And so, I can remember that day, when they were leaving, they left about a month after Sept. 11, in October. And I just went and helped pack up bags. I just did whatever I could to help that squadron out. I wasn't the squadron commander at the time. But I remember thinking, “Man, I can't believe the squadron that I was going to go in is going to go without me.” But they did. And I helped. And I tried to be as much of a contributor as I could. And when they came back, I was all qualified. And then a couple of months after that, I took over the squadron. And then they tapped us to go again. And so, I got to deploy the squadron in combat over Iraq. We deployed to Oman and we flew missions at the beginning of OIF. And that was just an unbelievable experience, growth experience, leadership experience, but really, just something I'll never forget, you know, it was hard. It was tough. We're there for about six months. But leading in combat I think is something we all prepare for and want to be ready for. But it's also an honor, you know, to be able to have that kind of responsibility. And I think back on it, and my timing couldn't have been better for me to be able to do that. It was just a highlight of my career. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 26:31 Can we entice you to tell a quick war story about a Distinguished Flying Cross that you are awarded? Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 26:37 Oh, well, I could talk about that. Can I talk about a different story there? I have a better one, I do. This was one of my proudest moments I think I had as the squadron commander. I had to line up all the crews, you know, to put experience within experience and make sure that they were balanced out with the people that I knew, and who was going to perform the best. And I had 24 crews. They actually sent me extra crews from a different squadron to make sure that we had a full complement. And the last crew that I had were two of the most inexperienced people in our squadron. Two captains and two lieutenants. And one of them was a brand-new FAPE. Has just come from T-37s into the B-1. And I had to have 24 crews and they were the last four people. And I didn't really have another way to balance the experience and inexperience. So, I did it. And the flight commanders were like, “Don't do it. We can't send these guys out like that.” And I said, “We have to; they need to go. And so, on the second night, they went out they had 24 JDAM, 2,000 pound GPS bombs. And they started out. They orbited in the area, they did well. First they delivered their 12 bombs on-target, the direct targets from the ATO, and they hit those targets. And then they were orbiting, waiting for what we call it, x-cast, somebody to call in and say, “I need some bombs.” And our mantra in the squadron was whenever there's Americans on the ground, we're going to do whatever it takes to help them. You will do whatever it takes. And so, they're orbiting, and they're about at bingo fuel in there, meaning the fuel that they needed to go back, and they get a radio call from an AWAC. There's troops in contact and they need some air power. So, they give this crew, the aircraft commander, this young FAPE goes, “Well, we're close to bingo, but we're not there yet. So, give us the coordinates and give us the radio frequency,” and they fly. And they get this JTAC — joint tactical air control — on the ground. And he's like, “We're getting shelled from a ridgeline. There's Iraqi armored vehicles, they're hitting us hard. We need some bombs. We got 150 soldiers down here, can you give us some bombs.” He's like, “Got it, give us the coordinates.” So, they start getting a nine-line there. They're loading the coordinates, and the “Wizzo” is just putting the bombs, you know, he starts putting them on target. Boom, boom, one at a time. And they get the coordinates, bomb on target. But then they hit bingo. And so the aircraft commander tells the JTAC, “Hey, we're at bingo fuel, we need to get going or we're not going to be able to get back home. But we'll get somebody else out here.” And the JTAC says, “If you leave us now, we're going to get pummeled. Can you stay a little longer?” He says, “We'll stay as long as you want.” And so, they keep putting bombs on target. And they keep putting them down until they went Winchester and the JTAC says, “Hey, the shelling stopped. You guys are cleared out.” And when they turn their nose to go home, they didn't have enough fuel to get back. And so, they get on with AWACS and they're talking to AWACS trying to figure something out. They're looking at divert. Field diverting into a field in Iraq is not a good idea. But finally, a KC-135 flies into the country, into Iraq, unarmed, unafraid, gives them gas and then those guys can come home. And when they got back, they were three hours past their estimated arrival time. And I met him at the airplane because I'm going, “What happened?” And when the aircraft commander comes down the ladder, he's got salt stains on his back. They were working hard. I said, “What happened? He goes, “Sir, we overflew our bingo.” I said, “Well, certainly there's more to it than that.” And so, we go into the intel debrief and they told that story. And all of those, that whole crew, was awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses for what they did. And so that of all the things that happened, to see those young guys go out there and do that, and do what they needed to do to help other Americans, to help their fellow servicemen, that made me prouder than anything, Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 30:44 I guess it would. And you took a chance, in a way, by putting this crew together. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 30:49 I did. Yeah. As far as I was concerned, I didn't have a choice, you know, but I had to trust them to do their job. And they were trained. I mean, they had received the training that was required for them to go to combat, so we have to trust them to do it. And they did it. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 31:05 Well, that's a really cool story. And if my math is right, you are about 15-16 years into your career at that time. Let me shift gears a little bit. How much thought did you give to staying in touch with or staying engaged with the Air Force Academy while you were out? You know, developing your career path. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 31:33 I gave a lot of thought to it. I used to come back for football games. I came back for my reunions for sure. And I don't think financially at that point, I hadn't gotten involved. But a couple years later, when our class, our 20th reunion was starting, that's when I really started realizing financially I could and should start to give back to the Academy. So that was when I think from a financial point, I really connected and realized that. But just from a present standpoint and coming back, I came back at every opportunity. I came back for games; I came back for some mentorship opportunities that people asked me to come talk to cadets and things like that. But I never thought I would get to come back here to work. You know, it never crossed my mind until someone asked me to be the commandant years later. And that was like beyond imagination for me, especially knowing what kind of cadet I was. I was like, “OK, you really want me to be the commandant? I don't think so.” But I got that opportunity down the road. I mean, that was after a lot. I went on to be a wing commander, you mentioned I was the wing commander. At 12th Flying Training Wing, I got to fly all the trainers and that was just awesome. And then I deployed to Iraq for a year, which was an intense year, hard year, I would say probably the hardest year I've had, you know, in my career. And then I got promoted to one star. And they sent me to Barksdale Air Force Base as the vice commander of 8th Air Force. And when I came back from Iraq, I knew I'd gotten promoted. And that job was kind of roundabout. They said, “Hey, we're gonna' send you to Barksdale to be the vice at 8th. But that job is actually going to be downgraded to a colonel and you're about to pin on one star. So we're not sure what's going to happen with you next.” I was like, “Oh, man,” trying to remember the lessons of the past though. I said, “OK. This is where I'm going so let's bloom where I'm planted,” right? So, we all move there. Things were great. And then I remember the MATCOM commander called me in one day and he goes, “You know…, they get the phone call from the secretary. I'm gonna', one, I'm a newly pinned on one star. And he goes, “Hey, you know that job you're in is a colonel job?” And I was like, “Yes, sir, I know. But I love it.” You know, I was being positive. He says, “But we're gonna' have to move you out of there.” “Yes sir. Understood.” And he goes, “What would you think about going to the Air Force Academy and be the commandant?” You could have knocked me over with a feather. And that's when you and I first connected, when I got to come be your commandant when you were the supt. And that was just a dream to be able to come back here and that's when I really connected back, you know, when I got a chance to see it, even from a different level. I talked about it as a coach you know, and seeing how special it is and seeing how passionate people are about our school. But being the commandant gave me a whole different view and being able to engage with the cadets and understand what they were doing and trying to push that development for them. Just amazing and I loved it, and Amy loved it, to live in the Otis House, having the cadets over, trying to help them with their, you know, their development. And that's a big job, right? We all know that because you take it very personally, because you want them to be everything that they can be in there. So amazingly talented. You just want to take that talent and give them every opportunity you can to thrive. So, we did that. And after that, even Amy, she might as well be a grad. I mean, she just fell in love with this place after those two years. Our kids, Milo and Zoey, they were 10 and 8 coming in. Our family just was immersed in USAFA. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 35:40 So, I was going to ask you about the role that Amy and the kids played in your development as a leader, but I got to see it firsthand. And you just went through that. When you had to leave the Academy, if you can remember, I'm sure you do remember this, I wanted to keep you here for a third year. Because you were that perfect role model in so many ways for the cadets. Not only your leadership, you know, in the job, but your family and the way these kids could then look up and say, “I want to do that someday. I think I can be like that guy.” And we wanted to keep you another year and then you came out on the two-star list and you moved on to what was undoubtedly a really, really tough assignment as the DAT and senior guy in Cairo. Tell us about that little bit. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 36:30 Yeah, well, if you remember at first they told me I was going to the Pentagon to be the 8th, which was like the big job. If you're a two-star, you go there, the 8th as the programmer. And Amy loves D.C. And so, they told us we were going there. And then I get a phone call from then-Chief of Staff Gen. Schwartz, actually, he called and said, “Hey, I need you to talk to the GAO management office, the GoMo, who do all the assignments for the general.” And I was like, “Oh, yes, sir. Is there a problem?” And I think you might have known about that — you probably knew about this already. Because it was bad news, I think he wanted to tell me personally or something. And so, I called GoMo. And they go, “Yeah, your assignment's changed. You're not going to the Pentagon, you're going to Egypt.” And I go, “Is there a base in Egypt?” They're like, “No, you're gonna' be working at the embassy as the DET.” And I was like, “Ah, OK. All right. That's good.” And so, then the first thing that came to my mind was telling me, I was like, “Oh man, she's gonna' flip out.” Well, I called her. And I said, “Honey, we're not going to D.C.” And here's the thing. Our movers were already in route, like, they were coming to pack us out. And I said, “We're not going to D.C., we're going to Egypt.” I was bracing for impact. And she goes, “Oh my gosh, are you kidding me? That's amazing.” I was like, she couldn't care less about what job I had, she couldn't care less that I was giving up like the best job to target. She was just looking for that adventure of Egypt. And that actually took a lot of heat off me. Because if she's happy, I'm happy. And so, we went to Egypt. And it actually turned out to be great. But we got truncated on the training. Like, you're supposed to get language school, you're supposed to go through this whole defense attaché course. And I didn't have time because it was a late breaking change. And they said, “Don't worry, you don't need all that training because Egypt's on skids.” That was the exact words of the guy that that told me I was getting a job. And he meant Egypt is in a good place. You know, they just elected a new president, democratically elected, and everything's good. Well, when we got there, I got to the airport and we're all sitting in the lounge at the airport, and I picked up a newspaper, and it was in English. And it said that day, the president fired all the military, all the top military leaders. I was like, I guess we're not on skids anymore. And it just went downhill from there. I was there for a month, and they attacked the embassy. And then a year later, the coup happened. Amy and the kids and all the families within the embassy had to go home. It was an order departure. They all had to leave. I remember telling Amy because I was in the meeting with the ambassador when all this happened. And I said “Hey, you might want to pack a bag because I think you're about to go.” She's like, “Pack a bag?” I said, “You can only pack a carry on.” “How long are we going to be gone?” “I don't know.” And they left and they went to D.C. And we had no idea. They ended up being gone for nine months. The kids started school and everything. Well, there was two thirds of the embassy stayed, but it was actually, from a professional standpoint, awesome. To be involved, often to be our representative on the military side, to work with the Egyptian military to try to help navigate through this coup d'état. And they're a country that we were very interested in keeping as a partner. I got a lot of good experience and just cool, like, opportunities to do things. It was a little scary at times, but I actually loved it. And then Amy and the kids came back. We look at that as one of our best assignments as a family. It was just — the Egyptian people are amazing. The travel that we got to do was incredible. And I just loved the assignment, and it goes back, you know, I mentioned to you, sometimes you get an assignment and you're like, “Gosh, what?” And it turns out to be the best thing ever. And that was one of them. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 40:50 And I thought for sure, somewhere in there, you were gonna' say you called your mom. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 40:57 Then I was married, so then I just had to stop calling my mom after that. Well, I still call her but not for advice. I gotta' call Amy, so, you know? Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 41:06 Well, you had a couple more really challenging assignments. But let's talk about your time as superintendent. Not too many people think that you'll grow up someday and have that type of responsibility. And then when you get here, you realize that it's probably one of the most heavily scrutinized positions you can have in the Air Force. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 41:26 That's an understatement. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 41:29 We can both agree on this. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 41:34 But other than the general leadership and the experiences you have throughout your career, this place is different. USAFA is different than any other command, and in many ways more challenging, because you just hadn't had that experience. How do you reflect back on your time as superintendent and the fact that you you've worked through, I think you had two presidents, two commander in chiefs, you had a couple different secretaries, and they all have guidance that comes to you. But your job then is to make that guidance into your own policy. How have you dealt with all that? Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 42:14 You know, honestly, all of us military members are — our job is to make the commander in chief's policy our policy, and to execute that policy. That's our oath. And that's what we do. And so, you know, for me, I feel like we've all done that. I mean, we've all at some point in our careers had to say, you know, “This is the law of the land.” I mean, I'm gonna' follow my oath to the Constitution, support and defend. And that's a part of it. So, in that aspect, you saw it was no different. But like you said, it's such a, I don't know, everybody has an idea. Everybody thinks they can run the Air Force. Everybody thinks that it should flow along their ideological lines, or whatever. And, frankly, it's about our country's policies that we have to abide by. But the one thing that doesn't change is our mission. And our mission is to develop lieutenants that are leaders of character that are ready to go out and win our wars, and that are ready to go out, support, defend the Constitution. That's it. And the policy things that people get so hung up on, sometimes they're really on the periphery, and they're not as entrenched. And what we do as people might think are — our core mission has never changed. There are some nuances, there's some things that might change a little bit, society changes. Young people change, you know, people that are 18 to 24. It's a pretty volatile group, in a way, and they change with society, too. So, we have to tweak and adjust based on our superiors, you know, people in the Pentagon and OSD and our president. We have to change based on society, and who we have coming into the Air Force Academy. And frankly, parents get a vote in this and the things that happen. And alumni always have a voice in this as well. They make their voice well known. But in the end, what it's my job to do is to make sure that our team is inoculated enough from all that, that we can continue to do our job and make sure that these warfighters are ready to go out and do what those lieutenants and those captains did for me as a squadron commander. That we're putting people out that are ready to go do that. And I always have in mind, like that story that I told you, Coach, it's always in the back of my mind. I hope that I'm developing people that are ready to go out and do what Those guys did that day. If our lieutenants are ready to fight like that, then we've succeeded. And that's my goal. I've never been a political person. But I get dragged into it all the time. And my job is to make sure that when I do get dragged into it, that we're still able to execute our mission, and that I don't drag the entirety of the Academy into it. And you know how it is. That's our job as leaders: to provide that top cover, and that shield, so that our people can do their job and produce those lieutenants that are going to go win wars. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 45:34 Well, that's a great attitude, and you've done it well. Tell me about your relationship with the Association of Graduates and Foundation? How have they contributed to your successes here at the Academy? And is there anything that the two organizations could do better? Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 45:52 Well, I will say, let me start off with, enormous support from the Foundation and the AOG. And it's hard for everyone to really know what kinds of things you guys do for us. But all you need to do is drive around the campus, right? And look at the North Commons area, look at our new hotel, look at our visitor center, that's coming up, look at the Cyber Innovation Center that's coming up, look at our football stadium that's getting built. All those things are either fully private or public-private, that the Foundation has to not only raise the money, but facilitate those things happening. And I would say that, nowadays, we're not going to have very much construction that's going to happen here or any growth that the Foundation isn't involved in. You're going to have to be involved in pretty much everything that we do, if we want to keep evolving as an Academy. And since I've been here, the Foundation has done that. And the Foundation and the AOG are only as strong as our alumni. And I guess I've always known that intuitively. But since I've been here, it is entrenched in me and I will always be a supporter of our Academy from a financial standpoint, from my time standpoint, but it's critical, not just for our Academy, but really for the product, those 1,000 lieutenants that we put out, they benefit enormously from the help that we get. And those are just the big things. Forget about all of the research opportunities, the travel opportunities, the opportunities to bring in guest speakers, NCLS, you know, the National Character and Leadership Symposium is NCLS. There's so many other things that people don't even know that only happened because someone was willing to put their resources behind our Academy. And so, you know, the Foundation makes that happen for us to AOG brings them in, but together, that support is just enormous. And, you know, I get a lot of compliments about people who they see — the visitors that we have coming through the Carlton House, you know, the supt. house — thousands of people that come through there: cadets, donors, dignitaries, all kinds of people. All that happens because of gift funds from the Foundation. We're able to represent our Academy in a way that people can't even understand. And that also, you know — there's a synergy from that and an exponential effect from us being able to do those kinds of things that most universities do. But the government doesn't always support those things because it's not in a funding line. But the Foundation helps us to make those things happen. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 48:45 Well, you've summed it up pretty well. Our goal is for the Association to be relevant in the lives of cadets through their time here at the Academy and onto their careers. So that eventually they follow into that continuum where they go to the Foundation and say, “How can I help?” And we're seeing that happen now. And it's nice to hear you recognize that it's been a factor in your time. We're close to running out of time here. Richard, let me ask you about your next big challenge, executive director of the College Football Playoff. This is exciting. What are your thoughts there? Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 49:19 So, I am enormously grateful and blessed to even have this job. I still kind of don't believe it. You know, because it's such a dream job. I'm going from one dream job to another, you know, but it's funny. What I'll say is, it came out of the blue. A search firm contacted me and I had some, I had known them because I was involved in another search for the Mountain West Conference to find our commissioner. And the people that ran the search knew me just because I was on that panel and everything. And the guy calls me one day. He goes “Hey, Rich, I heard you might be retiring soon. I think you mentioned to us would you be willing to put your name in the hat for the executive director of the CFP.” I was like, “Is that a trick question?” And so, he said, “Now you're the longshot candidate.” They wanted a nontraditional candidate on the, you know — they have 15 or 20 people that they're looking at, but they wanted a nontraditional. I was like, “Yeah, I'll do it.” I said, “Can I ask though, do I really have a shot at this?” He goes, “Yeah, everybody has a shot.” I'm like, “OK, so I got a shot. Let's do this.” And I did a phone interview, then I did a Zoom interview, then it was narrowed down to three and an in-person interview. And I got the job, and I couldn't believe it. But what's really interesting, the things that they liked about me, like, they asked me some questions like, “Do you have any media…?” They go, “Do you have any media experience?” I was like, “No.” “Do you have any experience in managing college athletic teams?” “No.” You know, “Do you have any experience and revenue generation?” “No.” I, you know, and I thought, “I'm just done.” But then they started asking me leadership questions and things that any of us in the military, we would all knock them out of the park. They are things that we've all lived and done things that I learned here, you know, at the Air Force Academy. They weren't hard questions; they were things that are second nature to us. The other thing that they liked was that I played football for four years. And being a student-athlete myself, they thought that that was a big benefit. So really, it goes right back to being here at the Academy and getting that job. And now I look at the challenges that it faces, then you just talked about all the scrutiny we get here as a superintendent. Yeah, I think I'm walking right into another job where I'm going to get scrutinized. It's going to the 12-team playoff, you know, this year. Last year, you know, number five team, everybody was all mad and lost their minds. And I think the committee did it right, though. Next year, it'll just be team 13 that's going to be mad. So, I'm ready, though. I'm excited about it. Amy's excited about it. We're going to move to Dallas, which is where the headquarters is. But I still am, you know, I'm sprinting to the finish in this job. So, I don't have a lot of time to think about it. But it's nice to know that I have another great job that I'm going to be able to flow into. I feel incredibly blessed by it. And just for the opportunity to continue to contribute to student success. And to be a part of that. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 52:32 That's a really good thought. And let me just ask you to close this out, Rich. Any parting thoughts to your team here at the Academy, to the cadets and to your teammates as you move on to your second career? Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 52:50 Well, first of all, and you know this, as much as I do, you know, as the supt, you know, you're at the head of the table, right? And you're trying to provide the top cover. But it's really so that all of the amazing teammates — we have the dean of faculty, the commandant, the athletic director, the prep school, airbase wing, just across the board. You know, all of those people in the flying training group too, even though they're not AETC, there's much of this character development effort that we have. But they're the ones that get the job done. And what makes the Air Force Academy so special is that everyone is so passionate about our cadets, and trying to help them to be ready to go out and do the things that we need them to do. That's what makes us special. It's also what makes it kind of hard, though. But I will take hard when people are passionate any day, you know? They just will do this mission and they will do it, whatever it takes to make it right. And to make sure that we're giving those cadets everything they deserve. I couldn't thank them enough from all of our senior leaders right on down to the, you know, the people in the trenches working in Mitchell Hall. You know, I just love this place because of the people that make it work and that make it go to our cadets. I'll be very honest, there's people that go, “What's wrong with this generation? They don't, you know, they're not patriotic; they're not athletic.” These people don't know what on Earth they're talking about. Come spend an hour, 30 minutes, with our cadets and you'll change your mind. These are the most incredible people. They are patriotic. They want to go serve. They might be different than we were. They might be different than you know, even the classes before us. But there is no lack of patriotism and them wanting to serve and them wanting to do great things and to reach their destiny. And they are every bit as much leaders of character as anybody, this generation. They're better. They're smarter, they're more athletic, they're more in touch with their world around them. I am very happy and comfortable to leave this torch with them, to hand the torch off to them. And I'm just proud to have served with them. And then just to everyone out there, all the supporters of the Academy, and we do have a lot, I just thank them, you know, for letting us do our job at helping us do our job and supporting this Academy. So, I am leaving with a lot of gratitude in my heart, just from our cadets from our permanent party, from the alumni that helped us do this and the other supporters. It just makes me feel good about our country, you know, people still care, people still want to serve and to go do great things. And this place exemplifies that, like no other. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 55:48 Rich, that gratitude goes both ways. We're awfully proud of you, Amy, Milo, Zoë, and we just thank you for your years of service and the leadership you've exhibited here at the Academy. You left a mark, trust me, and we wish you all the well in the future as you go on about, and please stay in touch. Thank you. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 56:11 Thank you to the AOG and Foundation. And I'll say this, you know, I thank Amy because she's the one that was willing to go an extra four years because I could have retired as a three star when we started and she said, I'm in that passion from our time as commandant, she was like, “I'm in, let's do this.” And another four years wasn't easy for her. I'll be honest with you. She wants to live in her own house. She wants to… she started a new job. But she, she owned it. And she loves this Academy too. And I have to thank her and Milo and Zoë. They've just been my, that's my team. You know, I mean, in the end, you know, I thank God for them. I thank God for every opportunity. But I am just full of gratitude. So, thanks, Coach. Lt. Gen. Mike Gould 56:59 Well done. Thank you. Lt. Gen.Rich Clark, 21st superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy. Lt. Gen. Richard Clark 57:03 Thanks very much. Yeah, thank you. Announcer: 57:08 Thank you for listening to long blue leadership. If you enjoyed this episode, we encourage you to subscribe, share it with your family and friends and post it to your social channels. Long Blue Leadership is a production of the long blue line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation. The views and opinions of the guests and hosts do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Air Force, Air Force Academy, Academy Association and Foundation, its staff or management. The podcast drops every two weeks on Tuesday mornings. Subscribe to Long Blue Leadership on Apple podcasts, Spotify, tune in plus Alexa, and all your favorite podcast platforms. Search @AirForceGrads on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and more for show announcements and updates and visit long blue leadership.org for past episodes and more long blue line podcast network programming KEYWORDS Air Force Academy, leadership, character, military career, pilot training, squadron command, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Lt. Gen. Richard Clark '86, superintendent, United States Air Force Academy, executive director, college football playoff, Association of Graduates, Foundation, leadership, character development, support, gratitude The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation
Send us a Text Message.Unlock the secrets of baseball's unsung heroes with the catching maestro himself, Xan Barksdale. Our latest episode is a treasure trove of insights, where Xan chronicles his transformative journey from the diamond as a player to his influential coaching and entrepreneurial adventures. You'll be privy to the wisdom gleaned from his days fostering talent at the University of Louisville and East Tennessee State, and how he shaped his legacy with Catching101.com and the inception of CatcherCon, an invaluable gathering place for the catching community.Journey with us through the mind of a coach who's redefining the role of catchers, one pitch at a time. Xan lays out his compelling philosophy of tailoring catcher training to individual strengths, the vital role of understanding the 'why' in their regimen, and the fine balance between speed and decision-making. He shares a wealth of knowledge on game-changing training tools and the significance of constructive partner feedback, highlighting how these innovations are propelling catchers to new heights of excellence.As we close this master class of an episode, Xan reflects on the ever-evolving landscape of catching instruction, enhanced by technology and the power of slow-motion analysis. He celebrates the newfound 'cool' surrounding the position and the rise of strategic thinking among today's athletes, like the agile Gabriel Moreno. Xan's passion culminates with the ethos of CatcherCon, where ideas are pitched, skills are honed, and the future of baseball's catchers is crafted, making this episode an essential listen for anyone with a love for the game.
Wednesday May 1st, 2024
D.J. Barksdale - JMU Safety 4/16 by ESPN Harrisonburg
A conversation with Maj. Julian “Cosmo” Gluck '12, a flyer with the heart of a pilot, the soul of a golden age aviator, and an insatiable yearning to learn. Why? In part to support developing leaders of tomorrow. ----more---- SUMMARY Major Julian "Cosmo" Gluck '12, shares his background and experiences in the Air Force and as a bomber pilot. He discusses his childhood, involvement in various activities, and his decision to join the military. Major Gluck also talks about his leadership roles at the Air Force Academy and the challenges he faced. He then delves into his experience flying B-52s and explains the difference between a pilot and an aviator. Finally, he clarifies the distinction between rated and non-rated officers. He discusses his involvement with the Order of Daedalians, a professional fellowship organization for military aviators. He also shares his experience transitioning to Harvard Business School and the Air Force Reserve and about the importance of leadership across different lanes. Julian reflects on what he has learned about himself and his future plans. He emphasizes the significance of giving back and volunteering, as well as the impact of the Air Force Academy and alumni involvement. OUR FAVORITE QUOTES "I would say the juxtaposition between the military lifestyle—which often is more regimented—and a desire to both give back and be creative. So these secondary and tertiary desires that I really wanted to have in my personal life and professional life to continue to self-actualize and feel comfortable were always at sort of a crossroads, but the Academy made that possible." "I think there is a lot of strength in knowing that you do not know something. And through my time in business school, there is a lot that I think many of those who are coming from civilian careers—that more directly relate to business—would think is just information that everyone is armed with that is absent for many of us who were not as directly involved in running for-profit organizations or who weren't involved in sales, investment banking, or any of these other careers." "I would say, I'm going to do a plug for the AOG: If there are things that you want your AOG to do, you are the person who can help facilitate that as well, just like I aim to, like many others. An alumni organization, a nonprofit, a charity is only as strong as its membership corps." "I think overall down the road, as long as I'm making a positive impact in my circle and in my community, that's the most important thing to me. Like, I don't want to give up the uniform. I've loved serving in the Air Force, and I'll stay in the Air Force Reserve—hopefully as long as they'll keep me—and it would be great to have more opportunities to lead again." "I would leave you with, if you have some time available, if there's money that you're seeking to donate, there is a cause that will resonate with you. Just go to the search engine of your choice, maybe it's Ask Jeeves … [or] go to Lycos—I think that was a search engine—in your Netscape Navigator. Go look up on AOL these interests, and you'll be able to find a charity that works for you.” - Maj. Julian "Cosmo" Gluck '12 SHARE THIS EPISODE FACEBOOK | LINKEDIN | TWITTER | EMAIL CHAPTERS 00:00: Introduction and Background 04:01: Childhood and Life Before the Academy 08:01: Leadership Roles at the Academy 14:53: Flying B-52s 19:50: Difference Between Rated and Non-Rated 21:30: The Order of Daedalians 26:14: Transitioning to Harvard Business School 30:06: Leadership Across Different Lanes 33:08: Learning About Oneself 37:15: Future Plans 40:10: Giving Back and Volunteering 42:37: The Air Force Academy and Alumni Involvement TAKEAWAYS FOR YOU - The Order of Daedalians is the professional fraternal order of military aviators and commemorates the service and valor of World War I pilots while providing fellowship for current and former flyers today. - Programs like the Civil Air Patrol—the civilian auxiliary of the Air Force—provide another avenue for service members, veterans, and civilians to give back in meaningful ways. - Transitioning from the military to civilian life can provide opportunities for strategic development and new ways to support organizations. - Leadership takes different forms in various contexts, from leading in the military to leading in the classroom. - Humility and the willingness to learn from others are important qualities for personal growth and effective leadership. - Giving back and volunteering in various organizations can provide a sense of fulfillment and make a positive impact in the community. - The Air Force Academy and alumni involvement play a significant role in shaping individuals and fostering a sense of pride and service. MAJ. GLUCK'S BIO Maj. Julian "Cosmo" Gluck is a reservist in the Defense Innovation Unit in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He additionally serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Department of the Air Force Company Grade Officers' Council, supporting the 47,000 captains and lieutenants of the Air & Space Forces. Maj. Gluck grew up in LaGrange, Georgia and received his commission in 2012 as a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. During his career he was selected as the 2018 Air Force Times Airman of the Year, received the 2019 Secretary of the Air Force Leadership Award, was named to the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30, and chosen as one of the 2023 Ten Outstanding Young Americans by JCI USA. Prior to his current position, Maj. Gluck served on Air Combat Command staff; served as Aide-de-Camp to the Commander of Seventh Air Force; led 64 aircrew flight equipment and SERE personnel; and was Executive Officer for the Department of Defense's largest bomb group. He is an instructor pilot in the B-52H Stratofortress and is a graduate of Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training. Maj. Gluck flew combat missions in Operations INHERENT RESOLVE and FREEDOM'S SENTINEL out of Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar and has deployed in support of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS - Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster - Air Medal - Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster - Air Force Commendation Medal with five oak leaf clusters - Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster - German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency in Gold PUBLICATIONS “Opening the Door to Cultural Understanding and Mutual Cooperation,” Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, June 2021 “The Gray Legion: Information Warfare Within Our Gates,” Journal of Strategic Security, December 2021 “Kasa-obake: A Spirited Case against Abandoning the U.S.-Japan Nuclear Umbrella,” On the Horizon, May 2022 “South Korea's Second Sight: Risks and Rewards for the ROK-US Alliance with Russia,” Issues & Insights, June 2023 PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS - British-American Project - Center for a New American Security - Council for the United States and Italy - Order of Daedalians - Pacific Forum CONNECT WITH JULIAN LINKEDIN | @JULIANRGLUCK ON INSTAGRAM ABOUT LONG BLUE LEADERSHIP Long Blue Leadership drops every two weeks on Tuesdays and is available on Apple Podcasts, TuneIn + Alexa, Spotify and all your favorite podcast platforms. Search @AirForceGrads on your favorite social channels for Long Blue Leadership news and updates! TRANSCRIPT OUR SPEAKERS Guest, Maj. Julian "Cosmo" Gluck '12 | Your Host, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99 Naviere Walkewicz 00:01 My guest today is Maj. Julian “Cosmo” Gluck, USAFA Class of 2012 graduate of distinction based in Boston. He is currently serving in the Air Force Reserve in the Defense Innovation Unit and pursuing his MBA at the Harvard Business School. There is so much in Maj. Gluck's background that we'll just touch the surface for now. He flew B-52s for more than six years, and in 2023 he was named one of 10 outstanding young Americans, which puts him in the company of American presidents, statesmen and generals, including the Air Force Academy Association and Foundation's Gen. Mike Gould, Class of '76, who received the honor in 1985. In 2020, Maj. Gluck was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list for law and policy. In 2018, he was named Air Force Times airman of the year. He is a published author, public speaker and contributor to international discourse on public policy, sharing his lessons in leadership with students in elementary school, at university, senior leaders in defense, nonprofits, and national level elected policymakers. We'll talk with Maj. Gluck about his work as a member of the Air Force Reserve, and how that relates to his membership in the Order of Daedalians, a fraternal organization founded after World War I comprised of aviators. He is a gregarious man of warmth, humility and humor, always willing to share what he knows with those aspiring to become aviators, lead or be better leaders, and always ready with an enthusiastic, “Howdy!” This should be a very enjoyable conversation. Joining us from Boston, Julian, welcome to Long Blue Leadership. Maj. Julian Gluck '12 01:42 Well, I feel like I have to say howdy now, but I was gonna' say it anyway. So good to be here. Naviere Walkewicz 01:46 Howdy. So glad you're here with us today. Thank you for making the time. We are really excited to learn more about your thoughts on leadership. But as we like to, we want to kind of take a step back, rewind the time a little bit and learn about young Julian. Why don't we start there? Tell us about your childhood life before the Academy. Maj. Julian Gluck '12 02:06 Sure. So, I grew up all around primarily the southeastern United States. My dad's a pilot and was going through different positions. My mom's an occupational therapist. They had met in Texas, but I was born in Florida. And then over the course of my childhood, I lived in Florida, Tennessee, Maryland, South Carolina and Georgia, where I finished out elementary school, middle school and then high school. And when I was a kid, I was involved in a myriad of different activities. I really enjoyed acting and got the chance to co-star in a public broadcasting television show with the GPB, one of the stations back in Georgia. I did a little bit of entrepreneurship, starting a company when I was 14. I became involved in the Civil Air Patrol and high school wrestling, extemporaneous speech competitions. And with all the different activities going on, I wanted to continue on the tradition in my family of military service. Applied to the Air Force Academy. Thankfully, the “Zoo” let me in. And it's been a great time since. Naviere Walkewicz 03:04 Who were some of the influences in your life that kind of led you down that path. I know you mentioned, you know, your family has had many that have served. Are those who influenced you? Are there others maybe that you read or influenced you as well. Maj. Julian Gluck '12 03:16 The members of my family are the largest influence on my decision to join the military. I'm fifth generation. As you go through different lines in the family, people on both sides had served primarily in the United States and hearing their stories of both sacrifice of putting the organization over oneself, the service to country really resonated with me as a kid. And so I knew even when I was very young that I wanted to serve in the military, as well as a lot of the reading I did as a child, I would say. And then going through my time at the Academy was also very much a philosophical focus throughout. A lot of philosophy mixed in as well with the standard books that one would read as a kid. Naviere Walkewicz 04:01 Five generations. Would you say that it was destiny then to go into the military via the Air Force Academy or just the military in general? Or was it really intentional on your part? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 04:11 I think there were definitely some elements of the Academy being the destination. Now as far as Air Force Academy versus a few of the others, I would say lesser options with our rivals on the East Coast there. I wasn't initially sure which one I was going to apply to. And ultimately the Air Force Academy made the most sense to me, primarily because of the Academy's awesome record of placing people into really impactful, strategic roles later on. I like the emphasis on technology. And I think as well, having a Japanese program which only the Air Force Academy and maybe the Naval Academy had, I wanted to take Japanese classes, so that was something that was on my mind. Naviere Walkewicz 04:54 Did you take Japanese class? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 04:56 [Speaking Japanese here.] So, I did indeed study Japanese. It was my minor at the Academy, and sometimes really useful either in like bilateral track to diplomatic scenarios or ordering sushi at really nice restaurants. Naviere Walkewicz 05:16 I don't think I would be as successful. All I remember is [speaking Japanese here], which is, “Where is the bathroom.” Maj. Julian Gluck '12 05:22 That's really important. Naviere Walkewicz 05:26 So let's talk about the Academy. Maybe what were some of the roles in leadership you had? Or let's just talk about your Academy experience in general. Kind of set the stage for us. Maj. Julian Gluck '12 05:34 So, the first leadership role I ever had at the Academy was the Mitchell Hall Food Focus Committee. So, Doolie year, freshman year, I'm sitting in the SAR, the squadron assembly room — I'm not sure if the audience is all super-familiar with the acronyms or if they've changed over time — but I'm in the SAR, and they're like, “Hey, we have a volunteer opportunity.” And I'm just thinking in my mind, I've been at the Academy for a few weeks, this is my chance to be an impactful leader early on, and they just needed someone to test out the food at Mitchell Hall. I raised my hand really proudly. And over the course of the year, I gave my own attempt at food criticism to the excellent staff and Mitchell Hall trying to shape the meals cadets would have. Now, I'm not sure if I've had any jobs since then that is quite as impactful. I'm still trying to chase that incredible opportunity to rate how hard the cookies were, or that the chicken fillet sandwiches were pretty solid. But after that one, I would go into primarily roles that were focused on sort of command-oriented leadership, I was the first sergeant I believe, squadron superintendent for basic cadet training. I served on group staff a couple of times culminating as the Group Commander for Cadet Group 1, First Group, so I had a great time doing that. My summers were spent flying gliders, doing the SERE program when we still had CST, and as well as getting the chance to do an internship at the Senate. So, I was the one cadet that was sent there as sort of an interim military legislative assistant, and did basic another time, as well as the Director of Military Guidance Officers. Another role that I did through sophomore through first year was the Personal Ethics and Education Representative Program, the Peer Program, at a really good time. And I thought that it was really valuable getting to speak with cadets who are having troubles in their personal life, professional life, and really be able to help for more challenging issues, such as ones that may involve the law or medical needs. And then for ones that I felt like I could have a good handle on being able to practice my interpersonal communication and super useful later on in my career. Naviere Walkewicz 08:06 You held many leadership positions, and I'm sure there are many accolades that came with that. What were some of the challenges that you experienced in those positions? And how did you balance being a leader all the time with your own needs, and developing yourself? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 08:20 I would say the juxtaposition between the military lifestyle which often is more regimented, and a desire to both give back and be creative. So, these secondary and tertiary desires that I really wanted to have in my personal life and professional life continue to self-actualize and feel comfortable. We're always at sort of a crossroads. But the Academy thankfully made that possible. Now I did that at the expense of probably getting eight hours of sleep per night, maybe about half of that most of the time, and a lot of all-nighters, but I think there were some people who are just hardcore DGs and still got eight hours of sleep. I'm not one of those. I did not get a lot of it. But when I was there doing the cadet leadership jobs, I needed an outlet. So, for Doolie year, I acted with Blue Bards, I tried to relive a little bit of that child acting background and that was a lot of fun. We did Grease and 12 Angry Men. Then through both four degree year, all the way up through first year, and a little bit as a casual lieutenant, I sung with the In the Stairwell acapella group, and was a beatboxer and sung bass as well. And that was a phenomenal time getting to perform for the senior leaders that came in at the White House a couple times, and then later on getting to relive that as well as an alumnus at the America's Got Talent semifinals doing an exhibition before the then current crop of cadets just totally crushed it out there on the stage. So, I think throughout that time at the Academy, just being able to go, “Hey, I need to really focus on academics, I need I grow in my leadership capabilities.” But I also want creative things. And then community service-oriented things. And that was where I became involved with programs like the Knights of Columbus, when I was a cadet finding ways to give back and the local community and lead volunteer projects across the state of Colorado and then eventually, nationally, internationally. Naviere Walkewicz 10:20 I really appreciate you sharing that. Because I think sometimes there might be a misconception or a perception even that, you know, you can be a leader and you have to be really strict and focus and you can't really focus on other things that you're really passionate about, or you know, that bring joy as well. Right. So maybe you can't have both, but I really appreciate that you shared that you can. So, do you prefer beatboxing or bass? What does that sound like? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 10:44 Well, these days, so I recently joined the Harvard Business School acapella group, which is called Heard on the Street. And I'm still beatboxing. But I'm getting a little bit more into the singing part primarily because over the past 10 years, it's mostly been playing along with my guitar, and singing karaoke. So, I definitely enjoy beatboxing but I'm enjoying doing more singing these days as well. Naviere Walkewicz You're holding back on… Maj. Julian Gluck '12 Go to YouTube and see some old clips. I think I'll refrain from beatboxing on your… I haven't checked this mic to see if like a…. [Beatboxing] Naviere Walkewicz 11:25 So, that was amazing. No, I think that the mic came through fantastically. And no, that is wonderful. We really appreciate that. And again, it also plays into, you know, we really can be fully immersed in a lot of things, right? We don't have to just be down one lane when it comes to leadership and, you know, pursuing our dreams. So, let's talk a little bit about while you were in the military. You share that you flew B-52s for over six years. What was that experience like? And then I'm gonna' ask you a follow-on about flying because there's something as a non-flier, non-rated grad, I just have a question on so first, tell us about what it was like flying B-52. Maj. Julian Gluck '12 12:05 So, flying the B-52, aka the “Buff,” was a blast. It's a very challenging aircraft, I think, compared to many others in the inventory. It is an older platform. It's older than my father. And based on earlier versions that are older than both my parents, and probably many of the current cadets' grandparents. My grandfather, in fact, asked me when I told him I fly the B-52, “They're still flying those?” And I was like, “Indeed, Grandpa, and you enlisted in the Air Force after they'd already been in service.” But I can tell you, although they are up there in years, it's a very lethal platform. It's an effective platform. It's constantly being brought to the forefront of innovation through the incredible work that the tech community does, that the primes and other companies are able to leverage with different technologies as far as munitions, its radar capabilities, a lot of exciting changes with new engines that will be coming about for the next generation of bomber pilots. So, I enjoyed flying it. It definitely had its moments where it tested my limits. And I'm super grateful for the instructors and weapons school graduates who helped develop me from a young, very uncertain co-pilot to being a more adept, and I would say, empowered aviator, as I continued to like, become more comfortable, and eventually have the chance before I departed the community for other opportunities to instruct as well. Naviere Walkewicz 13:39 What were some of the challenges that you faced in that? Was it more just a level of comfort? Or was it other things? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 13:44 I think in the B-52, there's a wide range of different mission-sets that you need to be familiarized with. I mean, not only the nuclear deterrence mission, that is the Secretary of Defense's No. 1 priority, and extremely critical for our ability to deter and assure you also have the close air support mission, you see just a massive suite of different weapons, you need to be able to control an aircraft that has sometimes sluggish controls. And as you're powering through different regimes in the airplane, you also need to be not only taking care of your own aircraft, but if you're flying in formation, as a formation leader, mission leader or even a mission commander, you need to be able to have an awareness of all the other aircraft and players that are out there in the “kill box” or wherever you're operating. So, I think as we're moving up from co-pilot to aircraft commander and mission lead and eventually to instructor, the stakes become higher. The challenges as far as your knowledge set your situational awareness and task management increase. And thankfully with great instructors and those in more senior positions who believed in the opportunity to continue to progress, I had the just joy of a lifetime getting to fly the B-52. Particularly with my crew in 2016 to [2017], as a young co-pilot out in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan in operations Inherent Resolve and Freedom Sentinel. So, by far the most impactful, meaningful six months of my life, and that would not have been possible without the B-52 community. Naviere Walkewicz 15:29 That's really powerful. Thank you. One of the questions that's on my mind, and I think for others that maybe aren't in the aviation community — so, pilot versus aviator: Can you demystify this? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 15:40 Sure, I'll do my best. And I think it also depends on which branch, the terminology differs a little bit, I believe in the Navy particularly. But for the Air Force, I would normally think of an aviator as a rated individual who would either be a pilot, a weapons systems officer or navigator, a flight surgeon, others who have a set of wings on the officer side, and that take part in some aspect of the airplane. Pilots in particular are the ones normally controlling the aircraft as far as the movements of it, which you would normally think of as aviating — whereas like weapon system officers doing the navigating. Naviere Walkewicz 16:26 That is helpful. One of the things we do is we know we have a group of listeners that may not know some of our terms. So, can you explain the difference between rated and nonrated? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 16:35 I will do my best with that as well. So, a rated officer is a person who has gone through a formal technical training program that relates to the flying of a particular mission system. Whether that is an aircraft or a UAS, or remotely piloted aircraft. So, unmanned aerial system for UAS, so these individuals have on their service dress or mess dress or on their flight suit, a set of links that indicate that there's this particular skill set that was developed over time. And the rated aviators have particular requirements. As far as medical, in addition to their technical training, you have to make sure you're able to still fly. And they also have certain other personnel system requirements. So, when I think rated, I think of a person who is in the cockpit or on the airplane with a very specific job of like, an air battle manager is a rated aviator, who on different command control platforms, has a particular mission set with controlling battlespace, that's also considered rated. Naviere Walkewicz 17:48 We want to make sure that everyone feels able to connect with what you're sharing. So that was a fantastic… Maj. Julian Gluck '12 17:54 If there's anything wrong, just go to the comments. Just continue to like — increase the social media exposure by saying, “Cosmo, you're wrong!” And I'll make it. Naviere Walkewicz 18:03 No, that's perfect. Thank you. Well, before we kind of leave this topic of aviation, I'd really like to learn a little bit more about the Order of the Daedalians. Can you talk about this organization a bit? How did it come to be part of your life? I think that's just one that we're not all familiar with. Maj. Julian Gluck '12 18:20 The Order of Daedalians is a professional order of military aviators that was founded by World War I pilots around 1934. And these particular pilots wanted to start an organization that would commemorate the service that occurred, all the valor that took place in the skies for the Great War, and then afterward to be able to continue to interact with each other and then have a network of convivial interaction between them. But over time, the Order of the Daedalians, and through its charitable arm, the Daedalian Foundation, has grown into this organization for all military aviators of around 10,000. I believe in our current membership, and our organization not only helps connect aviators from the past and present, but also to continue to commemorate that service of the founders of the organization. We do scholarships to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars to help students in ROTC programs who wish to become military aviators. And we also have in addition to those academic scholarships, flight scholarships that teach people how to fly. We have a program that supports a Junior ROTC and awards program for different rated aviation training programs to celebrate the success and excellence of the students who are in there. So as the youngest member of the board of trustees, I'm grateful to get to learn from incredible senior leaders and general officers who have flown a variety of different aircraft. And I think it is a wonderful program for those who are still on active duty or in the Reserve as well as those who have separated or who are retired, who would like to continue to swap stories. There are a lot of fantastic speakers who come in and continue to contribute to the next generation of flyer while still paying homage or respect to those who came before us. Naviere Walkewicz 20:16 What's something that's been really personal to you that you've been proud to see the Order of the Daedalians take part in? Can you share maybe a more specific story? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 20:24 So, coming into the organization, I noticed that we had, and I will say this resonates with a lot of sort of Golden Age fraternal organizations like the Knights of Columbus and many others, a wealth of experience with our older members who are very dedicated. Perhaps they're fully retired from their jobs, they have a lot of time to give back, but not as many younger members who are coming in, particularly those who are still actively wearing the uniform and flying. So thankfully, with the support of the full-time professionals at the Order of Daedalians and our trustees and directors at the foundation and the order itself, we got together to discuss a lot of ways to innovate the organization to bring it into its next phase, particularly to help drive recruitment and retention with a lot of these potential younger members by having the opportunity to go to bases and really advocate that the order of the Order of the Daedalians is not only a force for good in that it's helping train new aviators, which is a critical need for the national security enterprise, but it's also a fantastic retention tool by providing a strong network of mentorship. So my hope is that a lot of the meetings that we had take place that focused on bringing everyone together, will eventually culminate in a desire for perhaps any listeners to this particular podcast, who go, “You know what, this is a historic program, I would like to volunteer or be a part of it and get to listen to some amazing stories, and then do my part to give back as well.” Naviere Walkewicz 21:59 Thank you for sharing that. And that really speaks very clearly to me. That's one of the things here at the Association that we're working to do as well, you know, really ignite our younger graduates into membership and participation and engagement. Well, let's shift gears a little bit from the world of aviation, you know, you talked about it as a cadet, you had kind of two facets that you're really interested in the creative side, and also the leadership side. Of course, they don't have to be mutually exclusive. Maybe you can talk about what it's like now to transition. You're at the Harvard Business School, you're an author, let's talk about this lane a little bit. Maj. Julian Gluck '12 22:35 So, I am super grateful to be a reservist. I had a really engaging time on active duty. It was fantastic for leadership development with some fantastic leaders over the years. But the wonderful thing about the Air Force is there's so many different ways to continue serving in uniform. One of my big interests, that was my desire to go back to school, and find other opportunities to support organizations, including the United States government, through ways that I thought were more focused on strategic development. Going to the Reserve, transitioning through the Palace Chase program, and going back to school has made all of that possible. So as a reservist, now I'm assigned to the Defense Innovation Unit, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense where we help with dual-use technologies, helping bring a lot of the technologists and founders leaders of different programs who have ideas that can support a range of portfolios for the Department of Defense, such as autonomy, AI, energy, human systems, bringing those together to help improve our DOD systems, particularly for a lot of these smaller companies that could use a lot of support. So that has been fantastic. I'm still very much in an embryonic stage within my Reserve service. There's a lot for me to learn. And as I'm going through this transition, it's been amazing getting to talk to reservists who've been there and done that. They've done the transition, and they're continuing to give back. It's not about the money for them. It's about a way to continue to give back to our United States military. And that's something it's really inspiring to me, and inspired me a lot when I was out in Korea as an aide and with all the reservists who would come in to be part of the chase and take time away from their families and from their busy jobs to suit up, you know, put on their flight suits, come out to Korea and really make a difference for our bilateral/multilateral organizations out there. So that's been fantastic. At Harvard, it's been a wonderful learning opportunity. I loved my time at the Academy. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It was the perfect undergrad experience for me. Now going through as a grad school student, I'm kind of getting to see that other side. I've got the more college dorm-style apartment even though I'm not living on campus. As you know, it's not quite hacky sack in the quad that I was imagining that college would be. But the range of different people who are members of the HBS Class of 2025 is so interesting, people from all around the world, very different backgrounds. I mean, of course, we have venture capitalists, consultants, bankers here, but there's also a very, I would say, engaged and interesting veteran group. And I really love hanging out with the other veterans who are in both my section and the class at large. In fact, one of the traditions that we started in my section is the veterans would all wear Hawaiian shirts on Fridays, and so I had to buy a lot more Hawaiian shirts, because I was never stationed at Hawaii, did not have a hardly any of them. And that's where I found this Air Force Academy, Hawaiian shirt. Naviere Walkewicz 25:55 So, that is outstanding. Maj. Julian Gluck '12 25:58 I don't think anyone else who's coming on your podcast is probably gonna' have one of these. So, yes, it's been really great at HBS. I'm learning a lot. I have two and a half more semesters left. And I'm excited for what comes next as well. Naviere Walkewicz 26:12 Well, let's dig into that a little bit. So, you went to the Academy, you had incredible opportunities to lead. You've done some of this in the Reserve. And then also, at Harvard, what does leadership look like across those different lanes? How have you seen leadership evolve, and how has it shaped you during this time? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 26:34 The opportunities I had to lead both at the Academy and on active duty, certainly inform and help bring different context and experience to the leadership opportunities I may have at school now or that I hope to have in the future. I will say there's a lot to learn to bring that into full realization as I continue through this transition from military to the civilian world. So as I look at like my experience as a flight commander for aircrew, flight equipment technicians, and SERE when I was at Barksdale, or getting to serve as a director of staff at Air Combat Command, and the A-3, a lot of those involved, be able to help our junior enlisted to be able to work with phenomenal senior non-commissioned officers how to help pass information up and down the chain to innovate, to go through a lot of the administrative challenges that are elements of bureaucracy and probably omnipresent no matter what sort of organization you're in. So those have been great. Now, at school, I would say a lot of the leadership could be leadership in the classroom. For me as someone not coming from Goldman Sachs or Bain, I have a lot of learning and followership I'm enjoying in the classroom right now is getting to really just taken a lot from all of the incredible experiences of my younger section mates and classmates who have had very relevant experience. And then the aspects of the veteran experience that also relate myself and many others in the veteran community who are students at my business school, and I'm sure at many of the other ones across the country in the world are able to relate to is also super-useful. So, I'm excited as I go into professional work, both this summer and after graduation, to be able to bring the gregariousness as described at the beginning to my next job and a lot of those fantastic opportunities to learn and serve in the military as I continue to grow and hopefully become a more effective cross-sector leader. Naviere Walkewicz 28:48 So, you talked about, you know, you have a lot to learn. What has been something you've learned about yourself so far in this journey, thinking about leadership and what our listeners are hoping to glean? You know, what's something you've learned about yourself weather as a follower, to your point, you know, how important is it to be a follower in the world of leadership, etc.? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 29:10 I think there's a lot of strength in knowing that you do not know something. And through my time in business school, there is a lot that I think many of those who are coming from civilian careers that more directly relate to business would think is just information that everyone is armed with. That is absent for many of us who were not as directly involved in running for profit organizations or who weren't involved in sales, investment banking or any of these other careers. So, during my time at HBS, I've definitely practiced the skill of humility. I have seen it in action with some of the challenging tests that I have taken so far over the past semester and a half and I'm learning about myself the sorts of activities that I really enjoy as I consider the kind of careers that are on the outside flying airplanes. And then going into, let's say consulting is a big leap. But there are also a lot of elements of that sort of leadership that are, I would say, at least are correlate with each other. And as I continue to figure out, what am I skilled at, what do I enjoy, and sometimes those aren't always aligned, I can reach out to mentors to classmates, to grads, in particular, I've reached out to a lot of grads who are out there in the civilian world to find out, ‘What do you recommend? How do I improve? How do I grow in this?' And I'm excited for the kind of development that I hope to see and that I will strive to really develop over the next year and a half and then many years ahead? Naviere Walkewicz 30:54 And has there been a tidbit of leadership from some of those mentors, you've reached out to in the graduate committee or across different lanes that have really impacted you? And if so, what would you share with the group? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 31:06 I would say, a lot of the grads I have spoken with that are maybe from like the '90s and 2000s, who have gone to business school or law school or medical school, have shared how much of an impact the military had on them. And where there are sometimes vacuums for that sort of selfless leadership and that aspect of giving back that are in uniform, that you really need something like that, to continue to really feel like you're giving it your all, and that you're in the right place - that you could be like, you could be making millions and millions of dollars. That is a story that was relayed to me by a former Air Force pilot. But if you are not finding a way to really do something for others, it may come across meaningless in many ways, like you can be happy on a yacht. I'm sure if anyone out there has got one, I'm happy to hop on sometime over spring break. But programs like the Civil Air Patrol to the Air Force Auxiliary, that giveaway for grads, who are perhaps still in uniform or out of uniform to continue to give back to do things such as domestic search and rescue, or helping mentor and teach middle school, high school and college students. Those are ways that like really connect you with service, that aren't full time jobs, that have less responsibility. I would say then continuing to serve in the Reserve and still allow a lot of different freedoms that maybe you want to experience that provide another shade of meaning that perhaps you're not getting in one full career. Naviere Walkewicz 32:44 And I think that's really meaningful for people to hear, right? I think, when you're looking at success, how you define success, certainly, there's an element of being able to have the freedom to do things that you want, that money brings. But there's also the fulfillment internally that comes from being part of or doing something bigger. So how much longer in your program? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 33:03 So, I've got two and a half semesters left. I'll graduate, God willing, or I think I remember from my four-degree days, and basically that 20, if you make it that far, like I heard that a lot. Naviere Walkewicz 33:16 All right, so May 2025. What's next, Julian? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 33:19 I'm not sure quite yet after graduation. This summer, I have a really phenomenal opportunity lined up to be a consultant with McKinsey & Company in their London office. So, this is the pre-LinkedIn update. I'll be at McKinsey this summer. I applied to a few other fellowships, and I'm interested in finding ways to continue to learn about these different sectors, how one can grow a company as well as an organization that is a not-for-profit, like most of my experience or within government service. After graduation, I hope to have continued opportunities over the decades to come to give back. Certainly interested in public service, as well as being able to develop different organizations. So, we'll see. But I'm definitely excited for this summer. And I think there's a lot that I have to learn with McKinsey just across the pond. Naviere Walkewicz 34:18 You're certainly no stranger to kind of putting everything into something and kind of seeing the benefits that come from that — all of the awards I went through beyond learning and seeing what's out there, what you just described, is there something else that you're like, at some point down the road, this is something I'm striving for? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 34:34 I think overall down the road, as long as I'm making a positive impact in my circle — and in my community — that's the most important thing to me. Like I don't want to give up the uniform. I've loved serving in the Air Force and I'll stay in the Air Force Reserve, hopefully as long as they'll keep me and it would be great to have more opportunities to lead again. Being a flight commander was immensely rewarding. I really loved working with the airmen and if I had other opportunities to lead more directly in the future, I'd love to do so. And hopefully continue to give back, serve other organizations and continue to volunteer at the local level and on up. Naviere Walkewicz 35:13 And you've had many different experiences in leadership. What are the one or two things you want to leave with the audience to take away from this from you? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 35:24 I would say and I'll plug sort of my company grade Officers Council message. I had a great time in CGSC as lieutenant and a captain and now serving as chairman emeritus for the department, Air Force CTOC. I would say that, for those who are still on active duty, wherever you're stationed, there is a fantastic place where you can serve your community and do your part. And for our grads, and retirees, no matter where you're at, there is a charity that would love to have you on their team. So, providing your time, your talents, your treasure to a variety of organizations, if you want to work with kids, there are fantastic charities out there that will help you mentor the next generation. If you want to support the elderly and those who've come before us. There are plenty of organizations as well. So, I would leave you with, if you have some time available, if there's money that you're seeking to donate, there is a cause that will resonate with you, just go to the search engine of your choice. Maybe it's Ask Jeeves and just put, you know, what I might have to check after this broadcast. Just making sure I said a different one, it would sound like maybe a sponsorship message, but go to Lycos I think that was a search engine in your Netscape Navigator, go look up on AOL, your interests, and you'll be able to find a charity that works for you. And for the other tidbit of leadership, if there is something that you are not good at, there are people who will help you who care about you, that will continue to take time to help you improve in that. And I'm finding that every day at HBS as I make my way through finance classes and accounting that there are classmates who know far more than me, are far smarter than me. And that can really help out. And I think that's the same in uniform, I got lots of help when I was a pilot in the B-52 and would never have made it through pilot training or the bomber schoolhouse in the FTP or many other programs without incredible support from peers and instructors. So that's what I'll leave. Naviere Walkewicz 37:32 Those are gifts of information that just keep giving in so many ways. So, thanks for sharing that. Well, we're at a point where I want to make sure that you had a chance to share everything that you would like to with our listeners. Was there anything I didn't ask you, or something that you really want to share when it comes to leadership? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 37:50 I would say, I'm gonna do a plug for the AOG. If there are things that you want your AOG to do, you are the person who can help facilitate that as well. Just like I aim to, like, many others, an alumni organization, a nonprofit, a charity is only as strong as its membership corps. So, as you continue to think about how you want the Air Force Academy to be a part of your life after graduation, if you're the kind of person that says, “Hey, I drove away from Arnold Hall or North Gate or South Gate with the chapel in my rearview mirror, and it's kind of the furthest thing from my memory at this point,” then, I urge you to consider the impact that the school had, whether it was the those icy days marching outside, or perhaps some of the more fond memories that you'll have of the Zoo. Not everything and everyone's cadet experience was perhaps what you hoped it would be. But all of us were shaped by that experience there. I love the Academy. I got a lot out of it. And I hope to continue to give back to it, whether it's through the AOG, or just being able to talk with the current crop of cadets, alumni and give back. We're either cadets or alumni of an incredible institution. And let's show those other service academies that the Air Force Academy is truly the premier military academy in the United States. Naviere Walkewicz 39:15 I can get behind that. That's outstanding. Thank you so much. So Julian, for our listeners. If anyone wants to get a hold of you, how would you suggest they do that? Maj. Julian Gluck '12 39:23 You'll probably find me surrounded by case studies at HBS. So just wake me up so I'll do some more studying. Other ways — you can find me on LinkedIn. I'm one of the only Julian Glucks. You can also find me on Instagram, it's JulianRGluck. If you put it without the “R”, it'll be one of those other Julian Glucks who's probably tired of people reaching out to him. So, I'm happy to talk with current cadets, grads and continue to build those bonds that we have as Zoomies. Naviere Walkewicz 39:54 Thank you so much for joining us today on Long Blue Leadership, Julian. It's been fantastic. Maj. Julian Gluck '12 39:58 Always happy to chat with you and anyone else from the glorious old Zoo so thank you very much Naviere Walkewicz 40:03 Thank you. KEYWORDS aviators, cadets, leadership, academy, volunteer, organization, continue, flying, Air Force Academy, Julian, Gluck, give, military, charity, opportunities, pilot, serve, learn, rated, fantastic, program, leader The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation
PTF and Nick Tammaro kick things off with a discussion about the morning lines at Keeneland, especially Barksdale on Sunday.Then they go in-depth on the Bluegrass with thoughts on Sierra Leone, Just a Touch, Epic Ride, Dornoch and more. They also talk about the Wood Memorial and Santa Anita Derby with their ideas about what to so with Resilience and Stronghold going forward.Last but not least, they look at the current market for the Kentucky Oaks with analysis of Tarifa, Leslie's Rose, Just FYI and many others.
PTF and Nick Tammaro kick things off with a discussion about the morning lines at Keeneland, especially Barksdale on Sunday.Then they go in-depth on the Bluegrass with thoughts on Sierra Leone, Just a Touch, Epic Ride, Dornoch and more. They also talk about the Wood Memorial and Santa Anita Derby with their ideas about what to so with Resilience and Stronghold going forward.Last but not least, they look at the current market for the Kentucky Oaks with analysis of Tarifa, Leslie's Rose, Just FYI and many others.
Sunday April 7th, 2024
In this “Do Something” episode of Midnight Koffee featuring Poet and activist and domestic Violence AWARENESS Coach Omari Barksdale as well as Domestic Violence Awareness Mentor and coach and Poet Ms Ann Lynn of ( we3Queens) , as we discuss domestic violence/ sexual assault and its affect on individuals and the community. Reflective on the recent passing of artist, friend and community leader, Native Child. As we keep her name in our minds and hearts we are encouraged to do something In the effort of protecting and serving our own communities, even if it's from each other.
Episode 15 - Special Guest Marianna Barksdale!Joel Osteen Never BombsMarianna Barksdale is a comedian, writer and aspiring cat lady based in Nashville, Tennessee. Originally from Florence, Alabama, Marianna is technically a Southerner but you wouldn't know it because her accent almost completely fell off during puberty. She performs regularly at comedy clubs all across the countryFollow Fiona on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/itsmariannabarksdale/The What in Tardation Podcast with Captain AutismStandup comedian and viral sensation AJ Wilkerson, nicknamed Captain Autism, sits down every week with comedians and co-hosts Sydni Stephens, Thomas Leon, Jimmy Hatcha and a variety of guests. This diverse collection of walking talking mental health issues come together in the safe space of The Tard Yard to discuss life, comedy, and current events with all their combined brain power. Enjoy consuming this Tardpod!New episodes every Tuesday!Join the Tardation Nation for pre roll episodes and exclusive content: patreon.com/TardationNationAbout AJ WilkersonWith his nervous charm, endearing smile, and appendix-bursting humor (that actually happened!), AJ has quickly become one of the most relevant young comedians in America, making appearances at Limestone Comedy Festival, Nashville Comedy Festival, Atlanta's West End Comedy Festival, and winning The Portland Comedy Festival. His videos have reached millions of views on virtually every social media platform, he can be heard on Netflix is a Joke Radio on Sirius XM, cameoed in Kevin Smith's Clerks III, and made his standup television debut on Peacock .Follow AJ on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/ajwilkersoncomedy/Get Tickets at https://www.ajwilkerson.com/
Comedian Marianna showed up ready to be vulnerable and honest and it was a beautiful conversation. She unpacks her own attempts to end her life, her mom's attempts to kill her and her brother. She is still seeking out how to even process emotions, literally googling it. She talks about how her parental relationships show up in her romantic relationships and Amber insists that she is happy to become close friends with her after Marianna expresses that she doesn't know how to have close friendships. We also get to witness in real time a trauma response by disassociating. She's a peach and a lady and possible Cate Blanchett's organ clone?Follow Marianna!Subscribe to I'm Fine, Could Be Better!Follow Amber Autry!Follow Melanie Reese and Trauma Therapy of Nashville!If you have a story to share email us at imfinesometimes@gmail.comProduced by Kaylee Harmon - Dewey Comedy ProductionsMusic composed by James Witchell
“I feel like your voice is your courage…it's your bravery.” (Culver Girls Academy student) Can there be any connection more vital in a girl's life than her connection to her voice, her authentic voice? The word “voice” has multiple meanings in the world of girls. Voice is often a term that is used metaphorically to talk about gender equity, implying that to have voice is to have power, to lack voice is to be powerless. We need to remember, however, that every girl already has a voice, a real voice, a voice she uses every day to negotiate her world. But having that voice is only the beginning; she must learn to find that voice, to use that voice, to own that voice. This episode is about the girls who are on that journey and will need our support, our encouragement, our modeling, as they are going to need to be brave. Join host Trudy Hall as she shares a lively conversation with Latricia Barksdale, the Vice President of Lean In Girls, a leadership program that is on a mission to equip girls to be self-assured, resilient, and knowledgeable about the bias they will face in the real world. We live in a world that often sends signals to girls that leadership belongs to others. This conversation reminds us that leadership belongs to them…once they have owned the power of their voice. Resources: Lean in Girls: https://www.leaningirls.org/ ICGS: https://girlsschools.org/ Tell Our Story :https://girlsschools.org/advocacy/blog/2022/07/13/the-icgs-community-poem/ National Coalition of Girls' Schools · Transcript: Speaking up, with Latricia Barksdale.pdf — PDF (94.3 KB)
CEO Rick Trotman provides a corporate update on Barksdale Resources. The discussion focuses on the recent drill results at the Sunnyside project and the exploration plans moving forward. The company has encountered multiple zones with varying mineralization, and they are aiming to reach the core of the system for a significant discovery. Despite the difficulties, Barksdale Resources remains optimistic about the potential of the project.
For this episode, I sat down with a former Hoover High basketball backcourt teammate. Back then, he went by Keith Williams; later in life, he changed his last name to Barksdale, in recognition of his biological father. Together we reminisced about our time in high school and his stellar career as one of the best overall athletes ever to play at Hoover, following his arrival in San Diego from Kentucky at age 15. He talked about his brief stint in the Army and how he returned to fitness, personal training, and athletics. Keith is a self-taught tennis player who eventually became a full-time tennis coach, teaching and coaching his daughter, a back-to-back CIF Singles champion. His daughter is now a college player, planning to pursue the WTA after graduation. Keith has his own clothing line, Top Bark Apparel, and recently co-authored a book, Behind The Mirror - 24 Exceptional Men Volume 2.
Interview with Terri Anne Welyki, VP Corporate CommunicationsRecording date: 19th January 2024Strategic Copper Asset Next to Major Mine Presents Growth PotentialBarksdale Resources offers investors compelling leverage to surging copper demand through its strategically positioned Sunnyside project in Arizona. Located immediately adjacent to South32's Hermosa-Taylor mine, a $2.1 billion copper operation, Sunnyside is likely geologically contiguous to this world-class deposit.Historic drilling within project boundaries during the 1980s intersected high-grade copper, confirming mineralization extends into Barksdale's holdings. However, low copper prices at that time meant Sunnyside was never advance. Barksdale believes the project warrants an updated drilling campaign using modern techniques to thoroughly explore and define the copper resources available.After a 5-year intensive permitting process, Barksdale has secured authorizations for extensive drilling activities, including along the border with South32's mine site. This drilling aims to confirm and expand the scale of copper mineralization identified historically.The first phase comprises 7,000 meters with expedited assay lab analysis expected in early 2024. Additional drilling to earn a 67.5% project interest will continue thereafter.In addition to proving up an independent copper resource, success at Sunnyside could have strategic implications. South32 may assess integrating any discoveries into their existing Hermosa-Taylor infrastructure given the ease of access from underground workings mere meters away. Barksdale's drilling permits notably provide flexibility for the company to pursue mineralization across into South32's own tenure.Major miners including Teck Resources and Osisko Gold Royalties have recognized this value proposition, becoming key Barksdale shareholders. Their industry expertise validates district potential.Sunnyside offers exceptional leverage to both the upside of exploration breakthroughs and opportunities for partnerships with senior miners positioned nearby. Barksdale represents a unique copper investment in what could emerge as one of America's preeminent copper districts.With approximately C$7 million raised in recent months, Barksdale has the capital to accelerate drilling activities to drive near-term catalysts. Expect a consistent news flow throughout 2023 that could substantially rerate Barksdale as assays demonstrate the grades and scale available at this storied past-producing project. Barksdale offers investors looking to ride the copper supercycle a prime opportunity to capitalize on a recovering market, surging sustainable energy demand, and scarcity of development-ready copper projects in first-world mining jurisdictions. Position accordingly with shares appearing meaningfully undervalued at current levels.—Learn more: https://cruxinvestor.com/companies/barksdale-resourcesSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com
In this riveting podcast episode, titled "Entrepreneurial questions how to scale and develop relationships with Shawn A. Barksdale" we delve into the world of entrepreneurship with the insightful Shawn A. Barksdale. Join us as we explore the crucial questions surrounding scaling a business and cultivating meaningful relationships in the entrepreneurial landscape. Shawn's wealth of experience and strategic expertise provide listeners with valuable insights into the dynamic challenges and opportunities faced by entrepreneurs. From scaling tactics to relationship-building strategies, this episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to navigate the complexities of business growth and personal connections in the ever-evolving entrepreneurial journey. Get ready to gain actionable advice and inspiration from a seasoned entrepreneur, Shawn A. Barksdale. www.shawnabarksdale.com 434.446.6633.
Be sure to come see us in the Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_li) Ballroom during LMT Lab Day Chicago 2024 (https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday). Register today! When two technicians that work well together can, only great things can come out of it. Bobby Kenney started in a model room soon after the Army. Eventually he found his way to Barksdale Dental Laboratory (https://barksdaledentallab.com/) to help them open their removable department. Seeking warmer weather and more experience, Bobby went to Florida to work in-office doing implants and conversions. After a small tour of other labs, he took all this knowledge back to Barksdale. Blake Barksdale is the lab manager creating a QUALITY production lab. Makes sense that they are together again. We have a lot of fun talking about full arch workflows with photogrammetry, using exocad, learning for dentists, and growing the lab though education. Join John Wilson from Sunrise Dental Lab (https://www.sunrisedentallaboratory.com/index.php) and many others in the Ivoclar (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_li) Ballroom at LMT Lab Day Chicago 2024 (https://lmtmag.com/lmtlabday). February 22-24, the biggest dental lab show in America happens and the place to be is in the Ivoclar Ballroom where all weekend Elvis Dahl and Barbara Warner will be set up recording everyone all weekend. Head over to voicesfromthebench.com/ivoclar to see a complete line up of all the lectures going on all weekend! We will see you there! Whether you are looking to elevate your craftsmanship or looking to cut back costs, look no further – VITA MFT Teeth (https://vitanorthamerica.com/en-US/VITA-MFT-Anterior-369,273,126133.html) are the ultimate solution for creating lifelike and stunning smiles. Crafted with precision and backed by cutting-edge technology, VITA MFT Teeth offers unparalleled esthetics and durability. And since VITA (https://vitanorthamerica.com/) believes in the power of experiencing excellence firsthand, for a limited time only, they're offering you the chance to get a complimentary case sample. That's right, a full case, absolutely free. Just visit vitanorthamerica.com/freemft (https://www2.vitanorthamerica.com/mft/) Don't wait any longer to start providing your customers with a premium tooth at an economy price. Redeem your free case sample and if you're ready to buy, VITA will even give you an extra 10% discount by shopping online on their newly launched online store. Join the VITA family today. Candulor (https://www.candulor.com/en-us) a dental supply company from Switzerland has solutions no matter if you are analog or digital Check out their PhysioSet TCR (https://www.candulor.com/en-us/product-portfolio/tooth-lines/physioset-tcr) tooth line that has been complemented with 18 new shapes. A total of 48 age-appropriate anterior tooth shapes are available for the laboratory or dental practice to select from. The Swiss School of Prosthetics (https://ssop.swiss/en-us) in Springfield, Missouri is the place to learn all things removable. America with get supported and supplied by the only authorized partner Edmonds Dental Supply (https://edmondsdentalsupply.com/) Candulor, High End Only Special Guests: Blake Barksdale and Bobby Kenney .
In this episode, Sheldon speaks to a former OTIEC student, Justin Barksdale of Barksdale Safety Solutions. Just talks about his safety consulting journey and gives tips on how to work your business part-time and even grow to employ workers.
This podcast was made possible by www.labrottiecreations.com Check out their merchandise and specifically their fun pop pet art custom pieces made from photos of your very own pets. Use the promo code CRIMEXS for 20% off a fun, brightly colored, happy piece of art of your own pet at their site.Music in this episode was licensed for True Crime XS. Our theme song today is Indestructible by Noah Smith. Additional MusicYou can reach us at our website truecrimexs.com and you can leave us a voice message at 252-365-5593. Find us most anywhere with @truecrimexsThanks for listening. Please like and subscribe if you want to hear more and you can come over to patreon.com/truecrimexs and check out what we've got going on there if you'd like to donate to fund future True Crime XS road trip investigations and FOIA requests. We also have some merchandise up at Teepublic http://tee.pub/lic/mZUXW1MOYxMSources:www.namus.govwww.thecharleyproject.comwww.newspapers.comFindlaw.comVarious News Sources Mentioned by NameAd Information:New Era Caps: https://zen.ai/dWeCYLHxxANOaZ6NcKocEwLiquid IV: Link: https://zen.ai/45lYmDnWl1Z3cR66LBX5mAZencastr: Link: https://zen.ai/SFkD99OGWGNz_plc2c_Yaw
Rick Trotman, CEO of Barksdale Resources, provides a drilling update from their Sunnyside Project in Arizona. Rick gives a bit of context of where the drill is at and what they have seen thus far as it approaches the main target at depth.
Join host Kervin K. Searles, LPC, in a profound episode of Speaking with Gravity as he explores restorative practices with Dr. Tawio Barksdale. In this compelling conversation, Kervin and Dr. Barksdale explore the intricacies of building and fortifying relationships with our children through the lens of restorative practices. No matter if you're a parent, guardian, teacher, or anyone playing a role in a child's life, this episode is a must-listen for gaining insights into fostering healthy connections. Discover the power of restorative practices in unlocking communication channels and understanding the emotional needs of the younger generation. Dr. Barksdale, a seasoned expert in the field, shares practical strategies that can be applied in various aspects of a child's life, from the home to the classroom. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/speakingwithgravity/message
From the Urban Action Showcase & Expo 2023, the Kung Fu Drive-In Podcast hosted the BEHIND THE ACTION Panel to talk to some of the stunt professionals that bring the action to life on screen! FEATURING: EVELYN VACCARO: John Wick 3 (2019), Gotham (2018), Luke Cage (2017) KENNY WONG: The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Premium Rush (2012) and R.I.P.D. (2013) RICKY BARKSDALE: Black Panther (2018), Glass (2019) The King of Staten Island (2020) DAVID CHEN: The Walking Dead: Dead City, Gotham, Law & Order JOSE MANUEL: The Man from Kathmandu Vol. 1 (2019), The Fist of the Condor (2023) and Witness: El Testigo (2011). We discuss, debate and dissect kung fu movies and martial arts cinema & tv, past, present, and future! SPONSORS: www.tinboxsolutions.com www.wearenotgoodpeople.com OUTRO MUSIC: http://youtu.be/5zeRoGFft2s by Justin H @KingofKungFuAMP
Barksdale Resources CEO Rick Trotman gives MSD a briefing drilling update from the Sunnyside project. The team has mobilized a second drill rig and in proceeding with its second hole in Arizona. *This was recorded Friday October 20th
Rick Trotman joined us at the Beaver Creek Precious Metals Summit. This episode was recorded prior to this morning's news that the company is well into its first drill hole. We talk about the lead up to this drill campaign at Sunnyside, including the judicial challenges presented to the company.