Podcasts about Wing Commander

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we return with a bonus interview for our series on Interstate '76. We talk about shipping the game's predecessor, pulling together, and making something new. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Podcast breakdown: 1:15 Interview 1:05:22 Break 1:06:00 Outro Issues covered: introducing the guests, having fun making games, great manuals, marrying video games and Hollywood, having more video game applicable experience than you realize, having to right the ship well into development, preordering a game you ended up working on, living in the office, getting enough memory to run the games, opening up space for something new, superheroics and glue, "high polygon counts," muscle cars with guns, being ahead of the curve, sims being in the blood, engine development, come back with your tenth idea, a 28-year scoop on engine work, "I can do that," optimizing and making things up as you go along, making a game like a movie or TV show, a soundtrack that helped drive the game, a team of 12 or 13 people, the few basic bits in a vehicle sim, the players don't know what you've cut, not being arena-based, vigilantes and comic-book heroes, the tools for making the world and a scripted objective system, building from scratch, mission structure, finite state machines and AI, having an identity and character, having a bubble, sticking to your passion, working on a new car game, hearing the chemistry, TTRPGs and alternate histories, our audience maybe not being born yet when this game came out, #minecraft-realm-life.  Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Activision, Mechwarrior 2, 20After1, Cinemaware, Crystal Dynamics, Project Snowblind, Tomb Raider (series), E-Line Games, Never Alone, Colabee, Very Very Spaceship, Niantic, Live Aware, Jamdat, DoggyLawn, Atari 2600, David Crane, Stephen Cartwright, Commodore '64, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, Adventure, River Raid, Bobby Kotick, Mediagenic, Intellivision, Pong, SimCity, Alan Gershenfeld, Howard Marks, DOOM (1993), FASA Interactive, Battletech, Egghead Software, E3/CES, Tim Morten, LucasArts, Totally Games, Larry Holland, TIE Fighter/X-Wing, Star Wars: Starfighter, id Software, Epic, Julio Jerez, Airport '77, The A-Team, Third Eye Blind, Kelly Walker Rogers, Tim Schafer, Carmageddon, Twisted Metal, Watchmen, Jordan Weisman, Microsoft, Wing Commander, Falcon, Fallout, Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, X-COM, Julian Gollop, Alex Garden, Homeworld, Dan Stansfield, Castle Falkenstein, Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe, Minecraft, mors, LostLake, Kaeon, bvron, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.  Next time: Back to Fez Notes: Julio Jerez appears to be from Dominican Republic Twitch Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

We've featured a lot of different kinds of sim games over the years. We've piloted fighter jets, space ships, a ww2-era bomber and even giant mechs. But never before have we gone under water! In a lot of ways, 1993's Subwar 2050 by Particle Systems and MicroProse could be described as "aquatic Wing Commander". But […]

Wing Commander is a bad movie that came out in 1999. Sure it's based on a much beloved computer game series (that features the likes of Mark Hamill) and stars both Freddie Prinze Jr and Matthew Lillard. Plus it was directed by Chris Roberts who not only created the original series but also the upcoming Star Citizen video game which is going to change the way you do video games. All in all though it was a horrible experience. Thanks for watching our Caravan Of Garbare reviewSUBSCRIBE HERE ►► http://goo.gl/pQ39jNHelp support the show and get early episodes ► https://bigsandwich.co/Patreon ► https://patreon.com/mrsundaymoviesJames' Twitter ► http://twitter.coQm/mrsundaymoviesMaso's Twitter ► http://twitter.com/wikipediabrownPatreon ► https://patreon.com/mrsundaymoviesT-Shirts/Merch ► https://www.teepublic.com/stores/mr-sunday-movies The Weekly Planet iTunes ► https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-planet/id718158767?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 The Weekly Planet Direct Download ► https://play.acast.com/s/theweeklyplanetAmazon Affiliate Link ► https://amzn.to/2nc12P4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we sadly conclude our series on Interstate '76. Poor Tim could not really play the game at all, so we're going to have to let this one go, but we'll still talk about a few things. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up to Mission 10 (B) Issues covered: Tim being unable to get the game running, other cultural objects disappearing, physics implementation details from an implementer!, PC compatibility testing, running down bugs even today, flight stick vs controller, acceleration and turning, independent throttle, analog triggers on modern controllers, easy difficulty, getting a lot out of a few cars, making cars seem smarter, lack of uncanny valley, feeling a whole story in a mission, level design vs mission design, repetitive missions in other games, rewarding you with movies, impersonating a President, committing to a stylistic identity, standing out from the crowd, leveraging an IP shift, moving around between teams, the other game made with the same fiction, working remotely in the games industry, fear and trust. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Nosferatu, Moby Dick, Typee, Omoo, Emily Dickinson, Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit, Phil Salvatore, Carlos, Julio Jerez, Daniel Stanfield, Starfighter (series), Quake, Tomb Raider, Ultima Underworld, Trespasser, TIE Fighter, Wing Commander (series), George H. W. Bush, FASA, Duke Nukem, Blood, Shadow Warrior, Gladius, Final Fantasy Tactics, Red Rock, Sam and Max, Republic Commando, Rebel Assault, Mortimer and the Riddles of the Medallion, Wes, Twisted Metal, Luxoflux, Vigilante 8, Star Wars: Demolition, SNES, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Super Star Wars, Big Sky Trooper, Activision, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Dave K, Grand Designs, Bethesda Game Studios, Microsoft, Kingdoms of Amalur, .38 Studios, LostLake, Mors_d, Minecraft, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: TBA Twitch Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Episode Summary: Heather “Lucky” Penney and Senior Fellow Brig Gen Houston "Slider" Cantwell, USAF (Ret.) chat with some of the nation's top remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) commanders about on-going combat contributions and the Air Force's future development path for this incredible mission. They are joined by Brig Gen Christopher "Reggie" Hammond, Director of RPA and Airborne ISR Capabilities at Headquarters Air Force; Col Timothy "Tilt" Monroe, Wing Commander of the 319th Reconnaissance Wing; and Col Nicholas "Fever" Pederson, Wing Commander of the 432nd Wing. Remotely Piloted Aircraft spent the past two decades affording incredible battlefield persistence and compressed the kill chains unlike any weapon system in history. Airmen are now working to develop new tactics, techniques, and procedures to address challenges of today and tomorrow—including the peer threat. We also explore how RPA operations will help inform emerging technologies like Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). Credits: Host: Heather “Lucky” Penney, Senior Resident Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Producer: Shane Thin  Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey Guest: Brig Gen Houston "Slider" Cantwell, USAF (Ret.), Senior Resident Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Guest: Brig Gen Christopher "Reggie" Hammond, Director, RPA and Airborne ISR Capabilities Guest: Col Timothy "Tilt" Monroe, Commander, 319th Reconnaissance Wing Guest: Col Nicholas "Fever" Pederson, Commander, 432nd Wing Links: Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mitchellstudies/ #MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #RPA #UAV #MilitaryLeadership Thank you for your continued support!

Submarines, space mutants, and bad kitties, oh my! Shaun Duke, Paul Weimer, and special guest Natania Barron join forces to tackle Wing Commander (1999)! Together, they talk about the 90s aesthetic, what it means to be pretty in space, the logic of space submarines, the Backstreet Boys, and more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode! Show Notes: If you have a question you'd like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from Holy Mole. You can support his work at patreon.com/holymole. See you later, navigator!

Buckle up for a ride as we chat about vehicle based games! From the cockpit of Wing Commander to the open roads of Burnout Paradise and the retro thrills of Rad Racer. We're taking a tour of games that put you in the driver (or bicycle?) seat. Press B To Cancel now on YouTube! For updates and more episodes please visit our website www.pressbtocancel.com, or find us on Twitter @pressbtocancel Press B is a member of the SuperPod Network; a gaming collective of fellow podcasters and shows. Special thanks to The Last Ancient on SoundCloud for our podcast theme. Find out more at http://pressbtocancel.comRead transcript

Today I talk about the commercial failure Wing Commander movie. A movie based on the Wing Commander series of PC games.

What is it like to be in charge of the one of Canada's largest pilot training bases? What does the future hold for pilot training in Canada, and what are we doing now to ensure our pilots are the best of the best? Colonel Dan Coutts is the current Wing Commander of 15 Wing Moose Jaw. In part 2 of our chat with him, we will discuss current and future plans for pilot flight training in Moose Jaw, we'll talk about why he continues to pursue flight even at the rank of Colonel, and we'll go into some questions from you, our listeners. Tune in today!

This week, Eric, Nick, and Josh discuss: cold weather, beer and coffee, Jar Jar, The Simpsons, Roger Rabbit, Wing Commander, The Room Next Door, Twin Peaks, John Wayne, Creation of the Humanoids, and more! They also mention the movies screening the week of Friday February 7 - Thursday February 13: Eraserhead, Flow, Pulp Fiction, Saturday Night Sinema, and Clue! They neglect to make note of Hard Truths, and Sing Sing, which were booked after the podcast recording. You can always check mayfairtheatre.ca for up to the minute showtimes, and Coming Soon movie listings!

What is it like to fly the CH-146 Griffon for 427 Squadron as it transitioned from a normal Tac Hel Squadron to being part of CANSOFCOM? What about flying in Bosnia, or being Special Operations Support in Afghanistan? How do you take 400 Reserve Tactical Helicopter Squadron and help prepare them for high readiness status? Colonel Dan Coutts is the current Wing Commander of 15 Wing Moose Jaw. In part 1 of our chat with him, we will discuss his early flying days, some of his deployments, as well as some of his leadership opportunities that prepared him leading up to his time as 15 Wing Commander.

Spieleveteranen-Episode #393 (03-2025) Besetzung: Heinrich Lenhardt und Jörg Langer Aufnahmedatum: 15.01.2025 Laufzeit: 1:48:12 Stunden (0:00:15 News & Smalltalk – 0:28:40 Zeitschriften-Zeitreise) Auch im Jahr 2025 ist das TÜV-Zertifikat der Zeitmaschine noch nicht abgelaufen. Sie wird diesmal sogar im News-Segment gebraucht, um die Switch-2-Ankündigung in dieser Episode zu berücksichtigen. Da das Raum-Zeit-Kontinuum dadurch nicht zerstört wurde, kann es im Anschluss mit dem Blättern in vergangenen Jahrzehnten weitergehen. Diesmal begegnen die Veteranen einem Rundentaktik-Kleinod aus Deutschland (2015), dem US-Launch eines MMO-Phänomens (2005) und der spektakulären Filmproduktion für ein Weltraumspiel (1995). Im Bonus-Segment für Patreon-Unterstützer entführt uns ein Spieleveteranen-Flashback zur schicksalhaften Episode 64. Doch zu Beginn der Sendung plaudern wir wie gewohnt über Meldungen, Spielberichte und Hörerpost der Gegenwart. Unterstützt die Spieleveteranen und hört das volle Programm: https://www.patreon.com/spieleveteranen 0:00:15 News & Smalltalk 0:01:59 Gemischte News: Die Switch-2-Enthüllung war etwas dünn, Hinweise auf ein Oblivion-Remake verdichten sich, die Sonic-Filme werden immer erfolgreicher. 0:13:59 Was haben wir zuletzt gespielt? Sword of Aragon, Foundation. 0:25:36 Hörerpost von Pat und Mario. 0:28:30 Zeitschriften-Zeitreise: Januar 2015, 2005, 1995 0:29:31 GamersGlobal und GameStar 2/2015, u.a. mit Blackguards 2, Grey Goo und dem Oculus Rift DK2. 0:50:17 PC Games 2/2005 und GameStar 2/2005, u.a. mit World of Warcraft, Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay und Sid Meier's Pirates! 1:06:41 PC Player 2/1995, u.a. mit Wing Commander 3, System Shock (CD-ROM) und Panzer General. 1:45:46 Abspann.

Episode 236: "Wing Commander to Squadron 42" by GriffinGamingRPG

Happy New Year! This time, the boys have honored a resolution to, once again, inflict movies on their co-hosts. Matt's weapon of choice is the often maligned video game adaptation and production mess that is the 1999 Wing Commander film. Stick around long enough and you might find out why pilgrim is a dirty word and learn to believe that our conversation never existed.

Colonel Scott "Tug" Boatright, commander of the 122nd Fighter Wing at Fort Wayne Air National Guard Base joined Fort Wayne's Morning News to talk about taking over as the new base commander. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Col. (Ret.) Nicole Malachowski '96 shares her insights on leadership, resilience, resurgence, perseverance, advocacy, and how she continues to serve her country, even after her military career. ----more---- A SHOW NOTE:  There are two ways to learn from Col. Malachowski's leadership journey. If you're short on time, the audio version delivers the highlights of her stories in 40 minutes. Her leadership bites, takeaways, keys to leadership and transcript are below. The video version is 1:46:00 and is well worth the investment of your time. This version includes stories and details about the Colonel's journey she hasn't shared before. Click the "Play" button in the video above and settle in for a most enlightening conversation.    SUMMARY Col. (Ret.) Nicole Malachowski '96 is a trailblazer who has broken barriers in both military aviation and advocacy. She was one of the first women to fly combat fighter aircraft, accruing more than 2,300 flight hours in six different aircraft and serving in multiple high-stakes missions, including Operations Deliberate Forge and Iraqi Freedom. But her story doesn't end there. As the first woman to fly with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, a White House Fellow, and a key advisor on military and veterans' issues, Nicole's career has been defined by leadership at the highest levels. After being medically retired due to a Tick-Borne Illness, she turned her focus to advocacy, leading efforts to improve care for the wounded, ill, and injured service members through the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program. Now a passionate advocate for Tick-Borne Disease research, Nicole serves on several national committees and advisory boards, including the Department of Defense's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program.   NICOLE'S LEADERHIP BITES "Leadership is a journey." "The runway behind you is always unusable." "Don't think you have to be perfect to be a leader." "Believe those who believe in you." "Nobody wants to lead a scripted life." "Courage, compassion, and curiosity drive me today." "It's okay to admit when you make mistakes."   SHARE THIS EPISODE LINKEDIN  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK   TAKEAWAYS Leadership is personal - It's about understanding what motivates and drives each individual on your team, and tailoring your approach accordingly. Believe in those who believe in you - Mentors like Mick Jaggers who supported and encouraged Nicole were pivotal in her development as a leader. Don't write yourself or others out of the script - As General Matthews told Nicole, "Nobody wants to lead a scripted life." Embrace opportunities to dream big and take risks. Radical acceptance is key - When Nicole's military career ended unexpectedly, learning to accept the situation allowed her to move forward and find new purpose. Personal values guide your path - Nicole's core values of courage, compassion and curiosity have been instrumental in navigating life's challenges and reinventing herself.   CHAPTERS 00:00  The Journey of Leadership 02:01  Colonel Malachowski's Early Life and Aspirations 06:01  Navigating the Air Force Academy 09:46  Leadership Lessons from Soaring 14:07  Overcoming Challenges in Pilot Training 17:50  Key Leadership Experiences in the Air Force 21:59  Becoming a Thunderbird Pilot 25:47  Transitioning to Civilian Life 30:02  Advocacy and New Beginnings 34:09  Personal Values and Resilience 37:54  Final Thoughts on Leadership   NICOLE'S KEYS TO LEADERSHIP SUCCESS Leadership is a journey that requires growth and learning. It's okay to admit mistakes and seek help. Resilience is key to overcoming challenges. Personal values guide decision-making and actions. Mentorship plays a crucial role in personal and professional development. Failure is often the price of entry for success. Authentic leadership is about understanding and connecting with people. The importance of representation in leadership roles. Transitioning to civilian life can be a new beginning. Embrace opportunities and seize the moment.   ABOUT NICOLE BIO Colonel Nicole Malachowski (USAF, Ret.) is a pioneering leader whose distinguished career spans combat aviation, military advocacy, and public service. As one of the first women to fly fighter jets, Nicole's journey included over 188 combat hours and multiple leadership roles, including F-15E Flight Commander, Instructor Pilot, and Flight Lead. She also made history as the first woman to fly with the USAF Thunderbirds. Throughout her career, Nicole demonstrated exceptional leadership, serving in high-level roles such as a White House Fellow and Executive Director of the ‘Joining Forces' program, where she advised the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden on veterans' issues. After being medically retired due to a neurological Tick-Borne Illness, Nicole transitioned to a new mission: advocating for service members, veterans, and others impacted by chronic illnesses. She's a leader in the national Tick-Borne Disease community, serving on key advisory boards and government committees, and actively mentoring wounded veterans through the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program. Nicole is also a sought-after speaker, author, and consultant, sharing her experiences of overcoming adversity and breaking barriers to inspire the next generation of leaders. Her accomplishments include two master's degrees, induction into the Women in Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame, and founding her own speaking and consulting firm. Today, Nicole continues to serve and lead, using her story to drive change and impact communities across the country.  - Adapted from Col. Malachowski's bio at nicholemalachowski.com   READ NICOLE'S FULL STORY HERE     CONNECT WITH NICOLE LINKEDIN  |  FACEBOOK  |  INSTAGRAM  |  NICOLE'S LINKTREE     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!          ABRIDGED AUDIO TRANSCRIPT DOWNLOAD THE UNABRIDGED VIDEO TRANSCRIPT HERE  SPEAKERS GUEST:  Col. (Ret.) Nicole Malachowski '96  |  HOST:  Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99   SPEAKERS Naviere Walkewicz, Nicole Malachowski   Nicole Malachowski  00:11 You know, leadership is a journey. We're always put into positions that we're supposed to grow into. Don't think you have to be perfect to be a leader. It's okay to admit when you make mistakes, it's okay to ask for help, and it's okay to have failures, as long as you overcome them. And I like to remind folks at all levels of leadership, you know that the runway behind you is always unusable. All you ever have is the runway that's in front of you.   Naviere Walkewicz  00:34 My guest today is Colonel Retired Nicole Malachowski, USAFA class of '96. Her career has been nothing short of extraordinary. Colonel Malachowski is perhaps best known as the first woman to fly as a pilot with the Thunderbirds, a singular distinction that set her path to reaching even greater heights. However, what you might not know is that her journey took an unexpected turn when she faced a sudden life altering loss of her place in the Air Force. The challenges that followed were extreme and personal, but through them, Colonel malikowski demonstrated a resilience and strength that not only transformed her own life, but also empowered her to help others with their own struggles. In today's conversation, we'll dive deep into the personal and professional journey that led her to transition to civilian life, the lessons she learned from the hardships she faced along the way, and how she now advocates for others, sharing the wisdom she's gained from the tough battles she's fought and won. We'll also take a look back at her time at the academy, her experiences as a pilot and the leadership principles that have guided Colonel malikowski, she has become a powerful voice for resilience, perseverance and leadership, and I'm excited to hear her insights on all of these topics. Colonel Malachowski, may I call you Nicole?   Nicole Malachowski  02:34 Yes, please.   Naviere Walkewicz  02:34 Welcome to Long Blue Leadership, and thank you for being here.   Nicole Malachowski  02:37 Thank you for having me.   Naviere Walkewicz  02:38 It's a pleasure. It truly is. I think one of the things that's so exciting for our listeners is really getting to know you. And you know, I think there's no question about who you are in the media, I mean, all the things you've accomplished, but some things that are most special is when we just sit down and kind of get to know you behind the scenes.   Nicole Malachowski  02:53 Indeed, let's do it.   Naviere Walkewicz  02:54 So let's go back to even before the Academy. Where did you grow up? Where are you from? And what were you like as a little girl?   Nicole Malachowski  03:00 Sure, yeah. So I was actually born in central California, in a town called Santa Maria, and I was born, I consider very lucky, because I was born a woman in America, so there was a lot of opportunities, you know, afforded to me. Also very lucky to be born into a solid, you know, middle class family, you know, I was a kid who always had a roof over my head and food on the table, which makes it a lot easier, right, for you to seize opportunities and to be your best. And think it's important that we acknowledge that not everybody is born into that position. And so I was very, very lucky, I will tell you, I was definitely the loner, definitely an introvert. Always have been. A lot of people would be surprised by that, but I am a solid INFJ on the Myers Briggs, but as a young kid, just very quiet, kept to myself. I was very much a dreamer, very curious about things, so I loved to dive into books. I loved school. I was the kid that would take my lunch box, you know, out into the middle of the football field by myself and just stare up at the sky and the clouds moving by, and dream about things. I remember being in the Girl Scouts during junior high we moved down towards Southern California, where I learned about Civil Air Patrol, and then from there, in high school, we actually made a big move to Las Vegas, Nevada. I continued my time in Civil Air Patrol as a cadet, but also joined the Air Force Junior ROTC at my high school.   Naviere Walkewicz  04:16 I'm just drawn to this visual of you with your lunch box in the middle of the football field looking up at this guy. So were you dreaming about flying?   Nicole Malachowski  04:24 I was, you know, I went to an air show when I was five years old, and I remember seeing an f4 phantom fly by, and it flew by so low, and it was so loud, I had to cover my ears. And I remember, like, my chest rumbling, you know, the smell of jet fuel. And I remember thinking, man, like there's a person in there, like, I want to be, you know, that person. And I had come from a family that, you know, honored and respected military service. So both of my grandfathers were career military my father had been drafted into the army during Vietnam. So I knew that, like, you know, military service was honorable and noble and good. And when I discovered that that was a military plane. I remember as a kid putting one plus one is two. I'm like, wait, you can fly jets and serve in the military. That's what I'm going to be. And wow, that was around 1979 and that's right, there are no boundaries on things. So looking up at the sky, watching planes, and of course, in high school in particular, moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, because Nellis Air Force bases there. So, I mean, I would watch the red flag launches and watch how those jets fly. And of course, I would see the six ship of Thunderbirds flying by as a kid, thinking that was pretty cool. So to be honest, I set my sights on the Air Force Academy in elementary school.   Naviere Walkewicz  05:34 Oh, my goodness.   Nicole Malachowski  05:35 Yeah. So when I was five and decided to be a fighter pilot, you had decided, I mean, I was maniacally, maniacally focused. I did not have a backup plan. I am so lucky that things worked out because I have no idea what else I would have done, you know, with my career, but I remember in sixth grade, I wrote a letter to the Air Force Academy. They responded. The admissions office responded with a personalized letter letting me know I'm kind of young to apply now, but here's the application process. They sent me a whole bunch of Air Force Academy swag, and that was it sixth grade. I was going to the Air Force Academy, goodness, when you were actually old enough to apply. Now to the academy.   Naviere Walkewicz  06:13 Let's talk about that process. What was it like for you? Well, I mean, I think it was more exciting than anything else. I told you. I had stayed maniacally focused. I was very particular and organized about prioritizing how my application would look. So of course, I strove to have the good grades, and obviously stayed involved with the activities like Civil Air Patrol or participating in sports like running cross country and track, as well as doing, you know, community service type activities. So I was indeed focused on making sure that application looked good. I remember the thing I was probably the most nervous about were those interviews with your, you know, senators and your representatives, and wondering if I was going to be able to interview well. So I was, you know, putting my best foot forward. And I remember my senior year, it was approximately October, maybe coming up on November about this time, right? And I went to the mailbox to get the mail, and I had the application had already been in, right? Because everything was done before the fall, and I saw this giant envelope from the Air Force Academy. And I thought, No way, because it's only like October or November. And I started shaking, and I opened it right there at the mailbox. I had to go up the street. I opened it, and I feel bad because I think I littered like the envelope all over the street, but I remember opening it up, and the first line was, congratulations. You know, you've been accepted to the class of 1996 and I instantaneously just started crying and running as fast as I could back to my house.   Naviere Walkewicz  07:38 Had you been to the Academy prior to the acceptance?   Nicole Malachowski  07:41 No, never stood a foot on at all. And I remember when my parents came to drop me off for for Jacks Valley and everything basic training, when we came up over that hill, over Monument Hill, and you can see the chapel and the kind of imposing, you know, white buildings on a hill, I was like, Oh, wow, that's extraordinary. And I was really just excited. People ask, were you nervous that day? I was not, because I was just so happy that this, to me, was like the first step of the rest of my life. It was that first real step towards this goal of serving my country, you know, like people my family had, and getting to fly jets while I do it, how cool is that? I don't remember any highs or lows. I do remember I got my enjoyment becoming a cadet, you know, soaring instructor pilot.   Naviere Walkewicz  08:28 So let's talk about that. That is a, kind of a key leadership role as well.   Nicole Malachowski  08:32 Yes, that was my leadership role. So my senior year, I was the cadet soaring squadron commander. Oh, let's talk about Yes, yes. So obviously, between freshman, sophomore year, I signed up as soon as I could, you know, to take soaring, and when I discovered that you could actually apply to be a soaring instructor, and I remember that was a really like growth experience, because it's one thing to be able to fly a glider, it's another thing to be able to try to teach somebody how to do that. And I really, I I give a lot of credit to this, you know, sorry, instructor upgrade program teaching me the skills of, how do you communicate something technical? How do you communicate something hard, this idea that you need to be able to communicate it not just in one way, but two or three different ways, because each of your students is going to come at it with a different skill set or a different perspective or a different personality that responds to different type of teaching. So learning how to tailor your instruction and your care and your leadership to each individual was something I learned here, you know, as a sophomore, this idea that I would carry that on into my career as a leader and, you know, ultimately into being, you know, a fighter squadron commander. This tailored leadership actually started here, but soaring is what was my respite. Soaring is where I refilled that tank. It's one thing to be successful yourself. It's a whole different level to teach somebody else to be successful.   Naviere Walkewicz  09:55 So you knew you enjoyed Well, obviously you enjoyed the flying? And soaring, the leadership aspect, I think, was something that was new to you then. Or had you done that in Civil Air Patrol? Did you also have leadership there?   Nicole Malachowski  10:06 Yeah, I had leadership experience in Civil Air Patrol, but I think this was a different level. You know, my senior year becoming the cadet soaring squadron commander, it was really cool, because not only were you trying to take inputs from your peers and your colleagues on things we could improve or do differently, you know, valuing the other cadets opinions. But how do I translate that to leadership? How do I go now and talk to the real officers, the active duty officers in charge, and go, these are maybe resources we need, or things culturally, you know, that we need to change, and that was hard for me, you know, because I had never done that before. How do you advocate for your peers in a way that's understood, you know, by the active duty leadership. So that was really something that, again, would become important in my military career, because when you're put in a leadership role, you know, it's about, I think, advocating for the people who you are, you know, accountable for and responsible to, yes, and so how can you do that and do it in a way that it's received? Well, yes, you know, by the leadership above you,   Naviere Walkewicz  11:07 After you graduated from the Academy, you went on to pilot training.   Nicole Malachowski  11:11 I was slated to go early right after graduation, and I was a casual status Lieutenant flying gliders. Of course, went out for a jog and broke my ankle. So this would be my first kind of little, little detour. And I ended up, they offered me to go, to go to shepherd a lot later, or as soon as my ankle was healed, I could go to Columbus Air Force Base Mississippi right away. And I said, I gotta go, like, I cannot sit around and wait. I want to go to Columbus Air Force Base Mississippi. And everyone's like, what you're going to turn down, like, the chance of going to fighters to like, have to fight for it at Columbus. I like, I can't be stagnant. I need to go. So showed up at Columbus Air Force Base Mississippi, and again, really grateful for all of the flying experience that I had. I think that just those foundational procedures, you know, foundational knowledge, was vital to being a little more comfortable than other people that didn't have that experience. It was easy to be slightly ahead of the curve early on, but as I like to tell people, I fell flat on my face across the starting line my second check ride in pilot training, I failed. Now, pilot training at that time was about a year long. There were about 10 check rides, and at that time, failing one check ride, statistically, traditionally, would take you out of the running for graduating high enough to be a fighter pilot. This was devastating to me, and I remember even having fleeting moments that night of like, maybe I should just quit. Now this is, of course, the youth in me, right? I'm a 21 year old kid, and I'm just getting a little bit emotional about it, but if I can't be a fighter pilot and I just knock myself out of the running, I should quit. And I didn't call my parents because I didn't want to tell them I was too, like, embarrassed maybe, to say, like, hey, my dream that you all have supported is about to come to an end, because I messed up, and I made a really junior varsity mistake. And so I called my mentor, Sue Ross, and then she just let me talk, and she's like, are you done? And I'm done. And she goes, Well, are you going to do that again tomorrow? And I said, Sue, how am I supposed to get back in the jet tomorrow? How do I face my peers? I've been telling them I'm going to fly strike Eagles this whole time. Like this is so embarrassing. What if I fail again? What if I fail again tomorrow? And I remember, she talked me off the ledge, man, you know, and I came away. I came away with that conversation, realizing that indeed, I think I rarely believe failure is the price of entry for achieving something great, because if you have the right mindset, you come away with failures, I think a lot more committed, a lot more dedicated, a lot more focused, and I think a lot more humble, and all of those characteristics and traits are good things. You know, it worked out for me, and I did finish fourth in my class, and I had an extraordinary class. It was a time of great cultural change in the Air Force, because we were the first group of women to come through pilot training with the option of flying fighter aircraft.   Naviere Walkewicz  14:04 So talk about your time while you're in uniform. You had some key leadership positions. You were squadron commander. Can you share some of your stories with that and maybe even some high points and some lessons learned, where you as a leader felt that maybe, maybe it was a low point or a failure, but you grew from it?   Nicole Malachowski 14:20 Sure, sure. Yes. I mean, I had so many, you know, different fun assignments. You know, obviously when you're in your first fighter squadron, I got out at RAF Lake and Heath out there in England. I mean, what a rage right to be a lieutenant flying strike Eagles at 500 feet, 500 miles an hour, up Loch Ness, to live in the dream, you know, becoming in my second squadron, which was at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, becoming a, you know, flight lead and upgrading to instructor pilot. Very nervous to go into the instructor pilot upgrade. I went in very young. In fact, when I got to that squadron, the weapons officer said, hey, I want to put you in the instructor upgrade. And I was like, no. Away like I am not ready for that. I am not good enough for that. And I was new to the squadron. There were people technically older and more experienced than me. They were in the queue, and he wanted me to jump the queue, a guy by the name of Michael Jaggers, call sign, Mick, I'm still friends with him to this day, and I remember I avoided him. I avoided him like the plague because I did not want to upgrade to instructor. And I remember saying, Mick, I just am not sure I can do this. And he looked at me, and he said, it's not your job to get through it. It's not your job to get through it alone. It's my job. It's my job to ensure you have what it takes and what you need. It's my job to teach you to be a good instructor. So your success is going to be my success. I will not let you fail. What a glorious man, what a wonderful instructor. And the lesson learned here to people is this, believe those who believe in you. Believe those who believe in you.   Naviere Walkewicz  15:52 It's true, though it really is. And those people, I think sometimes your trajectory can change or just like, accelerate, because someone gave you a little bit of courage that you just needed that little piece.   Nicole Malachowski 16:03 And to learn as I gained experience and credibility how to replicate that and how to be that person for other people, right? Because it's about turning around. It really is about lifting up other people. Your success isn't your own. It's how can you help other people achieve the best of themselves? And that's what you know Mikey and Mick did for me. And of course, the rest, you know, being history, because then I had the credentials I needed to apply to be a Thunderbird. And then from the Thunderbirds, I could become a commander, yada yada, you know, but being an instructor pilot, again, in the F 15 e how extraordinary to teach a brand new pilot or WSO, not only to fly the aircraft, to how to employ it as a weapon system and then to turn around and go to war with them. There's no bigger honor. There's nothing, I think, more humbling than that.   Naviere Walkewicz  16:49 Can you share something that maybe you learned from the perspective of how to lead better?   Nicole Malachowski 16:55 So let's be honest, when you go into a fighter squadron, things are a little bit one note, right? I mean, we all are cut from a similar cloth. We all kind of have similar personality traits. You know, you don't want your fighter pilots any other way, putting the effort into understanding what drives and motivates individuals. So learning at that age how to put your arms around everybody that you're responsible for, not just the ones that maybe are easiest to lead, or maybe the ones you're the most comfortable, you know, interacting with as a leader is, how do I figure it out? You know, there were some guys that, if I were to call them on up to the front of the room, in front of the whole squadron, to compliment them on something they did, maybe a check right they had. Or this goes for my fighter squadron command as well. You know, they would love it, right? Because it it was how they were extrinsically motivated, and that's okay. There's nothing wrong with that. If that's what they need, and that's what you need to do to get the best of their strengths and best of their commitment go for it. And then were others that low? If I were to bring them in front of their peers to compliment them, they would shut down and never talk to me for the rest of the you know, their assignment. And so that's where I would take the time to write a handwritten note, maybe put it on the seat of their Humvee, or put it in their helmet, you know, in the fighter squadron. And then when they'd see me walking down the hallway, we give the knowing nod that they were acknowledged for their awesome, whatever it was, and we would move on.   Naviere Walkewicz  18:13 Yes. And so what I'm hearing, in a really, kind of summarizing way, is leadership is personal.   Nicole Malachowski 18:19 Very. it's all about people and it's about authenticity and connections.   Naviere Walkewicz  18:25 So speaking about personal and authenticity, I'd be remiss if we didn't talk about your journey to the Thunderbirds.   Nicole Malachowski  18:31 I knew this was gonna come.   Naviere Walkewicz  18:32 It's here, and so you know it is. It's a different time. There was no woman Thunderbird pilot before you.   Nicole Malachowski 18:40 I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, so the Thunderbirds were part of the backdrop. I knew that the Thunderbirds, you know, as a kid, were special and were considered, you know, elite. And kind of going back to my personality, I love being told that, you know, you can't do things. And the truth is, people laugh at this, but the truth is, when I applied to be a Thunderbird, I did it because the way my career was going, I wasn't ready to, I wasn't on timeline to go to ide yet or to go to ACSC, but I had, like, a weird year kind of gap, and I didn't they didn't really know what to do with me. I didn't know what to do with them, and my husband was going to be PCs in the Nellis. This is, like, a true story. Wow. I know people want me to say, well, I had this big, long dream when I was Thunderbird. Also thought about it was always in the background. Is something that, you know, wasn't, was an option. And I, you know, because of a lot of people who put a lot of effort into me, I was indeed qualified, you know, to get in there and to give it a try. But it wasn't something that was like an ultimate goal. I did not know they had not had a woman Thunderbird pilot when I applied, did not even occur to me. Remember, I had never known an Air Force without women fighter pilots in it. That's right, that's and we had all achieved the age where we had acquired the hours needed, and it just lined up with the timing. And I'm like, Well, that would be kind of fun and different to do. And. So I always tell people, you know, when you get those butterflies in your stomach that says, This could be something cool, something different, that is your cue to go do it. Don't worry about what anybody else is saying. And so, you know, I was able to put that application in. And in fact, I was I put that application in, and when I went and told everyone I was going to apply, generally speaking, people were really tickled and happy and happy and supportive. But as the days went by, people started to think about it. I heard, you know, it's too hard to be a Thunderbird, you probably won't get picked. I mean, statistically, no one gets picked to do that. They've never had a woman before. Are you sure you want to do that and this and that? And I remember the day I turned my application in. This was back when you still had hard copies, and you still had to mail them, okay, 2005 took it over to the group commander's Chief of Staff, slid it across the desk. I was super nervous, because the voice in my head was like, Nicole, other people become Thunderbird pilots, not you. That was the other people become Thunderbird pilots, not you. What are you doing? Why are you risking this? But I kept thinking, what's the worst that's going to happen? I don't get picked, like most people don't get picked, and I go back to flying strike Eagles with my community, which I love, like life is good, right? Either way, it's a win, win. So as I slid that application across the desk, said, I'm applying to be a Thunderbird. Here's my application. I remember the staff looked up to me and said, you know Nicole, It's hard to be a Thunderbird. You know Nicole, you probably won't get picked. And the exact words were, you know Nicole, they've never had a woman before, and the colonel can only stratify one person in that moment. Let's, I think there's leadership lessons here, because this person was not trying to be mean, right? What was coming out was, I think the unconscious bias all of us have to check ourselves on every day at all ages. I think what was coming out were the cultural paradigms of the Air Force at that time. And I think what was coming out, you know, were other people's expectations about what I should or shouldn't be doing. And in that moment, the truth is, I grabbed my application and I took it back, I went across to the officers club and grabbed a beer like any good fighter pilot would, and I remember thinking, thank God I didn't put myself out there. Thank God Nicole, you know, now I'm a 30 year old captain, so I'm still a young person, you know. Thank God you didn't risk failure. Who are you to think you could be a Thunderbird, silly girl, right? And in that moment, the weirdest thing happened. And I tell this story on stage, sometimes the door opened to the officers club, and in walk the Wing Commander, Brigadier General Mark Matthews, for whatever reason, comes over and starts talking to me. Now, this is weird, right? I'm a captain. He's a brigadier general. I don't know why he was talking to me, you know, like walking amongst the people that day, or, you know, just making small talk. And so I'm trying to hold my own talking to him a little bit nervous. It's a little you're probably still feeling a little bit down from totally down. And in that moment, over walks my squadron commander, a wonderful man by the name of Dan Debree. His call sign was, trash. Get it? Trash, debris. Trash. Walks over, super excited, very supportive of my application. And he's like, Hey, General, did you know Nicole's applying to be a Thunderbird now? Man, I mean, you could have slowed down time. I was like, ixnay on the underbird Fae like, this is terrible. Neither of these guys knew that I had removed my application. And Dan's standing there all proud. He's my squadron commander supporting me. A great man again. And Mark Matthews looks down at me, general Matthews, and he goes, that's great. How's your application going? And I'm like, I looked at him, and here's what happened. I said, you know, sir, it's hard to be thunder, but I probably won't get picked. They haven't had a woman, so I don't want to waste anybody's time.   Naviere Walkewicz  23:11 Oh, you said, I said it.   Nicole Malachowski  23:13 I said all of it. And this is kind of an embarrassing story to tell, but I'm just this is the truth, right? This is the vulnerable truth of how this happened. And and he looked down at me, and I will never forget this. And I hope folks listening who have big dreams and gnarly goals remember this. He looked down at me and he said, Nicole, actually. He said, Fifi. My call sign, Fifi. Nobody wants to lead a scripted life. And he walked away and left me in extraordinarily uncomfortable silence. And those words nobody wants to lead a scripted life have become my life's mantra. Every time I get the knot in my stomach that says that dreams too big or that idea is too innovative, don't rock the boat, I remember what he said, because those words, like they lifted the weight of the world off my shoulders, told me it was okay to dream big. It was okay to buck the status quo. It was okay to be different. He was telling me, it's okay to risk failure in pursuit of personal professional growth, and it's not so much. I think he's telling you and me to write ourselves into the script. What he was saying was, don't ever write yourself out of the script. And as leaders and teammates, don't you ever write anybody else or their wild ideas out of the script, either. And so nobody wants to lead a scripted life. And I, I hope what you're hearing in these stories, and maybe what I'm realizing just chatting with you, is these little turning points, these pivot moments where these really important people, the mark Matthews, you know, the Mikey whiteheads, the Mick Jaggers, the Sue Rosses, the Kim Jamesons, they all come at that right moment. You got to be open to that you know, and and how important your actions and your words are to making or breaking somebody else's journals.   Naviere Walkewicz  24:48 Yes, yeah, so you took that application back.   Nicole Malachowski 24:52 Sure did. Sure did. I did not get the number one stratification from the colonel, but I did from the general. And. So that worked out for me. When I really started thinking about, I think I was putting myself back in the kid in high school with her brown bag lunch out on the football field watching the Thunderbirds fly over that can tend to see that those six jets smoked behind in red, white and blue, screaming over your high school. You know, you wanted to be a fighter pilot. Since you're a kid, I'm staring up at them, thinking, there's people up there. You know, I want to be one of those people. This idea that there would be a little kid watching me as a Thunderbird pilot, and maybe someday go, maybe I could fulfill whatever my dream is. Maybe I could join the Air Force too, a little girl going, maybe I could be a fighter pilot someday. And I think the gravity and the weight of the mission of the Thunderbirds started to really impact me, because it had indeed impacted me as a kid, and the idea that I could be a part of that. And I think the other thing was, and maybe this sounds cheesy or trite, but it's not, you know, sitting at Al UD, drinking my one beer at three in the morning after I land from my night combat mission, sitting with all these great Americans from all over the country, from every different background, and thinking, I could go tell their story, and that's what Thunderbirds get to do. You get to represent the world's greatest Air Force and tell the stories of these airmen who are out there getting the job done, those tech piece those crew chiefs, you know, the folks that are working at the tower, the folks in the food hall, our medical professionals, the cyber the whole thing, right? And all of a sudden it got really exciting to me, like I could go out there with this team, with this mission, and we could represent our friends with the honor and the dignity and the respect that they deserve. And I think those two things kind of collided together, and I started getting really excited about excited about this Thunderbird thing. Ended up back at Lake and Heath painfully excruciating waiting for the vinyls. And when we got back from Iraq, they give you the kind of three weeks of downtime. My husband was a gracious man and took me on a Cruise of the Baltic Sea. We're sitting in our cabin in Oslo Norway, and the phone in the cabin rings. The phone in your cabin, phone in my cabin rings. It's about 10 o'clock at night, but full sun outside, because it's summertime in Norway. And immediately we looked at each other, and both of our heart we've talked about this, both our hearts sank, because why does a phone call come to military people on vacation? It's not never it's never good. Yeah, and I was a flight commander at the time. So was he we immediately thought something disastrous had happened, an aircraft accident, a death, you know, a car accident. And we let it ring another time, and he's like, You need to pick it up. And I picked it up. And I said, Hello. And they go, is this Captain malikowski? I said, Yes. And they go standby for the commander of Air Combat Command. Oh my gosh. And I looked at my husband, and I was like, What is going on? Well, I knew this was the consolation call. There was, I think, I think there was five or six of us who had made it to finals. Three people were getting good position. The other were not. And it is tradition that the commander of Air Combat Command calls all six, coach is very gracious and professionally courteous. And so I thought this was my consolation call. So I'm waiting, and it feels like an eternity, and all of a sudden I hear Stevie there, and I said, Yes. He goes, Ron keys which was General. Ron Keyes, Commander, Air Combat Command. I'm a young captain. I'm like, you've got to be kidding me. And I go, sir, how are you? He goes. We have a pretty amazing Air Force that we can find you in the middle of the Oslo Norway fjord, don't we? I said, Yes, sir, we do. He goes. Well, I know you're on vacation, so I want to keep it simple. I want to offer you a job. And I said, Yes, sir. He goes. How would you like to be Thunderbird number three? And I said, I stayed as professional as I could in my voice, but I was looking at my husband gesticulating, jumping up and down like you're not gonna believe I said, Sir, I would absolutely love that. He goes, Okay, great. You're the next Thunderbird number three. Look forward to watching you fly and get back to your vacation. And he hung up the phone. You know, the Thunderbirds are, at that time, 125 people from 25 different career fields who came together to make that mission happen. Wow, never been in a squadron with that many high performing, highly motivated people in my life. I am still dear friends with my crew chief, still friends with people on the team. It is such a crucible experience. It's a one off, you know. Well, fast forward. Finish up the Thunderbirds. I get a phone call. He goes, it's Viking blurling. I'm like, How the heck did this guy that I met once get my phone he goes, Hey, when I was an Air Force officer, a young fighter pilot, I did acse as a White House fellow, and I think you should be a White House fellow. I said, Well, what's the White House Fellowship? So he explains it to me, and I'm like, there is no way I will get picked as one of 12 to 15 people across the United States, across all career fields, including civilians, to be a White House fellow. Colin Powell was a White House fellow. I am not a White House fellow. This is ridiculous. So I entertained his conversation. He says, I want you to think about I'm gonna call you back tomorrow, same time. Boom. Phone rings. Viking borling, you're applying to be a White House fellow, no, sir. I'm not. Third day ping. Phone calls. You're applying to be a White House fellow. Anyways, I applied to be a White House fellow. Went through that whole process, semi finals, regional panel interviews, and then the finals, and was selected to be a White House fellow. I got assigned outside of the White House to the US, General Services, Administration, yes, like, it was exciting. And I was like, this is where the nuts and bolts happen? Well, the GSA also runs what's called the office of the president elect. Between election and inauguration, the incoming president and their team needs to have a place to get ready, like our current incoming administration is doing. It's a physical office building where they make decisions about cabinet secretaries, or they get their intelligence briefings and all of that. Guess who got put on the presidential transition support team to be up close and personal for the peaceful transition of power between George Bush and Barack Obama? Wow. The extraordinary part about the White House Fellowship was most of the fellows were civilian, and I had been nothing but military since I was 17 years old and showed up at the Air Force Academy. So to be able to look at leadership and teamwork and professionalism from a completely different lens, to see how people from the education field or from healthcare would solve a problem was fascinating. You know, we in the military can look to solve problems a very specific way, and a lot of us are a little bit very specific in how we do it. And so to learn how to look at problems and solve things in different ways was extraordinary.   Naviere Walkewicz  31:23 So your career trajectory is just really incredible. Because you've kind of talked about how you've been put in these places based off of circumstance, but then when you get there, it's all about, how do you make the most of it, seize the opportunity and see what's available.   Nicole Malachowski  31:38 A lot of times, you know, as human beings, we go, Well, I don't have this, or I can't do this right now, or not resource this way, man, find a way. Yeah, ask yourself the right question. What is it I can do right now with what I have?   Naviere Walkewicz  31:49 Well, that makes me feel like that's a really good lead into kind of what circumstantially happened to you, unexpectedly. Yes, so you're medically retired from the Air Force. Do you want to talk about how that happened?   Nicole Malachowski  32:00 And sure, sure, you know, the the greatest honor of my career was serving as the commander of the 3/33 fighter squadron. I enjoyed that, and I remember also during that time being physically fit, mentally fit, spiritually fit. And I remember feeling ill in the summer of 2012 like I had the flu, but within three months, I started having severe neurological problems, so things like word finding, slurring my words, inability to read write, inability to type, dropping things with my right hand, dragging my right leg, getting lost, driving home, and I remember going into a grocery store and having a complete panic attack because I didn't know what a grocery store was or why I was in there so very Alzheimer's dementia like symptoms. So in fact, what was happening was my brain was becoming inflamed with an infection. So over the next four years, my symptoms would wax and wane. They would come and go, they would change in severity. Obviously, I could no longer fly. I was grounded, but they said, Hey, you can stay in the Air Force. You just can't fly. And I said, that's great, because honestly, I just want to lead airmen. Lead airmen and be a part of a team. So, you know, there's a lot of details, you know, to this story, but my symptom list was like 63 symptoms long, covering every system in my body. And so they cast the net wide, and that's where tick borne illness came into it. And at that time, I was in a wheelchair. I couldn't talk. My husband was wheeling me around, and I remember when the doctor said, we come on in. We have the diagnosis. We know what's wrong with her. The doctor says she'll never fly again. And my husband said, Well, how long until she's better? And she goes, Well, treatment is going to take at least two years. And it was in that moment, it wasn't that I wasn't going to fly again, that hurt. But when they said two years, I knew that the military was going to medically retire me, I knew it was over, and I couldn't speak or say anything, and I was just devastated. I remember my goal was to be the commandant of the Air Force Academy. That was my dream. And all that just came crashing, you know, crashing down. And in that moment, so for nine months I couldn't walk, talk, read or write. I spent another year and a half in rehab, and during that time, obviously went through my medical evaluation board, but I was medically retired, I fought to stay in and then I realized my body wasn't gonna let me and once I accepted that it was over, you know, I was able to move forward so radical acceptance was a hard thing to come by. But the day of my retirement, December 29 2017 came, I was home alone because I was bedridden and house bound for two years. Um, was very hurtful. Remains hurtful. How my Air Force career ended. I love the Air Force based on all the stories that I told, but this moment is very painful for me. It still is. And, you know, I thought, well, what are you going to do about it? You know, you can't. Change that you were bit by tick, can't change that you have a brain injury. What are you going to do? Girl, you know, the fighter pilot in you is not going to quit. And that's when I decided, well, I'm going to, you know, I got to do something. And the phone rang, and the phone rang, and it was during this time, a gal by the name of Buff Bucha, retired colonel, had been in a helicopter accident broke her neck in Afghanistan. She said, Hey, how you doing? I said, I'm not good. She goes talk to me, and I remember for two hours just vomiting everything out to this person I didn't really know very well. Well, she was calling from the Air Force Wounded Warrior program, wow, and the Wounded Warrior program swooped in to save me, and I ended up becoming a trained ambassador and a trained mentor, which I still am to this day. I'm able to help other airmen who are being discharged, but I just want to give a shout out to the Air Force wind Warrior Program, psychologically and mental health wise, I don't know that I would have recovered, and that I would have recovered to the place that I am today without them. And so I want for the active duty, listening for people in the reserve and the guard. It is for you, yeah, it is for everyone, and it is literally a life saving program.   Naviere Walkewicz  32:45 Maybe talk about what you've been doing then since.   Nicole Malachowski  36:16 Yeah, I do leadership consulting and professional speaking, but predominantly, that helps pay the bills, and I enjoy it. Predominantly, I do patient advocacy work at the national level, so I'm on several government boards. I'm on several nonprofit panels. We've tripled them, and IH funding through the state and like TicK Act and things like that. I'm currently on a National Academies of Science Committee. Can't talk about that because our report will come out in the spring. I hope everyone will read it. But Lyme disease, I went from being a fighter pilot to being an expert on ticks and Lyme disease. Who knew the path to success is always going to be non linear.   Naviere Walkewicz  36:49 Yes, you also mentioned you have children. You have twins. Do so how is it talk about, like family life in this new kind of in the way that you're working now, right? You're not in uniform anymore. You're still pushing amazing things forward. You're consulting what's it like being a mom?   Naviere Walkewicz  37:06 Man, it's harder, it is harder to raise 14 year old twins than it is to get shot at  in combat, I will tell you that. So you know, the person that's been missing in this whole time we've been talking is the most important person in my life, which is my husband, Paul. So we will be married. We just, yeah, just had our anniversary. 23 years. I met him in my first fighter squadron in the late 90s. He's an F-15E WSO. So we met flying together. And my biggest cheerleader, my biggest supporter, the greatest human being on Earth, is my husband, Paul.   Naviere Walkewicz  37:38 I want to talk about this resurgence, because I feel like that is really important for some of our listeners. When they're, you know, they're thinking about you said you got to know who you are and what's important to you. And how did you get to that clarity?   Nicole Malachowski 37:52 You really need to be able to answer the question, what is it I value and why? And I'm talking about your personal values, the ones that you're going to wake up with every day and go, these are my values. And so I'll tell you what mine are. Mine are courage and compassion and curiosity, and I developed those as I went through this deep thinking and deep reinvention, when I lost my career and compassion, courage and curiosity are what drive me today.   Naviere Walkewicz  38:18 We'll ask for Nicole's thoughts on reinvention, resilience and leadership. But before we do that, I'd like to take a moment and thank all of you for listening to long blue leadership. The podcast publishes on Tuesdays in both video and audio, and is available on all your favorite podcast platforms. Watch or listen to all episodes of Long blue leadership and subscribe at longblue leadership.org so we have had an incredible journey together, and really where we'd like to go. One final thought on leadership, if you might, leave your listeners with something about leadership, and I can say just from being in this short amount of time with you, your your 3 Cs are coming out in spades, your compassion, your curiosity and your courage. So thank you.   Nicole Malachowski  39:01 Thank you. You know leadership is a journey. We're always put into positions that we're supposed to grow into. Don't think you have to be perfect to be a leader. It's okay to admit when you make mistakes, it's okay to ask for help, and it's okay to have failures, as long as you overcome them. And I like to remind folks at all levels of leadership, you know that the runway behind you is always unusable. All you ever have is the runway that's in front of you.   Naviere Walkewicz  39:25 Well said, well said, Thank you so much for being on long blue leadership.   Nicole Malachowski  39:29 Thank you for having me. And here's a shout out to the current cadets that are working hard up on the hill, yeah, wishing them best and hoping they take it one day at a time.   Naviere Walkewicz  39:36 Absolutely. And for our listeners, I mean, I think that it's, it's it's certainly one thing to say, you know, you get to meet these incredible leaders, but my ask of you is to share this with your networks, because it's great if you felt something and you've had an impact in your life, but imagine the magnitude you can have by sharing some of the stories of our leaders like Nicole today with your networks and the change we can make together. So until next time, thanks for being on. Long blue leadership, thank you for joining us for this edition of long blue leadership. The podcast drops every two weeks on Tuesdays and is available on all your favorite podcast apps. Send your comments and guest ideas to us at social media@usafa.org, and listen to past episodes at longblueleadership.org.   KEYWORDS leadership, resilience, resurgence, Air Force Academy, mentorship, aviation, women in military, pilot training, overcoming adversity, personal growth, fighter pilot, mentorship, leadership, Thunderbirds, women in military, self-doubt, White House Fellowship, WASP, Air Force, personal growth, diversity, WASP, Air Force, medical retirement, resilience, leadership, Lyme Disease, tick-borne illness, self-discovery, personal values, reinvention, advocacy         The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation    

The Air Force Museum in Christchurch is holding its annual "Aircraft of the Year" competition, inviting the public to vote for their favourite historic aircraft. Wing Commander and Airforce Museum director Brett Marshall spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

We delve into the prelude to the Terran-Kilrathi War and touch on the events of Wing Command 1. Join us as we Lore Together! Contact us: Instagram: https://instagram.com/loretogether BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/loretogether.bsky.social Mastodon: https://universeodon.com/@LoreTogether Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/LoreTogetherPod Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoreTogether Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/id/LoreTogether We're proudly part of the Boss Rush Games Network! Check them out, and the rest of the podcasts over at https://bossrush.net/ where you can also join our own Lore Together discord channel on their discord server. Music: "Perspectives" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Blair, a fighter pilot, joins an interstellar war to fight the evil Kilrathi who are trying to destroy the universe.We suffered through this film and try to salvage a conversation about it. Can Dave keep Emma focused long enough to rip this movie apart? listen in and find out.We rented this movie on Prime Video UKhttps://linktr.ee/iseebadmoviesMusic by ZakharValaha from Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hollywood welcomes Siliwood, Saturn and Playstation begin fight for Japanese consumers & 3DO declared DOA These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in June 1994.  As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost.  Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and order his book here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/book Get us on your mobile device: Android:  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz iOS:      https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM Send comments on Mastodon @videogamenewsroomtimemachine@oldbytes.space Or twitter @videogamenewsr2 Or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm Or videogamenewsroomtimemachine@gmail.com Links: If you don't see all the links, find them here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/113403594 7 Minutes in Heaven: Space Ace (SNES) Video Version:  https://www.patreon.com/posts/113313328     https://www.mobygames.com/game/24930/space-ace/ Corrections: May 1994 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/may-1994-110575391 Ethan's fine site The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/     https://www.reddit.com/r/playstation/comments/p5o3d0/1995_prelaunch_playstation_brochure_promotional/     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sega_arcade_system_boards     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruis%27n_USA     https://youtu.be/nrUWIHasHPQ?si=vCitZXMwn3UdXXNZ      1994: Playmates sees video games as path to diversification     Playmates Toys wins with video games arm, South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), June 9, 1994, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. 2 Sega goes to Epcot     Sega is largest exhibitor at Disney's Innoventions Pavilion at Epcot Center; unveils model of 10,000 square foot exhibit at CES, Business Wire, June 22, 1994, Wednesday        https://youtu.be/xhBPuiPY8uY?si=vQVOuYF_Y2jQUzDE Sega signs deals with Coca Cola and Hudson in Japan     Sega Makes Deals With Coke, Hudson, Newsbytes, June 3, 1994, Friday     Sega heads on-line telecom karaoke venture, Multimedia System Will Transmit Over ISDN Networks, The Nikkei Weekly (Japan), June 6, 1994      Sega announces massive bond issue     TOKYU TO ISSUE 40 BILLION yen IN BONDS, The Nikkei Weekly (Japan), June 13, 1994, Section: CORPORATE FINANCE; Pg. 16    Sega Enterprises to raise 100 bil. yen with CBs, Japan Economic Newswire, JUNE 8, 1994, WEDNESDAY Siliwood fever has become a pandemic!     GEFFEN RECORDS AND JASMINE MULTIMEDIA DEBUT VID GRID, NEW MULTIMEDIA INTERACTIVE VIDEO GAME WITH LARGEST NUger 320 x 240 Video for Windows(TM) and Innovative Game Technology, PR Newswire, June 13, 1994, Monday - 08:30 Eastern Time         Online Services Compete For Attention, Newsbytes, June 16, 1994, Thursday     New Line Cinema and Havas form interactive joint venture, Business Wire, June 1, 1994     Fox Interactive Leaps Quickly Into Game Software Fray, Billboard, June 4, 1994     GTE Interactive Media makes public debut with introduction of innovative line of interactive electronic entertainment; Leading edge creative talent, proprietary technologies and four-year proven track record bring platform diverse, Business Wire, June 20, 1994, Monday     Time Warner Interactive and Byron Preiss Multimedia Co. ink a multi-title affiliate label distribution deal, Business Wire, June 29, 1994, Wednesday     SNL' Now Showing On GameTek CD-ROM, Billboard, June 11, 1994, Section: THE ENTER*ACTIVE FILE; Pg. 66     Disney Software to Top Christmas Wish Lists in '94, Business Wire, June 24, 1994, Friday     Virgin makes sale to Blockbuster, Financial Times (London,England), June 30, 1994, Thursday, Section: Pg. 29     Studios Put New Spin On Game Spinoffs, Billboard, June 18, 1994, Copyright 1994 Billboard Publications, Inc., Section: THE ENTER*ACTIVE FILE; Pg. 52          Full Moon Entertainment and Philips Media Games to partner in videogame development; Philips to transform feature films into games, Business Wire, June 28, 1994, Tuesday SPA and Shareware makers resist ISDA         Software Publishers To Rate Computer Games, Newsbytes, June 16, 1994, Thursday      Nostalgia and dissapointment mar ECTS     https://segaretro.org/File:Edge_UK_009.pdf   pg. 14        A New Generation Of Pac-Man Arrives, Billboard, June 4, 1994, Section: THE ENTER*ACTIVE FILE; Pg. 88      Bill Stealey to return     http://www.kultmags.com/Play%20Time/1994/Play%20Time%201994-06.rar   pg. 19      Howard Lincoln delivers CES keynote     King of the Video Game Jungle commands spotlight at Summer CES; Nintendo chairman to deliver keynote address and Nintendo to command largest exhibit space, Business Wire, June 23, 1994, Thursday           CES - Video Industry & 20's Hollywood Compared, Newsbytes, June 23, 1994, Thursday         It's All In The Games; Q&A With Nintendo's Howard Lincoln, Billboard, June 25, 1994      Acclaim announces Turok     Acclaim and Nintendo announce 64-bit video game system development agreement; Acclaim unveils first Valiant Comics title for Nintendo Ultra 64(TM), Business Wire, June 23, 1994, Thursday     Malibu Comics signs deal with Sony Imagesoft, Business Wire, June 23, 1994, Thursday 3DO to show 25 titles at CES     3DO TO SHOWCASE HOT NEW TITLES AT SCES; RETAILERS CALL 3DO A HIT WITH CONSUMERS, Business Wire, June 21, 1994, Tuesday Japanese devs support 3DO     Video game software giants plan 3DO titles; Capcom to develop Super Street Fighter II Turbo for 3DO, Business Wire, June 23, 1994, Thursday Goldstar launches 3DO system     GOLDSTAR MULTIMEDIA CATEGORY ENTRY CONTINUES WITH DEBUT OF 3DO INTERACTIVE MULTIPLAYER SYSTEM, PR Newswire, June 23, 1994 Jaguar games and peripherals on show     ATARI CORPORATION ANNOUNCES IT HAS THE RESOURCES IN PLACE TO FULFILL ITS BUSINESS PLAN FOR 1994, PR Newswire, June 29, 1994, Wednesday - 09:01 Eastern Time     ATARI CELEBRATES 150+ JAGUAR LICENSEES; EXPANDED LIST INCLUDES PROMINENT NEW NAMES, PR Newswire, June 23, 1994, Thursday - 07:55 Eastern Time Jaguar goes multiplayer online     Phylon's simultaneous Voice-plus-Data technology in new Jaguar system, from Atari Corp., Business Wire, June 27, 1994, Monday     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Jaguar Atari finances sound for 94     ATARI CORPORATION ANNOUNCES IT HAS THE RESOURCES IN PLACE TO FULFILL ITS BUSINESS PLAN FOR 1994, PR Newswire, June 29, 1994, Wednesday - 09:01 Eastern Time Sega looks to the younger set     Sega leverages its expertise in interactive technology to broaden its audience; new Sega Club joins the Sega toy division to attract new, younger customers, Business Wire, June 24, 1994, Friday VirctorMaxx shows off first consumer level VR     CHICAGO COMPANY UNVEILS WORLD'S FIRST AFFORDABLE VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSET FOR HOME USE AT CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW, PR Newswire, June 21, 1994, Tuesday - 18:41 Eastern Time Get fit with your SNES     One of the most eagerly awaited products of the year arrives at the, Consumer Electronics Show, courtesy of Life Fitness and Nintendo, Business Wire, June 22, 1994, Wednesday     Aura Systems enters into exclusive distribution agreement for Interactor and AuraSound products for the Australia and New Zealand market Business Wire, June 6, 1994, Monday           INTERACTIVE VIDEO GAME IS A HIT WITH BASEBALL ENTHUSIASTS, PR Newswire, June 21, 1994, Tuesday - 08:27 Eastern Time Summer CES 95 gets new home     1995 - New Venue, New Name For Summer CES, Newsbytes, June 27, 1994, Monday      Redemption comes under suspicion in Oklahoma     Play Meter, June 1994, pg. 18 Devs sign up to support 32X     Over two dozen of video game industry's leading software publishers commit to Sega's Genesis 32X; Sega leads all competitors in delivering full 32-bit action at low price, Business Wire, June 2, 1994      Sega signs Truemotion     Sega and Duck announce inclusion of "TrueMotion", Business Wire, June 21, 1994, Tuesday     https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/Duck_TrueMotion_1 Sega starts affiliate label program     Sega launches affiliate label program with Rocket Science Games, Business Wire, June 23, 1994, Thursday Next Gen duels it out on Japanese TV     https://segaretro.org/File:Edge_UK_009.pdf Sony reveals PSX architecture details     Sony Computer Entertainment unveils technology behind new home video game system; LSI Logic's custom CPU to give PlayStation competitive edge in video game hardware market, Business Wire, June 15, 1994, Wednesday Don't call Playstation a multimedia machine!     Sony soft-pedals high-tech game machine Multimedia Capabilities Outstrip Functions Of Current Software, The Nikkei Weekly (Japan), June 6, 1994 Alias Research to make Ultra 64 tools     Nintendo chooses Alias Research Inc. to create advanced content tools for 64-bit home video game system, Business Wire, June 9, 1994, Thursday           Alias To Develop 3-D Nintendo Graphics Tools, Newsbytes, June 15, 1994, Wednesday      Nintendo hints at 32 bit VR System     https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_59/page/n55/mode/2up Newsweek declares 3DO DOA     Lost in Cyberspace, Newsweek, June 13, 1994 , UNITED STATES EDITION, Section: BUSINESS; Start-Ups; Pg. 40     SPECTRUM HOLOBYTE ISSUES CLARIFICATION, PR Newswire, June 9, 1994, Thursday - 08:00 Eastern Time Jaguar software begins to trickle in     https://segaretro.org/File:Edge_UK_009.pdf   pg. 14      Blockbuster/THQ announces Catapult modem     Blockbuster/Davis Video Launch Phone-Based Game Co, Newsbytes, June 7, 1994, Tuesday Sega wants to appeal to girls     Game Makers Finally Targeting Girls, Billboard, June 4, 1994, Section: THE ENTER*ACTIVE FILE; Pg. 88         https://segaretro.org/Sega_Girls_Task_Force        https://www.polygon.com/features/2019/5/27/18526122/sega-girls-task-force-female-players      Tiger Electronics rules handhelds     https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_59/page/n215/mode/2up      Amiga users wait with bated breath     https://archive.org/details/amazing-computing-magazine-1994-06/page/n7/mode/2up Acorn delves into PC compatibility     https://segaretro.org/File:Edge_UK_009.pdf   pg. 18      Wing Commander goes FMV     https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_119/page/n13/mode/1up TNG may be over, but the voyage continues on CDRom     Star Trek Next Generation CD-ROM For MPC, Newsbytes, June 9, 1994, Thursday Pajitnov endorses Spectrum Holobyte games     ALEXEY PAJITNOV, CREATOR OF 'TETRIS(R),' TO ENDORSE SPECTRUM HOLOBYTE'S LINE OF COMPUTER PUZZLE GAMES, PR Newswire, June 10, 1994, Friday - 07:59 Eastern Time      Surf is UP     https://segaretro.org/File:Edge_UK_009.pdf   pg. 11 Japanese Ministry Council to review telecommunication regulations     Private council to consider multimedia rules, Report From Japan, June 22, 1994          Media Futures: Japan plays catch-up with US - At first sight advanced information networks might seem like another instance of Japan stealing a march on its competitors in a key new technology. The truth is rather different, Financial Times (London,England), June 13, 1994, Monday, Section: Pg. 15, Byline: By MICHIYO NAKAMOTO Jurassic Park merch surpasses $1 Billion     JURASSIC PARK' MERCHANDISE SURPASSES $1 BILLION AT RETAIL WORLDWIDE; PRODUCTS CONTINUE TO STAMPEDE OUT OF RETAIL STORES, PR Newswire, June 1, 1994, Wednesday - 07:29 Eastern Time Microsoft to bring interactive TV to  Japan     Microsoft and NTT Announce Interactive Television Agreement, Business Wire, June 22, 1994, Wednesda     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetShow     NTT AND SILICON GRAPHICS TO BUILD INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA SERVICES SYSTEM FOR JAPAN PR Newswire, June 8, 1994, Wednesday - 00:36 Eastern Time         NTT links sight, sound - and companies Telephone giant forges far-flung alliances in effort to strengthen multimedia position, The Nikkei Weekly (Japan), June 27, 1994, Section: INDUSTRY DIGEST; Pg. 21 The Financial Times profiles Square     A role-play revolution - A Japanese businessman has found that a western approach to motivation has helped deliver spectacular results, Financial Times (London,England), June 28, 1994, Tuesday, London, Section: Management (The Growing Business); Pg. 14, Byline: By EMIKO TERAZONO Comic book bubble burst fallout continues     https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_59/page/n213/mode/2up Atari Games RIP (sorta)     Play Meter, June 1994, pg. 3 Recommended Links: The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/ They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/ Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/ The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/ Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/ Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/ Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/ Retromags.com: https://www.retromags.com/ Games That Weren't - https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/ Sound Effects by Ethan Johnson of History of How We Play. Copyright Karl Kuras  

Charlie & April are joined by Todd “The Ox” Oxtra, who shares his first-hand horror of video-game movie adaptation, 1998's “Wing Commander” Thank you to our Patreons - BFFs: The Nyhus FamilyVisit our new website at www.secretfriendsunite.com and sign up for a FREE 7-day trial of our PATREON! Subscribe to our Youtube channelFollow us on Threads: Secret.Friends.Unite. and @theceethreeJoin our discord server to be part of the community

Who won out of Star Citizen and Elite Dangerous, the crowdfunded space sim sensations pitched to us a decade ago by two of the genre's most celebrated game directors? Star Citizen being a spiritual follow up to Wing Commander and Privateer, and Elite Dangerous being a direct sequel to Elite, Frontier: Elite 2 and Frontier: First Encounters. Well, it depends how you define "win". Or, indeed, "exists". This is just one of the Enthusiastic Disagreements we have in this week's Best Games Ever Podcast, along with GTA vs Saints Row, Call of Duty vs Medal of Honor, and another one that we can't remember. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you ask someone about the Town of Botwood, they'll likely mention the murals. There are a lot of them - they are impressive - and they chronicle the history of the town and the area. On Tuesday, the latest mural was unveiled, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force in the area. Trudy Stuckless is with the Botwood Mural Arts Society, and Lt. Col. Rhea MacLean is the Wing Commander with 9 Wing Gander.

Based on the popular 1990s series of PC games, this science-fiction thriller stars 90s favourites Freddie Prinze Jr and Matthew Lillard in a story that feels like a mash-up of Top Gun and Starship Troopers. However, the film seems to be focusing its attention in the wrong areas. Tune in to this episode as Jamie and Rory discuss where the film goes wrong and how it could be fixed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on The Sims. We talk about a dark spiral, read some poetry, the problem of having enough time, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: A few more hours Issues covered: alien life, Windows snippet tool vs print screen, not saving, random seeds, introducing a chaos event, theorizing about end games for careers, Tim's persistent chip bag, forums and forever games, games you can play daily, free-to-play mobile games, appointment-based gaming, min/maxing psychology, selling the kids' doll house for food, Dianne being negative, "I'm too depressed to even look at myself," lack of weekends, two Sims having a day off, a podcast first, multiple burners, having to closely manage Bob's fun, the Sims for therapy, externalizing developer feelings of 21st century life, using the room meter to understand what needs to be done, the ultimate plate-spinning game, "did you know that love could be lucrative?," falling in love to increase your net worth, 3D characters and a 2D environment, modding goals and having 3D characters, dimetric vs isometric, revisiting gender normativity, liking problematic things, listening to their audience, how you might approach things the second time around, remastering Final Fantasy VI, a party of side characters, two automated characters healing each other. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: SimCity, Dianne Feinstein, Apple ][, Farmville, Diner Dash, Bejeweled, Animal Crossing, Sims Online, Maxis, Firaxis, Ensemble Studios, Terry Pratchett, Mia Goth, Halo, Kenneth Koch, David Sedaris, Diablo, Quake, Tomb Raider, Super Mario 64, Michael, EA, Wing Commander, Anita Sarkeesian, Northern Exposure, Starfighter, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia, Final Fantasy VI, BioStats, Kaeon, Unity, Final Fantasy Tactics, Cloud Strife, Apocalypse Now.  Next time: A few more hours and maybe finish with The Sims Links: Here's an audio recording of the poet Kenneth Koch reading his poem Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Charlie and April are joined by Todd “The Ox” Oxtra to break down the “I saw it to see THE PHANTOM MENACE Trailer” 1998 film WING COMMANDER!Thank you to our Patreons - BFFs: The Nyhus Family & Missy MerchantThe theme song for this show is Rock And Recess by John BartmannVisit our new website at www.secretfriendsunite.com and sign up for a FREE 7-day trial of our PATREON! Subscribe to our Youtube channelFollow us on Threads: Secret.Friends.Unite. and TheCeeThreeJoin our discord server to be part of the community

Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre '96 opens up about how her leadership journey was transformed by a mis-step she once made that led her to introspection and clarity.  ----more---- SUMMARY Gen. Letendre and Doug Lindsay shared their insights on leadership development at the Air Force Academy. They emphasized the importance of resilience, failure, and mentorship in shaping effective leaders. The General highlighted the value of taking advantage of little opportunities and pushing boundaries, while Dr. Lindsay stressed the need for courage and finding one's voice in leadership. Both emphasized the importance of learning from failures and using them as opportunities for growth.   QUOTES "Little opportunities can become big opportunities, and you don't necessarily know what that big opportunity is going to be. And you don't necessarily recognize that the little opportunity that you have before you is one of those that's going to somehow blossom in the future." "You practice having that voice early in your career, you practice what it means to be candid, you practice what it means to speak up for the right thing. It doesn't actually get easier, just because you've got rank, it gets easier through practice." "You've got to find your voice. And oftentimes, when I talk to cadets, they're like, "Oh, well, easy for you to say, ma'am. You know, you've got a star on, of course, you've got a voice." But I think that unless you practice having that voice, early in your career, you practice what it means to be candid, you practice what it means to speak up for the right thing." "We want our grads to be better than we ever were. And I can say unabashedly that They are our second lieutenants who are graduating from this institution are better able on day one to take on the challenges that our nation has thrown at them." "I believe my role in our role as senior leaders at the Air Force Academy is to not necessarily predict the future with any certainty. I think I might know who our next adversary is going to be in in conflict. I do know, though, that it's going to be the mental agility in the capabilities and skill sets that we are providing both to our cadets, our first graduating class, but also something we talked about our second graduating class, which is those those faculty that are going to go back out into the Air Force and Space Force. It is that challenge of how do we help them be ready for whatever's coming their way? How do we future proof them?"   SHARE THIS EPISODE FACEBOOK  |  TWITTER  |  LINKEDIN  |  EMAIL     CHAPTERS 00:00  Introduction and Background 08:16  Life at the Air Force Academy 15:22  Career Progression and Lessons Learned 26:17  Graduate Involvement and Giving Back 32:25  Leadership Lessons 36:58  Connecting with the Air Force Academy     TAKEAWAYS Little opportunities can become big opportunities, so take advantage of opportunities and do your best. Develop your leadership skills by finding your voice and practicing speaking up, even on small matters. This will help you gain confidence. Focus on developing leaders of character by setting a good example and lifting others up. The Air Force Academy is focused on preparing cadets for the future through experiential learning, research, and partnerships with industry. Staying connected to your alma mater through events and social media is a good way to learn about new programs and opportunities to get involved.     BRIG. GEN. LETENDRE'S BIO Brigadier General Linell A. Letendre is Dean of the Faculty, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. She commands the 750-member Dean of Faculty mission element and oversees the annual design and instruction of more than 500 undergraduate courses for 4,000 cadets across 32 academic disciplines. She also directs the operation of five support staff agencies and faculty resources involving more than $350 million. General Letendre graduated from the Academy in 1996 as a Distinguished Graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Astronautical Engineering. After serving as an acquisition officer, General Letendre became a judge advocate through the Funded Legal Education Program. She graduated from the University of Washington Law School with high honors and was named to the Order of the Coif and the Order of the Barristers. She is barred at the U.S. Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Washington, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals. Prior to this assignment, she served as the Permanent Professor and Head of the Air Force Academy's Department of Law. General Letendre previously served as a Staff Judge Advocate at Scott Air Force Base and also represented the Air Force in appellate review of all courts-martial as the Deputy Chief Trial and Appellate Counsel. Additionally, she previously served as the Legal Advisor for the DoD Comprehensive Review Working Group where she advised on legal and policy issues surrounding repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.” She also defended the Air Force in a range of federal civil litigation involving military personnel, served as Chief of Strategic Communication for The Judge Advocate General, and defended Airmen as an area defense counsel. - Image and copy credit:  USAF CONNECT WITH GEN. LETENDRE LINKEDIN  |  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!          FULL TRANSCRIPT   OUR SPEAKERS Guest, Brig. Gen. Linell Leyendre '96  |  Host, Dr. Doug Lindsay '92     Dr. Doug Lindsay  01:34 My guest today is Brigadier General Linell Letendre, Air Force Academy class of 1996 and Dean of the Faculty. The general oversees 750 faculty members in more than 500 undergraduate courses for 4,000 cadets across 32 academic disciplines. She also directs the operation of five support staff, agencies, and faculties with attendant resources valued at more than $350 million. General Letendre graduated the Academy, with Distinction receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in astronautical engineering. She served as an Acquisition Officer. She has been a Judge Advocate General and is barred at the US Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Washington, the US Court of Appeals for the armed forces and the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals. Prior to her current assignment, she served as a permanent professor and head of the Air Force Academy's Department of Law will talk with General Letendre about her life prior to becoming a cadet and what her experience was like at the Academy as a cadet. We'll ask about the progression of her career from acquisitions, to the practice of law to the Dean of the Faculty. Finally, we'll ask the General to share some advice for leaders and a few takeaways for those who want to be leaders. General Letendre, welcome to Long Blue Leadership.   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  02:47 Well, thank you, Doug. I'm excited to be here and I appreciate the invitation.   Dr. Doug Lindsay  02:51 Absolutely.  Well, let's kind of jump right in. Can you talk a little bit about what your life was like prior to the Academy and what it was like growing up with your family?   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  03:00 Well, according to the cadets, that's talking about what happened in the stone age. But growing up, as a kid, I was not a military brat, but I was what we affectionately call a corporate brat. So we moved about every four to five years. With my father's job, he actually worked at the time for Rockwell International. And so as a family, similar to military families, we were pretty tight. I have an amazing younger brother named Paul. My parents, Dawn and Glenn. We did a lot of camping and hiking and enjoying being placed in a variety of states and places. What's interesting about a corporate brat versus a military brat, though is that you tend to enter into communities that aren't used to people arriving or aren't used to people moving in quite as often. And so I've actually found that my kids had a different experience, because they tended to be embraced by the military community. So that movement around kept us close as a nuclear family and just can't thank my folks enough for raising me with those those values - that belief in family, the importance of giving back to your community. I had a great childhood.   Dr. Doug Lindsay  04:25 And so with that kind of moving around, and I like that phrase of a corporate brat, right, because I think it allows us to think about that differently. Because we know the military moves around a lot, but we sometimes don't tend to think that other people do that as well. What were some of those influences that as you grew up that really had an impact on you? Obviously family was really important, but what else was there? Was it things you read, people you met experienced mentors, what was that part?   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  04:52 I think that resiliency that you get when you're the new kid and it's October. I'm in class and you're going from algebra class to geometry class. And boy, you missed that first foundational set of proofs. And so that resiliency of, "It's going to be okay. Change is fine." You get uncomfortable with change of other things that kind of focused me. Yeah, you mentioned things that you read. We had different opportunities then. Each new library that we went to... My mom was a librarian. And so reading was vital, and something that was expected in my family. And one day in a new school, I walked into the elementary school's library, and I discovered a new section, it was called the biographies. And I decided in second grade that I was going to start with A and work my way through the alphabet, and was a little miffed when the librarian told me I could only check out two books, two books a week. So apparently, I was destined to be Dean at some point. But you know, what I learned from that is that by diving into others lives through reading their biographies, you learned as a young child that everyone comes from different experiences. Everyone has different challenges, and maybe yours aren't so insurmountable as you might think. And so I value that experience that I had, being able to move from community to community to to see different parts of the United States, and to really learn that people are people no matter where you're living.    Dr. Doug Lindsay  06:31 Those some great lessons, especially learning early on.  Were there any particular biographies that really kind of resonated with you that you kind of remember? Was it just the process of that discovery of people's journeys?    Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  06:43 Well, I will say I was a little keen on Amelia Earhart's biography. And so maybe that was an early indication that maybe someday I'd end up in the Air Force, although in second grade, I had no idea. And so those explorers, those people who are willing to push boundaries, to take risks, I've tended to be drawn to them a little bit more than others.    Dr. Doug Lindsay  07:06 And we'll come to that idea of kind of pushing boundaries and taking risks hearing in a little bit. So what was it that happened during that process that you said, Hey, this military thing might be okay, this Academy, that sounds like something? What was that process? Like, as you tried to think about what you wanted to do when you grew up?   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  07:22 Well, I mentioned my dad worked for Rockwell International.  Believe it or not, he was in the automotive section. Not everyone thinks of Rockwell as building the space shuttle. But because he was in Rockwell, he got a model of the space shuttle, and he brought it home. And I was still in elementary school. I still have this model of the space shuttle. It has sat on my desk or in my office for my entire career as a reminder of what got it all started and, and as a kid I learned exactly how that space shuttle operated when the the boosters fell off. And that and the main engine, why they painted it and then didn't paint it. You remember all the changes that the space shuttle had. And that really got me started thinking about space. And as many little kids, I grew up deciding I was going to be an astronaut. And it was later at a corporate picnic that I ran into two high school boys. But they were probably at this point six years older than me. And they were going to this amazing thing called a service academy. One was going to West Point one was going to the Naval Academy. I had never heard of service academies before. We lived in East Tennessee. And I was like what are those? And then they started talking and I started researching a little bit. And, then, I was a smart kid. So I decided, "Well I don't want to go there. I want to go to the Air Force Academy." And so that actually from fifth grade on really became the dream for me that I wanted to come here to the Air Force Academy, major in astronautical engineering and then go on to be an astronaut. Well, I did the first couple and my study partner and classmate Jack Fisher, he did make it up into space. But I got to just watch him from with my two feet firmly planted on the ground.   Dr. Doug Lindsay  09:28 And let's talk about that a little bit. So getting to the Academy, that was where you want to go. That was kind of your vision you get here. Can you talk a little bit about maybe some of those highs and lows, lessons learned? What was that? Like, kind of now you're getting here, you're working along your path, your dream. And then all of a sudden, day to day life? What was that like? Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  09:46 Well, I think like many folks who arrive at the Academy, especially those of us who come from small towns, you are big deal, right, in a little bitty town. I came here from a different move. We were living in South Carolina at the time. Rock Hill, South Carolina. And when I got an appointment to the Air Force Academy, I mean, it was a high school assembly to hand me my appointment. It was front page news of the Rock Hill Herald. So it was a big deal. And then you arrive and, wow, you're with 1,300 other classmates. (1,300) is the size of our class when we started, not the size when we ended, but they were all big deals too. And it was humbling. It was humbling being around people who are just as dedicated, who had such amazing work ethic. And I can't say enough about my classmates from the class of 96. They're inspiring. They helped challenge you to be better than you thought possible. So we did have highs and lows. We had good times and challenging times. But through it all, we we bonded and we knew we'd be there for each other. You know, while I was at the Academy, I did a variety of things. You've already mentioned my major. But I was an instructor pilot, I was on the mock trial team, I got to participate in a number of leadership positions to include the spring semester Cadet Wing Commander, which was probably just the highlight of my time to be able to really practice leadership. How you mess up, how you get better, how do you inspire people. And I really credit the Air Force Academy for helping to round me out to provide those experiences where I was allowed to fail. But I was also allowed to pick myself back up to learn from it. And to move on.    Dr. Doug Lindsay  11:54 Going to that theme of resilience that you had mentioned earlier, is there a particular failure moment or time that you're like, "This is not who I want to be.", or, "This is not who I think I am." that you kind of caught yourself and allowed you to kind of move on to the next level?   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  12:11 I'll give you a couple. One sounds little but I did learn from it. I was the cadet Wing Commander and the fourth class broke ranks and took the hill. And I knew that the then Deputy Commandant was going to be calling me up to his office asking why I didn't have control of the wing and etc., etc. And so what did I do beforehand? I called up the president of the fourth class, the class of 99. And I just yelled, and as I walked away I went, "Really? Was that, is that leadership? Is that setting the expectation that I want? Is that really how I'm going to behave as a lieutenant?" And it caused me to think about, we might need a different approach, we might need to think about how we develop fourth class cadets in a different way. And so I still remember that moment of, of being disappointed in myself, in my leadership approach. And I'll reflect on that sometimes of when things aren't going right. What are your obligations as a leader to set your people up for success? And it doesn't mean that you just pull them aside and yell at them. That's not how we work in our Air Force and Space Force today. Instead, we've got to set expectations. We have to hold folks and to accountability standards. But then we also have to understand why didn't we meet a particular mission set or a particular standard, and try to understand that a little bit deeper level. I'm just grateful that I had an opportunity to learn that, at least in that case, the hard way.    Dr. Doug Lindsay  14:13 Well, the hard way, but in a developmental way. Right? So being able to learn that now, like you said, until you got out on active duty and because when you kind of grow up in a system that becomes normal, right. And so, you know, had that been propagated forward that could have been, you know, the stakes could have been higher.   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  14:30 Absolutely. And it's one thing that I'm I'm so proud of where the Academy has come in and where we're also heading. I see our cadets today and I'll just flash forward a little bit. We'll get back to your questions here in a minute. But let's flash forward to COVID. We knew that we were going to be sending the upper three classes home. And my husband who's also a classmate, Greg Letendre, he knew that we were going to make this announcement. And I'd given him the exact time that he was allowed to contact our sponsor cadets. We had two sponsor cadets. They were sophomores at the time. Three-degrees. And he called right after he knew the announcement was going to be made and said, "Do you need a ride? What? How can we help? Do you need a ride to the airport." And each of those three degrees said, "No, Mr. Letendre. Actually, we need to take care of our four-degrees. First, we're going to make sure they're all set, that they've got either a ride home or a trip to the airport, then we'll worry about ourselves." That's where I think the Air Force Academy has made just incredible strides in thinking about that service before self that what it means to lift others as a leader of character. And boy, I think we've just made amazing strides. And I can't wait to see where the Academy heads from here.    Dr. Doug Lindsay  15:55 Yeah, that's a pretty humbling story. As you kind of sit back and go, "Wow!" Just for them to embrace that even early on. Right? It's three degrees (that) go, "I've got some ownership, not just of myself, but in the development of those that have been put in my charge." Right? That's a pretty amazing opportunity to get in there and how you feel a little bit proud also, right? And you'll be able to watch that go through that they picked up on that because we know not everybody graduates with that same depth of appreciation I think of, right? So, that's very cool. Yeah. So you went to the Academy, had a lot of success, obviously. And then kind of went into acquisition, which is a little bit different. And with your astronautical engineering degree. So you spent your first few years in operations, and then between about 1998 and 2019, focused on the area of law and practicing that and a lot of leadership positions. Could you talk a little bit about kind of lessons learned along the way, what you did and how that kind of set you up to be the Dean of the Faculty, which may not have been a career goal of yours when you graduated? Right?   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  17:00 No, not at all. I will say though that when I graduated from the Academy, what I did know, really, as a result of being a soaring instructor pilot... So, I love to teach. I love to lead and I love to teach. And so that idea of teaching, I found there were lots of opportunities to do that along the way. Absolutely. I was, after I graduated from law school, I was able to serve in any number of legal roles, from trial attorney to appellate attorney, advising commanders, leading legal offices. But at every stage, no matter how large the leadership job became, what I found that I fell back to over and over again, were those teaching skills. And and whether it's describing a legal challenge and how a commander can take risks, where that spectrum of options are, and really thinking through to make decisions. Those teaching skills were fundamental to at least my style of how I approached the legal profession. I also got a chance to come back here as a captain and teach on faculty. And really, this notion of developing those who are also coming behind you. And, whether that was developing cadets when I was on faculty or later leading various legal offices and developing those younger JAGS and paralegals, that really was my niche. And, I end up, and a passion for helping to promote those who really are the future of our Air Force, and now the Space Force. And so it was through those opportunities, I think, that sealed the deal that when the role of permanent professor for law came open, I threw my name in the hat. And was so fortunate when I got the call from then Brigadier General Armacost, letting me know that I had gotten that job, and came out here to lead that department. And then to really start to give back to this Academy.   Dr. Doug Lindsay  19:18 That idea of I think, is very important, but a subtle one, that idea of, "We're not just leading our teams to be their best," and all that but also pouring into them the opportunity to kind of develop in that teaching skill to be able to kind of teach the teachers right to be able to kind of help do that. And how have you been able to do that kind of as you moved up, right, because sometimes as you know, move up in the leadership ranks, you lose that connection with kind of the front line and being able to really (be in) the classroom and being in there where the teaching really happens.    Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  19:51 Yeah, I think part of it is how you set that vision, that strategy for moving forward. I went through a great leadership program out at at Harvard. In fact, this particular class was taught by retired Brigadier General Dana Born, who asked us to think about your leadership mantra, you know, what is it about what you do, regardless of if they made you the Dean of the Faculty, or they put you in any job, either in the military or outside the military and, as I wrestled with that, I came up with mine. And it's, "blasting crews to future universes." This notion, or this idea that I'm not going to be alongside, whether it's my younger faculty or these cadets after they graduate, in that future universe, but what is it that we have to do to support them, to challenge them to inspire them, such that as they get to that future destination, that they're ready, and that they're equipped? I believe my role - our role - as senior leaders at the Air Force Academy is to not necessarily predict the future with any certainty. I think I might know who our next adversary is going to be in conflict. But the United States has been wrong before. I certainly don't know what strides the technology is going to take between here and there. I do know, though, that it's going to be the mental agility in the capabilities and skill sets that we are providing both to our cadets, our first graduating class, but also something we talked about our second graduating class, which is those those faculty that are going to go back out into the Air Force and Space Force. It is that challenge of, how do we help them be ready for whatever's coming their way? How do we future-proof them? And that's what I see my role as the Dean of Faculty.   Dr. Doug Lindsay  22:00 So, can you talk a little bit more about that idea? Right, so that first graduating class, I think that makes sense, right? That's sending the future officers out in the Air and Space Forces, but that second class as well, right, that those advocates, those champions of kind of not just learning, everything that we're trying to do? What does that look like in terms of you've got, you know, 750 faculty, we have 4,000 cadets, both of those components are very important. How do you really lean into that one about thinking about how we're sending our folks out, back to the service?   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  22:35 Well, one of the ways that we do that is we've got a pretty clear mission statement. Now, at the Dean of Faculty, we support obviously, the Air Force Academy's larger mission, which is to develop leaders of character within the Dean of the Faculty that we believe our portion of that is to educate and inspire warfighter scholars. So this confluence of not just a warfighter ethos, but also the disciplinary and more importantly, the interdisciplinary understanding and expertise to be able to apply that to future conflict. And so when we think about graduating both of those classes, we have become very deliberate within the Dean of Faculty and really across the entire institution. And we are laser focused on that future fight. So, how do we do that? And this is where I think the Academy has changed remarkably, and I love talking to classes who come back for the reunions. What's fundamentally changed, I think, since our time at the Air Force Academy and now is that not only is that curriculum, laser focused on the future fight, this is experiential learning opportunities that we're providing that ability to take what you're learning in the classroom, and then go in and solving real world research problems that are helping the warfighter. The Air Force Academy, Doug, you may know, is the number one funded undergraduate research institution in the country, we do over $40 million dollars worth of research every single year. And that goes across all disciplines. And not only is that helping our cadets learn how to apply or to think through different, different challenges that the warfighters are facing. But it also helps our faculty that are alongside them who are working through those same very same research challenges. And so that's where we get this idea of graduating to classes, and how we helped to shape to focus that future fight both in and outside of the classroom.   Dr. Doug Lindsay  24:45 So as you think back, it must be kind of neat in your position now to think back to Cadet Letendre back in the day, to be able to think about the experience you had and how and how impactful that was for you. And now with the resources and the opportunity, the IFC and other things that are out there available to really help prepare cadets because it's not just about learning, but it's about learning how to learn, right, the whole process and being able to partner with other organizations, right, that's got to be pretty cool to see that transformation over time. Right?   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  25:20 (It) is and I'll just give you a little example. You've probably heard the Falcon SAT program. Well, I actually worked on something that predated Falcon SAT. The first time that cadets were briefing me about the history of Falcon SAT, they didn't even include the work that my class did with with Falcon Gold. They've since updated the slide. But we were working with any number of majors from electrical engineering to astronautical engineering and mechanical engineering. But we had literally dusted off a closet that I think the mechanical engineering department loaned out to the Astro department, right? There's no such thing as a clean-room. We're working on the development of a very simple satellite that we thought we might launch on a high altitude balloon. Flash forward to today. Not only do we have investment from other DoD entities like AFRL, and Space Force, but we have profound investment from our graduate community that is making Falcon SAT the premier undergraduate institution that is not only designing, developing, building, launching, and then flying satellites, I only half jokingly say that the United States Air Force Academy has more satellites in orbit than most small countries, because it's true. And those satellites, these cadets, and those opportunities that they have to take what they're learning in the classroom to apply it. And then they're actually once in orbit, working some DoD missions as well. And it's been a remarkable operation to watch. And sometimes I just shake my head and imagine, boy, if only Jack Fisher and I could get back here, in this Astro lab, how much fun we would have.    Dr. Doug Lindsay  27:15 So you mentioned the graduate community, their involvement as well. Right? So we have other corporate entities and all that doing that as well. Can you talk a little bit about the value of that kind of giving back not just through supporting the academy, but that involvement, that active involvement in the learning process? And what that's like?   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  27:34 Giving back is critical. I like to think of it as those those sparks that if you think about what venture capitalists do, right, they, provide a spark and whether that's through seed money to try something new and different, whether that's through expertise and the use of time and knowledge as a resource. That's where I've seen grads giving back to the Air Force Academy, in really a variety (of) spectacular ways, you know, from our Institute of Future Conflict to this Fall, where we're going to open up the new Madeira Cyber Innovation Center, which is going to revolutionize how we not only think Teach, but also research with respect to the cyber domain to the Martinson Honors Program, which is just a phenomenal opportunity for for our cadets who are at the the cutting edge of thinking about interdisciplinary work through an academic lens. We're working now on the potential to have that kind of investment in the Academic Success Center, to make sure that all of our cadets are able to take on our challenging coursework any number of ways that as I walk through the halls, as I walk through our research labs, as I talk to our faculty, or as I see cadets taking part in clubs and activities. NCLS, the Academy couldn't do what it does today without that support that we get, not only from graduates, but from foundations, as well as corporations around the world.   Dr. Doug Lindsay  29:19 So I appreciate that ability (to) have the opportunity to stay connected, right? So, it's not just kind of up on the Hill, it's being able to, you know, lots of opportunities and ways to serve and get back. And as you talk through those different opportunities and talk through about the cyber center, the IFC, the Martinson, all of that. It sounds like as we think about kind of the great power competition and what's going on that we're setting our cadets up for success in being able to be involved and in really help to influence that moving forward. Right?   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  29:51 Absolutely. And we, want our grads to be better than we ever were. And I can say unabashedly that they, our second lieutenants who are graduating from this institution. are better able on day one to take on the challenges that our nation has thrown at them. And we need an institution that continues to not only rise to that challenge, but continues to change. That gets better over time. And that remains at this point laser focused on great power competition. And that's what I'm seeing, not just out of the faculty and academic staff in DF, but across the institution, our AOCs, our AMT's, our coaches, every one of us knows what our mission is, and, and the challenges that our second lieutenants are going to be facing. On day one, I couldn't be more proud of what this Academy is doing.   Dr. Doug Lindsay  30:45 And I think you hit on an important part there because as I think about my experience a few years before yours with True Blue 92, I have to put that in there, that ability to really see I think, people's place in the overall mission because I think previously there, it was really easy to kind of stay stovepipe, stay in your lane. Think about, okay, this is I'm just going to kind of be here to teach. But it seems like there's been a broadening of my purpose, right, as a person comes into the Academy, the permanent party, faculty, staff anywhere, to really say, I've got a place here, I know what my place is and I know how I contribute to the larger mission. Is that fair to say?   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  31:23 Oh, absolutely. I think that's all wrapped up in our mission to develop leaders of character. And this notion and idea that I first have to live honorably, that's taking care of who I am. That's that honor code, that, that we all espouse to that in that integrity that we bring with us day in and day out. But then that next phrase, or that that leader or characters is that we need to lift others, you know, we lift all of those around us, because we know that if we don't get the best out of every member of our team, we're never going to get to the final stage, which is that performance piece, that ability to accomplish the mission. And, and so I think that leader, a character framework, which is helping us to really center, not just cadets, but permanent party, around one goal. And so you see that, and everyone really does understand how they're contributing to that overarching mission. And they're all in, right?   Dr. Doug Lindsay  32:27 And, what I like about that kind of orienting function of developing leaders of character, because it puts a responsibility on me to to go, "If I'm going to develop leaders of character, then I need to think about how I'm showing up as a leader of character and how I do that. So I can kind of model and orient as well. Right. So I like that. That kind of responsibility puts on me as a faculty or staff member to go, I need to make sure I'm showing up the way I need to so that I can help them show up the way they need to as well. Right. Absolutely.   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  32:57 And that is probably the part that that makes me the most proud as I wander the hallways or show up at a sporting event or, or watch our cadets engage in military training exercises. I'm not only seeing them live that day in and day out. But I see those permanent party who are setting that role model and example. Just across the board.    Dr. Doug Lindsay  33:24 Yeah, that's gotta be, yeah, very satisfying.   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  33:27 I have the best job in the Air Force, Space Force.   Dr. Doug Lindsay  33:31 So kind of wrapping up, can you maybe share it? Through the journey that you've had maybe some lessons, you've kind of learned about leadership along the way, obviously, you've been very successful at every level you've done. And that doesn't happen by accident. It doesn't happen without work. So what were some of those lessons that you learned along the way, whether it was early on in acquisitions, it was in your log, or now as the dean, that you'd like to pass on?   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  33:57 One of the lessons that I've learned is that little opportunities can become big opportunities. And you don't necessarily know what that big opportunity is going to be. And you don't necessarily recognize that the little opportunity that you have before you is one of those that's going to somehow blossom in the future. And so when I talk with cadets, I talk about, "Take advantage of the little opportunities, knock them out of the park." I'll share a little opportunity. I was legal counsel on on a case that had a potential to go to the United States Supreme Court. And I was brought in along I was a major. I was brought in with all of the Judge Advocate General's from all of the services. So these are two and three stars, who were sitting down with the General Counsel of the Department of Defense at the time, Mr. J. Johnson, who later became Secretary Johnson and head of the Department of Homeland Security And so they're having this conversation about whether or not this case should go to the Supreme Court. And and at the conclusion, Mr. Johnson passes around a memo and says, hey, does this need any editing? You know, is this what we want to send to the to DOJ, to the Department of Justice to the attorney general? And, and everyone around the table, except for me, nodded their head up and down. It looks great, sir. Looks great. And I looked at him like, this memo could be improved. And I started to edit it. And on the way out, I you know, I handed it off to Mr. Johnson's exec, and said, Hey, I think this could use a little improvement here and there, here's some thoughts. It wasn't about a month or so later, that I then got a call from my Judge Advocate General Lieutenant General Rives who said, Mr. Johnson wants that major. That major had the audacity to edit his memo to come and help serve as the legal counsel, as well, as one of the prime edit authors of the report regarding the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, I would have never expected that editing a little paper, or a memo would have led them to this enormous opportunity to work directly for general ham army four star as well as Mr. Johnson. And so I think those how you think about the little opportunities that then become the big opportunities is one leadership lesson that that I would pass along.   Dr. Doug Lindsay  36:30 And we could spend probably another couple hours unpacking that one, you had to have the knowledge to understand what was there. So there's a competence piece, but there's also a courage piece to kind of lean out a little bit when you're maybe outranked around the room. And everybody else is kind of saying, Yeah, this is the way to go. But you know that there's something else that's there, right?    Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  36:49 Yeah, and I think that leads maybe to a second leadership lesson is, you've got to find your voice. And oftentimes, when I talk to cadets, they're like, "Oh, well, easy for you to say, ma'am. You know, you've got a star on, of course, you've got a voice." But I think that unless you practice having that voice early in your career, you practice what it means to be candid, you practice what it means to speak up for the right thing. It doesn't actually get easier, just because you've got rank, it gets easier through practice. And so that's one of those lessons that we talk with cadets about all the time, how do they find their voice today, on the small things, so that when they need to have a voice on the big things, they've had some practice before.   Dr. Doug Lindsay  37:39 I love that idea of of practice, and kind of embracing the moment, right? We think a lot of times people make that mistake with leadership and think, "Well, I'm not in a leadership position. So I can't really lead.", and we know that's just not true. You can. So, that idea of learning your voice, learning to lead, just really taking advantage of the opportunities that are in front of you, so that you can then maybe down the road have the opportunity to get (better). So, I appreciate those thoughts in there, as we think about kind of people want to be connected. So, if the listeners want to kind of connect more, find out more about the Academy and what are some things that they can do to kind of connect more with the Academy and find out more about what's going on?    Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  38:18 Oh, absolutely. There's any variety of ways. Not only does our usafa.edu website contain information about all of our amazing programs and opportunities, from athletics at gofalcons.com, to what's up in the cadet wing, my amazing classmate and commandant, Brigadier General Gavin Marks, who is leading the cadet wing, but also any number of things that are going on on the academic side as well. Every department's got a website. They talk about their current curriculum, their faculty, the research that they're doing. You are also welcome to follow me on my LinkedIn site, or my Instagram page. The Supt. has an amazing Instagram page as well. Lot's of different ways through both social media as well as the internet to understand what we're doing. But I think one of the best ways is, come on back. Come back to your Academy. Come to a reunion, talk to a grad, talk to a cadet. Anytime I'm having a bad day, I pull a cadet aside and just chat for a few minutes. And believe me, it's gonna make your day.   Dr. Doug Lindsay  39:27 That's awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time, your your lessons, your leadership, your example and thank you for your time today on longer leadership.   Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre  39:35 Awesome. Thank you so much, Doug.     KEYWORDS cadets, academy, air force academy, faculty, leadership, opportunities, class, learning, dean, work, people, talk, graduated, challenges, air force, mission, leaders, number, space shuttle, future         The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation      

Episode Summary: In episode 187 of the Aerospace Advantage, Spectrum Warfare: Freedom to Attack, Maneuver, and Defend, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing commander Col Joshua Koslov. Electromagnetic spectrum operations are critical to the success of any modern combat mission. With the growth of sensors, processing power, and connectivity—a tremendous range of effects can be netted through this realm. This includes attack, protection, and support functions. At its core, electromagnetic spectrum operations come down to securing an information advantage, which facilitates more effective decision making at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels. Electromagnetic spectrum warfare lies at the heart of concepts like JADC2 and ABMS—empowering data gathering, exchange, processing, and collaboration between various team members in the battlespace. It's also a competitive realm, with our adversaries seeking to deny us this capability and our forces seeking to do the same to our opponents. This episode explores how this mission area has evolved and where it is headed in the future. Credits: Host: Heather “Lucky” Penney, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Producer: Shane Thin Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey Guest: Col Joshua Koslov, Wing Commander, 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing Links: Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mitchellstudies/ #MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #EMSO #Leader Thank you for your continued support!

In this episode, Surma shares with Jake all the things he learned reading up on source maps and DWARF. Resources: Jake's Jericho triangle source-map-explorer Hacker News comment by Joseph Shorr on the origins of source maps The Source Map "specification" EvanW's source map visualizer Wikipedia: VLQ DWARF specification llvm-dwarfdump gimli addr2line bundlephobia Wasmphobia WebAssembly Debugging Chrome Extensions by Ingvar TC39 source maps spec Squoosh Animal Well .kkrieger: Gameplay video and Wikipedia article "C64 'fast loaders'" "Thank you for playing Wing Commander"

Choosing Hope In The Shadows of Grief: Nicholas Taylor's Tribute to his Daughter's Legacy through Heartfelt Leadership, Empathy, and Authentic Connection This episode is in loving memory of Denesha Carmella Taylor Chief Taylor serves as the Command Chief Master Sergeant for the 36th Wing at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. In this role, he stands as the foremost enlisted advisor to the Wing Commander, overseeing the well-being, readiness, and development of over 8,000 military and civilian personnel. Introduction: Command Chief Master Sergeant Nicholas Taylor takes delves into the realms of leadership, resilience, and the delicate balance between military duty and family life. Leadership Insights: (00:08:45 - 00:11:20) Chief Taylor emphasizes the importance of respect, trust, and empathy in effective leadership. Resilience in the Face of Adversity: (00:15:30 - 00:18:10) Chief Taylor recounts personal stories of overcoming setbacks and challenges, highlighting the importance of resilience. Prioritizing Family and Service: (00:22:55 - 00:25:40) Chief Taylor discusses the balance between military service and family life, emphasizing the importance of investing time and energy in family relationships. Building Trust and Relationships: (00:30:15 - 00:32:50) Chief Taylor shares insights on building trust and rapport, stressing the importance of authenticity and integrity. Nicholas Taylor's legacy looms large, a testament to the indomitable spirit of the human soul. Through the prism of leadership, resilience, and familial bonds, Chief Taylor imparts timeless wisdom, illuminating our path with clarity and purpose.

On this episode of The 3DO Experience, we cover Wing Commander III by Origin Systems one of the all time classics of its era to see how its held up! Follow us at: https://linktr.ee/Thebarberwhogames Follow Thrak at: https://twitter.com/thrak94 Check out Thraks other show: https://framebyframe.buzzsprout.com/ Check out Thraks streams at: https://www.twitch.tv/thrak94

In this week's episode, we take a look at seven popular movies about writing & writers and take a look at what they got wrong. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of DRAGONSKULL: CURSE OF THE ORCS (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) at my Payhip store: SPRINGORCS The coupon code is valid through May 20th, 2024. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello everyone. Welcome to Episode 198 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is April 26th, 2024 and today we were talking about seven of the most inaccurate movies about writers. Before we do that, we will have writing updates, Coupon of the Week, and a Question of the Week. So let's start with Coupon of the Week. First up, let's do Coupon of the Week. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Curse of the Orc (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) at my Payhip store. That coupon code is SPRINGORCS and that's SPRINGORCS. As always, that coupon code will be in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through May 20th, 2024. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we have got you covered. Now an update on my current writing projects and audiobook projects. I'm currently on Chapter 16 of Cloak of Titans. I'm not sure how many chapters it's going to end up being. My number keeps changing, but I think right now it's 25. I am over halfway through the book and I'm hoping to be past the 70,000 word point by the end of the day, if all goes well. I'm hoping to still have that out before the end of May. I am also 5,000 words into Half-Orc Paladin, which should come out this summer. After Cloak of Titans is out, my next main project will be Shield of Darkness, which I know many people have been asking about, so hopefully it will not be too much longer until I start on Shield of Darkness. In audiobook news, Hollis McCarthy is almost done recording Ghost in the Veils, and we should hopefully have that available to listen to sometime in May. Brad Wills is currently recording the anthology Tales of the Shield Knight, which will contain over 15 of the Shield Knight short stories that I wrote for the Sevenfold Sword and Dragontiarna series, and that should also hopefully be out sometimes toward the end of May or possibly June. So that is where I'm at with my current writing and audiobook projects. 00:01:58 Question of the Week/Update on Starfield from Previous Question of the Week Next up is Question of the Week, which is designed to inspire interesting discussions of enjoyable topics. This week's question: what is the first fantasy novel you remember reading? After all, if you're hanging around the website of Jonathan Moeller, Pulp Writer, there's a non-zero chance that you enjoy fantasy books. So it seems like a reasonable question, and it was indeed a reasonable question because we got a lot of responses. Our first response is from Justin, who says: believe it or not, the first fantasy novel I read was The Hobbit. My older sisters had pooled their money to buy the paper version of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I saw them reading it, and since my sisters were for once not being nasty to each other and reading together, it had to be good. After they finished The Hobbit, I asked to borrow it. It was allowed to read it as long as I didn't leave the room and wash my hands first. I was eight. Our next response is from Mary, who says: I remember my first reading of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. It was by no stretch of the imagination my first fantasy novel. Our next comment is from Stuart, who says: Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings. When I was younger/preteens, I loved adventure books like Hardy Boys and The Three Investigators. I didn't really read much in the coming years, until one day it was raining outside and being bored, I made a nuisance of myself when my older brother was trying to watch TV. He finally snapped, told me to shut up, threw Pawn of Prophecy at me, and told me to read that. The rest, as they say, is history. I went from adding Eddings to Feist and Gemmel and then on to Jordan, etcetera. I will always have a soft spot for David Eddings books, though. So it seems the common themes here will be a sibling rivalry inspiring love of fantasy literature. Our next response is from Grace, who says: does the Magic Treehouse series count? If not, Chronicles of Narnia. Leanne says Dragonriders of Pern. Boy, did I want a dragon! Melinda says Piers Anthony's Night Mare. I was in 6th grade and my friend gave it to me for my birthday. Cheryl says: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. From then on, it was full steam ahead, Feist, Eddings, Tolkien, Irvine, and now most of the fantasy/sci-fi authors that are currently publishing on Kindle. David says: probably The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Kevin says: many, many moons ago it was the Earthsea trilogy by Ursula Le Guin. Then I wandered into TV and films in the sci-fi genre for a number of years, forsaking the written word. My imagination was recaptured more recently, about a decade ago, a decade ago, when a friend lent me a copy of Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. Alan says: I've been through most of these mentioned so far though the years but my first introduction to once he was Edgar Rice Burroughs, like Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, Pellucidar, etcetera. Then on to Tolkien. Randy says: for me it was The Hobbit.  Went on a family vacation with my uncle and his family. I was introduced to The Hobbit. My uncle will read just about every night to my cousins, and as we're all sharing the same room, my sister and I began hearing the story. We got home. I asked my dad if I could read his copy. 50 some odd years later, I'm still devouring as many books as I can. Mike says: I am not sure which one it was, but I believe it was either The Hobbit or The Sword of Shannara. Diana says: The Gunslinger. I said what I said. Venus says: A Wrinkle in Time or Dragonsong. I know that the Pern books are actually science fiction, but I don't recall any of the science stuff that first time I read it. It was the first Pern book I read. The first epic fantasy I recall reading was Dragons of Autumn Twilight. Gary says: I couldn't give you a title or author, but I definitely remember the Choose Your Own Adventure books in the fantasy genre as a young reader. Tom said: Not 100% sure, but this is my best guess. It would be The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Ah, the Chronicles of Narnia. What a series. Juana says: I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Catriona says: The Hobbit after listening to the BBC Radio play adaptation in the ‘70s. Pippa says: Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. I've reread them lots too and I've never tired of them. Perry says: Do the Iliad, Odyssey, and Beowulf count? For modern fantasy, would be a toss-up between The Hobbit and The Belgariad. Joy says: the Thomas Covenant series. My boyfriend at the time was into sci-fi and fantasy novels, so I borrowed it and was hooked. A different Glenn says: either Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey or the Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia A. McKillip. I love them both in the same summer while visiting my dad and cannot remember which one came first, but I got hooked on fantasy fiction that summer. Mandy says: The first time I remember reading the left an impression was the Dragonlance Legends series. My favorite fantasy series is Discworld. Gary (a different Gary) says: First one I remember is the Elfstones of Shannara. Also, the Dragonriders of Pern and Crystal Singer series. John says: Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. I was nine years old. It created a lifelong love of fantasy for me. Darla says: A Wrinkle in Time, The Faraway Lurs, and The Runaway Robot were some of the books I read as a kid. Later it was Lord of the Rings and The Dragonriders of Pern and I continue reading to this day. Andy says first ever was the Deverry series by Katherine Kerr. It was a very intense read for 14 year old on an 8 hour drive on a family trip. Sue says David Eddings- all his series, and Anne McCaffrey, Dragonrider series. Brock says Lord of the Rings. Susan says: probably Lord of the Rings, but it's over 50 years ago. I can't really remember. Edward says The Legend of Huma by Richard A. Knaak. Michael says. Now there's a question! Probably The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or one of the other Narnia books, all of which are obviously epic. And finally, Judy says the White Mountains by John Christopher or anything by Dr. Seuss. So I think we can see it's safe to say that if you have a small children between the ages of eight and 10 and you want to get them into fantasy literature, the best places to start would be either The Hobbit, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, or perhaps the Dragonriders of Pern. For myself, the very first fantasy novel I ever read was Magician Master by Raymond E. Feist. What got me into that book was The Betrayal at Krondor computer game, which of course was a classic. After I finished the game, I did some reading. Remember this was way before the Internet, so you couldn't find out anything you wanted whenever you wanted and I was astonished to realize that Krondor was in fact based off an actual novel series. So I got Magician Master and started reading it. Fun fact, years later I realized that Magician Master was in fact the sequel to Magician Apprentice and went back to read the first book. So that was this week's Question of the Week. You may remember that last week's Question of the Week was what new Xbox game I should try. Many people had excellent suggestions. I think I'm going to go with Starfield from all the suggestions last week. The reason for this is that Starfield reminds me a great deal of Wing Commander Privateer from the ‘90s. If you remember, the Wing Commander series of PC games, they're basically Top Gun but in space. Privateer took the basic flight gameplay mechanic but changed it so you're an independent privateer captain and you had to make your way through the Gemini sector as a mercenary, a merchant, a pirate, a bounty hunter, or some combination of them. You had to buy your own equipment and weapons and find a way to turn a profit in your jobs, since you had to pay for everything. If you played the main plots, you got involved in conspiracy involving a lost alien relic, but you don't have to do any main plot at all. You just fly around the galaxy making credits, fighting pirates, and trading. Starfield basically feels like someone took Wing Commander Privateer, and then added on a Skyrim-esque role-playing experience for when your character is on the ground. I know it got middling reviews, but I'm enjoying the game so far. Perhaps because, at least to my eye, it feels like a massively updated version of Wing Commander Privateer. 00:09:43 Main Topic: Seven of the Most Inaccurate Movies About Writers Now we're 10 minutes into the show and still haven't gotten to our main topic, so I think it's time we should finally do that, which is Seven of the Most Inaccurate Movies About Writers. I decided to do this because I noticed that whenever a novelist or a writer of fiction turns up in a movie, the depiction of it tends to be grossly inaccurate. That's hardly unique to writers. The joke among the military officers, former military officers, and law enforcement officers is that whenever the military or law enforcement turns up on TV, you can have a good drinking game by counting all the inaccuracies and things that they get wrong. So why should writing be any different? I think the difference might be that writing is kind of a more aspirational career, where it's the sort of career that people tend to daydream about, like going off and becoming a writer and so they tend to get a lot of things wrong about that. So with the help of my transcriptionist, we pulled together a list of seven of the most inaccurate movies about writing. There's actually a couple of Hallmark movies on here, and this isn't to bash on Hallmark movies. I think Hallmark movies tend to be about the fantasy of romance in the way that a show like Law and Order is about the fantasy of law enforcement and criminal justice, or a movie like John Wick is about the fantasy of violence or a game like SimCity is about the fantasy of managing a large city. The reality is of none of these things are nothing like the way they're portrayed in fiction, but instead, Law and Order is about the fantasy of what we would like the criminal justice system to be like and John Wick is kind of like, you know, a revenge fantasy of what we imagine we would do if someone actually shot our dog. So with that in mind, let's look at seven of the most inaccurate movies we found about writing. The first one is called Winter Love Story from Hallmark in 2019. It kind of deserves the 22% it got in the Rotten Tomatometer. The plot is a debut writer who wrote a memoir is appearing on a book tour of a famous fantasy author in order to boost her sales. They travel around visiting charming bed and breakfasts with plenty of time to talk about their feelings. The fantasy writer has a dog that he really loves a lot. The movie really revolves more around the dog more than the books. Now, why is this a bad movie about writing? For one thing, it has an unrealistic view of book tours, namely that a debut writer who is writing a memoir (which is a notoriously hard to sell genre) would be given such a lavish book tour paired with an author outside her genre. Cross-genre of sales promotions here in the real world tend not to work terribly well, because someone who wants to buy an 800 page fantasy novel about dragons is probably not going to be super interested in picking up a new writer's memoir are about her failed dating life. The movie also has an unrealistic view of book marketing and the involvement level and commitment of traditional publishing staff. If traditional publishing marketing staff is marketing 50 plus other writers, they're not going to follow your whimsical book tour and give tons of advice and coaching along the way. Book tours really don't sell very many books in general, to the point where Brandon Sanderson, who is probably the top selling fantasy author in the world right now, stopped doing book tours in 2020 when COVID came along (because you know, everyone had to stop doing book tours). But after all the various restrictions lifted, he found that he really wasn't interested in resuming it because of the physical drain of traveling and it turned out it had no impact on sales whatsoever. Finally, the movie touts the very false belief that the skill of giving heartfelt, heavily autobiographical speeches is the essential skill in marketing your work. Honestly, if you want to sell books, you would have better luck learning how to use Amazon ads or Facebook ads effectively, but I expect that would not make for a very good Hallmark movie. The second movie we're going to talk about is Lost City from 2022, which I actually saw shortly after it came out because it turned up on streaming (I think it was on Prime). I thought it was actually pretty funny, but it was not terribly accurate about the business of writing. The plot is that a romance author is struggling to finish her book. While she's on tour with her famous cover model, she gets kidnapped and the cover model must turn into an action hero and rescue her. The plot very heavily borrows from the 1980s movie Romancing the Stone, which is also about a writer. The scenery in the movie is fantastic and Daniel Radcliffe plays the villain, this insane billionaire who kidnapped Sandra Bullock's character to help find lost treasure and their reactions were pretty funny. It's not a great movie about writing. Even the romance and romantasy (which is a combination of romance and fantasy) authors topping the best seller list right now (as of April 2024) do not have press tours that are more like a fan convention with a budget for sparkly jumpsuits and lighting effects, etcetera. Cover models do not get a lot (or even any) of promotion, attention, or respect from publishers. The cover model is given top billing on the tour along with the author, which just doesn't happen. One side note, what is probably realistic is the publisher trying to discourage tangents in full academic jargon by the author on her history related research interests. You will often find if you're reading a book that involved a lot of research on the part of the author, that the author is going to put that research into the book (whether the reader likes it or not). Our third movie is called Alex and Emma, which came out in 2003. The plot of this movie is that an author with writer's block has debts to a loan shark he must pay in 30 days or else the loan shark is going to get nasty. He hires a stenographer to help him church out a book and since it's a romantic comedy, you can probably guess what happens next. This movie was apparently very loosely inspired by the story of Dostoyevsky writing The Gambler/meeting his wife but is also apparently heavily inspired by the movie Paris When it Sizzles. Even with multiple sources of inspiration, it still received terrible reviews for an incoherent, unsatisfying plot. And why is this a bad movie about writing? For one thing, it treats writing a book draft in 30 days as a near impossible feat. Not to toot my own horn, so to speak, but I'm going to write the rough draft of Cloak of Titans in under 30 days. If all goes well, it will be well over 100,000 words. There's also once again the cliche that writing already must be autobiographical and reflect what's currently happening in your life in order to be good. If that were true, all my books would be about the adventures of a middle-aged IT guy, which would be kind of boring compared to epic fantasy novels. And another thing that's unrealistic is that the struggling writer gets a $125,000 advance from the publisher, but the publisher won't help him replace a computer when it gets destroyed by a loan shark's posse. Computers were, of course, quite a bit more expensive in 2003 than they are now, but still they cost a lot less than $125,000. So that part definitely didn't make sense. Our 4th movie is Not Another Happy Ending, which came out in 2013. A writer becomes successful but has writer's block when she's happy. Her publisher has to figure out how to make her unhappy so she can write again but falls in love with her in the process. And why is this a bad movie about writing? If following around most the successful writers in order to inspire them was the actual job of publishers, a few certain well known fantasy series might have at least one more book by now than they actually do. So we'll just move on from there. The fifth one is a movie that gets made fun of a lot and rather deservedly so: Eat, Pray, Love, which came out in 2010. The plot of this, obviously, is that a reader gets divorced and goes on a journey to Italy, India, and Bali in order to “find herself” and gain writing inspiration. Why is this a bad movie about writing? So many reasons! First, there's a sort of a cliche in poor taste that writers can't be great unless they leave their spouses, that their marriage is preventing someone from devoting themselves to great writing. Although the one thing you say for Eat, Pray, Love is that it's a gender flip as opposed to the way these things usually are in movies where it's the male writer who is being held back by his wife. The reality is that people with stable home lives are more likely to be productive than people without them, and this is true across all fields of endeavor, and not just writing. Another bad cliche is the idea that you need to bankroll a year of travel to luxury destinations in order to find inspiration to write isn't realistic or accurate, and in truth very, very, very, very, very few writers can actually afford this luxury. This type of thinking leads people to believe they need to go on expensive retreats in order to be a “real writer”, when in reality many famous writers rarely traveled. Examples: Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, I think J.R.R. Tolkien spent most of his post-war life entirely in England, etcetera. For myself, I do most of my writing either on my couch or while sitting in a $40 office chair I bought off Amazon Basics. That is definitely a cliche that you do not need to travel in order to write. In fact, travel can get in the way of getting writing done, which was one of the Brandon Sanderson's stated reasons for why he doesn't go on book tours too often anymore. Our 6th movie is As Good as It Gets, which came out in 1997. The premise of this movie is that a crabby, ill-behaved writer with some mental health challenges has a series of unexpected interactions that inspire him to become a better person. And why is this an inaccurate move about writing? First, there's a cliche that writers need to use a typewriter because a computer isn't as artistic or special. I know there are writers who insist on writing things longhand and or insist on using the typewriter and they have their reasons, but it's my belief that that is in fact very inefficient, and you should probably write on whatever method is most efficient or easy for you. And if you are writing for publication and profit, that means writing on a computer. If you don't like to type, you can dictate. There's also the idea I don't like that the idea that the reading public/critics will forgive terrible behavior or prejudice because of how brilliant you are. This is a fallacy you see across many professions where a brilliant doctor, a brilliant scientist, a brilliant politician, a brilliant writer, or whatever feels they have a license to act like a total jerk because they're so good at what they do. In reality, that often causes a lot of problems and ends up destroying the person's career. So that is a bad cliche, and one that if you're listening to this, I urge you not to put into practice in your daily life. Our seventh and final movie is another Hallmark one called A Novel Romance, which came out in 2015. In this story, a male romance writer who uses a pen name meets a female book reviewer who is unaware of his true identity even as they grow closer. Will pressure from his publisher to reveal his true identity hurt their budding romance? What did this movie get wrong about writing? First, there's the idea that pen names are somehow deceptive or shocking, especially in the romance genre where it's very common for a single writer to have multiple pen names. A professional book critic would consider it a very strong possibility that someone is writing under a pen name, which makes you wonder how competent the book critic is as a book critic. Publishers do not send limos to the airport for writers traveling to their personal vacation homes. If a writer is rich enough to have a limo and a personal vacation home, the writer is probably paying for it him or herself. The publisher is not. Most writing is not done on a legal pad while staring out onto the water next to your very expensive boat. Your agent, even a very nice agent (if such a thing exists) will not fly across the country multiple times in order to give you romantic advice. And finally, an author's pen name reveal would not be front page tabloid news. So those are just some of the things that movie got wrong about writing. So there those are 7 movies that are very inaccurate about what being a writer is like, and the point of that was not to pick on those movies (with the possible exception of Eat, Pray, Love, which deserves to be picked on) but to point out that the way they referenced what being a writer was like was often quite inaccurate, even if the movies themselves may or may not have been enjoyable for their intended audience. So that's it for this week. Thanks for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found it useful and a word of thanks to my transcriptionist help me to pull this list together because she's definitely seen more Hallmark movies than I have. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes on https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

Wing Commander Video Games

128th Air Refueling Wing Commander Colonel Charles Merkel joins Wisconsin's Midday News to talk about Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing being a finalist for the U.S. Air Force's new aerial refueling planes. Colonel Merkel describes exactly what the KC-46 is and why this would be such a big deal for Milwaukee to be chosen to house these aircrafts.

On this episode of Beyond the Horizon, we sit down with Wing Commander Col. Kent Kazmaier to discuss his storied career. We hope you enjoy the show! You can connect with us on: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/178Wing Instagram: http://instagram.com/178th_wing You can write to us at: beyondthehorizonpodcast@gmail.com

Chris Roberts war in den 90ern ein Superstar der Games-Szene - die treibende kreative Kraft hinter Spielen wie Wing Commander, Strike Commander und Privateer. Kein Wunder also, dass die Welt aufhorchte, als er 1999 ein besonderes Weltraumspiel ankündigte: Freelancer sollte in Sachen Umfang und spielerischer Freiheit alles bisher dagewesene übertreffen. Chris und Gunnar analysieren in gewohnter Manier das ambitionierte Weltraumspiel und leiten Stärken und Schwächen des Titels aus seiner wechselhaften Entstehungsgeschichte ab. Infos zum Spiel: Thema: Freelancer, 4.3.2003 Plattform: Windows Entwickler: Digital Anvil Publisher: Microsoft Genre: Weltraumspiel Designer: Chris Roberts, Jörg Neumann, Bruce Lemons, Phil Wattenbarger Musik: James Hannigan, Andrew G. Sega Podcast-Credits: Sprecher: Christian Schmidt, Gunnar Lott + Einspieler von Heinrich Lenhardt Audioproduktion:Christian Schmidt Titelgrafik: Paul Schmidt www.stayforever.de

April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention month. In this episode of Blacksnake Bytes, we sit down with Julie Caskey, our Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) to talk about the services and resources that she and her team provide to survivors of sexual assault, as well as their families, coworkers, and supervisors. SARCs are responsible for ensuring that victims of sexual assault receive appropriate and responsive care, and provide the Wing Commander with a broad understanding of the unit's climate in regards to sexual assault. The SARC also conducts annual training for DOD members on sexual assault prevention. Don't miss this episode!

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we return to our series on Homeworld with an interview with special guest Alex Garden, who co-founded Relic and directed the title. We talk about the inception of the idea to the implementation difficulties and much more. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Podcast breakdown: 0:52    Interview 1:03:49 Break 1:04:24 Outro Comments Issues covered: the history of our guest, distributing pirated games, the cold intro, testing games, dropping out of high school, selling the company and working for some years, fixing someone else's bugs, the crystal sphere, "Spaghetti Ball," the lightning bolt, focusing on the loss, pulling together the team, a 50000-line demo, starting with multiplayer to demo, demoing for gods, "this has changed how I'll make games," not knowing how to tell stories in space, creating a reference for the ships, believing you can overcome the difficulties, finding your home and knowing you were in the right, the gravity of the situation and losing people, every life being precious, you are not the target audience, making the story and the gameplay the same, lack of dynamic range, one revolution multiple evolution, changing the licensor, ships with fantastic shapes and colors, the main ship and why it has that design, ship scale on LODs, a frequency domain audio engine, doing a lot procedurally, clock radios, joining the rebellion, what sticks with you today, trusting your vision, expectations smashed, the new game gods, trying to make designers rock stars, knowing your collaborators. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Madden (franchise), Triple Play, The Divide, PlayStation, Impossible Creatures, Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War, Company of Heroes, Nexon, Xbox Live, Zune, Zynga, US Robotics, Distinctive Software, Chris Taylor, Don Mattrick, Omar Sharif On Bridge, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, Sega Genesis, Beavis and Butthead, Conceptual Interface Devices, Luke Moloney, Radical Entertainment, Electronic Arts, NASA/JPL, Ptolemy, Battlestar Galactica, Jon Mavor, Greg McMartin, Scott Lynch, Sierra, Valve, Erin Daly, Rob Cunningham, Aaron Kambeitz, Jane Jensen, Rob Lowe, Roberta and Ken Williams, Peter Molyneux, Black & White, Wing Commander, Chris Roberts, Star Citizen, The Breakfast Club, Blizzard, Starcraft, Republic Commando, Games Workshop, Blur Entertainment, Chris Foss, Peter Elson, Monkey Island, Shane Alfreds, Deus Ex, Warren Spector, Harvey Smith, Tim Cain, Fallout, Ion Storm, Ken Levine, Cliff Bleszinski, Killcreek (Stevie Case), John Romero, Hal Barwood, Wil Wright, Tim Schafer, Larry Holland, Gabe Newell, American McGee, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.  Next time: ??? Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

In this episode of B Movies and Beyond, Peter and Ryan place their votes for the 2024 iHorror Awards, plus they discuss Twilight getting an animated series and what franchises they want animated. New trailers for The Strangers: Chapter 1, Late Night with the Devil, and Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead. The news on Anthony Hopkins' taking a stab at an Island of Dr. Moreau movie, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse plot, Godzilla Minus One, and more. Movies reviewed are Dune Part 2 (2024) and Wing Commander (1999). Enjoy!

The awards season is almost over - we've got a few days until the Academy Awards, and another day or so after until the nominations for the real awards, the Deucies   Until then, it's time to talk about the films that have been viewed, seen, watched, absorbed and enjoyed in the last month or so... and on the heels of the biggest movies the year -- Dune 2 -- its time to talk about it!  First up, a few birthday movies - what did come out in March in 2019, 2014, 1994, 1979 and so on... including the first mention of "Wing Commander" in what is likely a very long time. Then, we dive right in, showcasing classic movies like "Safety Last" and "Gimme Shelter" and Oscar bait, like "Maestro" and "Strays" and fresh on the screen, like "Spaceman" and yes, the full review of the crapfests known as "Argylle" and "Madame Web". Plus, Rachel McAdams in a period piece... Dr Earl enjoying the Barb... why Michael hates "May December" so much... and could Carey Mulligan make every single thing she's in just that much better? And finally, the long lost return of Assigned Films, introducing the "Time Bandits" rule. Movies assigned: Dave: Minari and Legal Eagles Mikey: Mr. Jealousy and Name of the Rose Earl: While We're Young and Pineapple Express Movies discussed and where to find them at time of recording     Leo (Netflix) May December (Netflix) American Fiction (in theaters) Argylle (in theaters) Society of the Snow (Netflix) Are You There God Its Me Margaret (Starz) Madame Web (in theaters) The Zone of Interest (for purchase) You Hurt My Feelings (Showtime; Paramount+ ) Lover Stalker Killer (Netflix) The Marvels (Disney+) Shortcomings (Netflix) The Machine (Netflix) Chowchilla (MAX) Barbie (MAX) Freelance (Hulu) Strays (Amazon Prime) Timebomb Y2K (MAX) They Called Him Mostly Harmless (MAX) Bottoms (Amazon Prime; MGM+) Safety Last (MAX) The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix) Dune 2 (in theater) Cat Person (Hulu) Gimme Shelter (MAX) Spaceman (Netflix) Maestro (Netflix)

Col. Kenneth Voigt, Commander of the 552nd Air Control Wing (ACW), joins us on the latest edition of the Tinker Talks Podcast. Voigt assumed command of the 552 ACW in June 2023 and is no stranger to the wing, as 23 years ago he came to the 552 ACW as a 2nd Lieutenant air weapons officer and more recently served as the commander of the 552nd Air Control Group. In this podcast, hosted by Mark Hybers, Voigt discusses the significance of the 552 ACW to the overall Department of Defense mission, the E-3's replacement and why in the day in age of technology, that people are still at the heart of the mission. The mission of the 552nd Air Control Wing, also known as America's Wing, is to train, develop, and employ combat-ready Airmen and weapons systems to deliver decisive Command of the Air supporting America's national security priorities.

In this captivating episode of The Dr. Christopher Hall Show , co-hosted with Dr. Christopher Hall, we delve into the fascinating life and career of Chris Mulkey, a versatile talent known for his work in film, television, and music. Mulkey, an actor, blues and Americana songwriter, and singer, shares his journey from the Midwest to Hollywood, revealing the evolution of his acting career, his experiences on set, and his personal insights into the changing landscape of the entertainment industry. Growing up in Wisconsin in a family with roots stretching from New Orleans to Georgia, Mulkey's path to acting was anything but ordinary. From starting college as a history major and wrestler to finding his calling in acting thanks to a friend's suggestion, Mulkey's story is a testament to following one's passions and the serendipitous turns life can take. His early success with a play that made it to New York set the stage for a prolific career spanning over four decades, including notable roles in "Wing Commander," "Whiplash," and "Captain Phillips." Mulkey opens up about the technological and cultural shifts he's witnessed in Hollywood, from the days of in-person auditions and runner-assisted communications to the digital age of video auditions and direct offers. Despite the industry's evolution, his dedication to the craft and ability to adapt shine through as keys to his longevity. Reflecting on his education, Mulkey touches on his initial reluctance to pursue acting, his eventual switch to a performing arts major, and how a background in psychology has informed his approach to characters and storytelling.   

Connor and Jordan withstand the worst movie to date; discussing convoluted battle plans, bad CGI, and sexy space costumes in the misfire known as Wing Commander starring Freddie Prince Jr. 

Episode Summary: In Episode 167 of the Aerospace Advantage, F-16 at 50: The Origins of the Viper, Mitchell Institute's John “Slick” Baum hosts a special set of guests to mark the 50th anniversary of the F-16's first flight. It's one of the most impactful, widely used combat aircraft in airpower history. Developed in the early 1970s and first flown in 1974, the F-16 began as a relatively basic fighter. Numerous upgrades saw it evolve into an incredibly capable multi-role combat aircraft with powerful sensors, computing capacity, connectivity, a broad array of munitions, and far more thrust. This episode will discuss the origins of the F-16—how and why the requirements were developed, flight test, and early operational experiences. We've got General Mike Loh, who was a young officer just back from flying combat in Vietnam assigned to work with the “father of the F-16”, Col John Boyd, in the Fighter Requirements Directorate in the Pentagon. He later circled back to the program as the project manager for the YF-16 and F-16 at Aeronautical Systems Division. He's joined by Major General Charlie Lyon, who began his career in the F-16 in the early 1980s, when the jet was brand new and far more basic than anything flying today. He was a FWS Graduate and 422 TES IP and later a Squadron, Group, and Wing Commander. Finally, we've got Maj Gen Larry Stutzriem, who transitioned from the F-4 to the F-16 in the mid-1980s. This history really matters and that's why we're so excited to share it with you. Credits: Host: John “Slick” Baum, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Producer: Shane Thin Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey Guest: Maj Gen Larry Stutzriem, Director of Research, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Guest: Gen John Michael Loh, USAF (Ret.) Guest: Maj Gen Charles Lyon, USAF (Ret.) Links: Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mitchellstudies/ #MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #f16 Thank you for your continued support!

3rd generation warrior, RC-135 pilot, and thought leader, Major Nathan Dial '10, describes his connection to USAFA, his bond with the cadets and how the leadership lessons he learned fuel his drive to serve and support the Long Blue Line. ----more---- SUMMARY Major Dial shares his journey from growing up in a military family to attending the Air Force Academy and becoming a leader in the Air Force. He emphasizes the importance of relationships, approachability, and accountability in leadership. He's kept his connection to the Academy through mentoring cadets and serving on the Association of Graduates board. He is continuously learning and contributing to the discourse through research and writing. Major Dial also discusses the challenges and responsibilities of leadership, including the need to practice what you preach and prioritize personal development, controlling the controllables and dealing with adversity. Finally, the conversation concludes with a discussion on whether leaders are born or made.   OUR FAVORITE QUOTES "Relationships really matter. I think some of my successes would not be available without classmates or upperclassmen who poured into me or offered opportunities or offered help along the way." "Control the controllables. And by that, I mean you control your energy, you control your attitude, you control your effort. And most importantly, you control how you respond to adversity." "Don't be afraid to be vulnerable. Now, you can't be oversharing. But, you're going to know those spots where you can be vulnerable." "I'm a big believer in that you need reps. I think to really hone your skills, your potential, I think you have to have some type of environment that nurtures that out of you." "I think all the best leaders I saw, whether it was cadets or staff or faculty or AOCs, were all approachable and accountable."  - Major Nathan Dial '10   NATE ON OPRAH, AGE 11, APRIL 15, 1999   SHARE THIS EPISODE  FACEBOOK  |  LINKEDIN  |  TWITTER  |  EMAIL   CHAPTERS 00:00:  Introduction and Background 01:32:  Early Life and Influences 03:06:  Choosing the Air Force Academy 05:04:  Journey at the Academy 09:08:  Leadership Development at the Academy 12:50:  Staying Connected to the Academy 18:05:  Leadership Principles 20:20:  Giving Back to the Academy 24:06:  Navigating Highs and Lows 27:40:  Influence of Background on Leadership 29:37:  Making Time for Others 34:06:  Contributing to the Discourse 36:35:  Challenges and Responsibility of Leadership 38:52:  Practicing What You Preach 39:24:  Personal Development and Growth 40:24:  Balancing Personal Interests 41:00:  Controlling the Controllables 42:18:  Dealing with Adversity 43:20:  The Talk: Passing Down Wisdom   OUR FAVORITE TAKEAWAYS - Building strong relationships and treating people with respect are essential in leadership. - Leaders should be approachable and accountable to foster trust and accomplish goals. - Continuous learning and contributing to the discourse are important for personal and professional growth. - Leaders have a responsibility to navigate challenges, practice what they preach, and prioritize their own development. - Balance personal interests to maintain a well-rounded life. - Control the controllables, including energy, attitude, effort, and response to adversity. - Adversity can be a catalyst for growth and empathy. - Passing down wisdom through 'The Talk' is an important tradition that evolves with time. - Leaders are made through nurturing and developing their skills and experiences.     NATE'S BIO 14-year Active-Duty Air Force Officer, Combat Pilot, PhD with a concentration on NATO in the 21st Century. Well-versed in qualitative and quantitative research of public policy and sports analytics. Interested in opportunities advising/helping think-tanks, startups, boards, and private companies analyze, break down, and solve complex problems.  US Air Force Academy 2010  Harvard Kennedy School MPP 2012  ENJJPT 2013  Northwestern Political Science, Ph.D. 2021 ASG Rising Leader 2022 EC-130 Pilot  RC-135 Pilot Facebook:  Nathan Dial  |  Twitter:  therealnatedial  |  Instagram:  dial_like_thesoap  |  Linkedin:  Nathan Dial - Bio copy and image credit:  www.drnathandial.com  CONNECT WITH NATE  |  LEARN MORE  | AN IMPRESSIVE BODY OF WORK   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 SPEAKERS Our host is Dr. Doug Lindsay '92  |  Our guest is Major Nathan Dial '10   Maj. Nate Dial  00:00 I think we all have strengths, weaknesses. And so, being authentic to yourself of how are you building a team that highlights your strengths and weaknesses and being self-reflecting self-critical and doing what those are. So, I think that's probably the first thing I think for any leader. I think all the best ones I've been around have all been very, very self-aware. And so, I think that will be the challenge. I think for everybody, how are you self-aware around strengths or weaknesses. Don't be afraid to be vulnerable. I think, you know, you're gonna kind of pick and choose those moments. You'll know those moments. And so, I would try to tell people as they try to think about that.   Doug Lindsay  01:13 My guest today is major Nate Dial, a 2010 graduate of the Air Force Academy, with a bachelor's degree in economics. As a cadet, he was the fall 2009 Cadet Wing Commander, who was also the summer 2009 Basic Cadet Training Director of Operations, soaring instructor, Naval Academy exchange cadet, and he even spent a summer in Peru in an immersion program. He's a 13-year active-duty Air Force officer currently flying RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft out of Omaha, Nebraska. Major Dial's desire to feed his mind and grow as a leader is pretty insatiable. He earned a Master's in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2012. He completed the Euro NATO joint jet pilot training program in 2013. And he even received a doctorate in political science in 2021, with his concentration being on NATO in the 21st century. He is a 2021 Air Force Academy Young Alumni Excellence Award winner, and in 2022, completed the Aspen Strategy Group Rising Leaders program. He is a student and analyst of public policy, and commits time to solving the complex problems that think tank startups' boards and private companies sometimes face. He is also a member of the United States Air Force Academy Association of Graduates' board of directors. Major Dial, thank you for being with us today on the Long Blue Leadership podcast.   Maj. Nate Dial  02:32 Happy to be here. Looking forward to the conversation.   Doug Lindsay  02:35 Do you mind telling us a little bit about where you grew up, you know, kind of where you started and what that was like, and what kind of influences had an impact on you when you started?   Maj. Nate Dial  02:43 For sure. So, my dad was in the Army 30 years. And my mom is a professor who traveled the world with my dad getting a job at the local college, wherever that was. So obviously military was huge for me growing up with around a bunch of the kid. And then education was huge, too with my mom. So naturally with those two items, discipline, reading a lot. And I was a pretty decent little athlete growing up — I played basketball, golf and soccer growing up as a kid. So, you put all that together and naturally kind of led me towards a life of service and a life of service through the military with hopefully one of the academies.   Doug Lindsay  03:18 You moved around a lot during that 30 years. I'm assuming were there any places that really left an impact on your memory for you.   Maj. Nate Dial  03:25 For sure. So, just to give you a quick rundown: So, born in Buffalo, New York, spent time in Seoul, Korea; Richmond, Virginia; Columbia, South Carolina; Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and my dad ultimately retired in '03 in Richmond — that's pretty much home now. They've been there ever since [in?] the same house. The places that stick out, everybody has a kind of an indelible mark on my life. But Richmond, Virginia, really is home. I mean, I was there kindergarten through third grade, and then I returned 10th through 12th grade. So, it's pretty much my central upbringing at this point. So that's, that's probably the place I would call closest.   Doug Lindsay  04:00 And was that idea of, kind of with your dad serving? And if I remember right, your grandfather served as well. A path for you. Is that why the Academy kind of resonate or you decided to go there? What was that thought process?   Maj. Nate Dial  04:12 That was huge for me. And so, you're trying to figure out a place to serve that you feel comfortable. As a kid, when my dad was at the Army War College from 1999 to 2003. You get to see a lot of different Academy people come through Naval Air Force army, my dad's ROTC guy from Northern Illinois. So, a lot of those people, when they would see me — especially as a kid — I played a lot of golf. So, my dad ironically didn't play a lot of golf or wasn't very good. And so, as you know, as an officer, especially, oh 506 is at the War College golf huge. And so, he would actually have to go fill in for him a lot of times because I was a pretty decent player. And so, I would be 12, 11 years old playing with these Academy guys like, “Hey, Nate, like if you keep progressing you'd be a great Academy kid.” So that was pretty much embedded in me from age of about 9 to 13. And it kind of never really shook away from me growing up, so it was always kind of in the background in the foreground for me my whole life. Like all kids around my generation, I was 6 years old, I saw “Top Gun.” So, I wanted to be the black Maverick. I wanted to go mach 2 with my hair on fire. But a couple family, friends and uncles have boats and I got seasick every time. So that eliminated the Navy. And I don't swim the greatest. Definitely eliminated the Naval Academy. I didn't like camping as a kid either. And so, my dad, being an Army guy, was like, “You're just not built for it. You're not built to be an Army. So, you should do that we do the Air Force Academy thing.” It's kind of matched up to the dad's wishes, and also my desire to fly. The Air Force Academy was the only Academy I applied to; I only did that in Air Force ROTC coming out of high school. So, I was pretty determined that that was my direction.   Doug Lindsay  05:42 When did this idea of leadership really kind of start to come on if you could spend a little bit of time talking about that?   Maj. Nate Dial  05:48 Yeah, I'll kind of back up in time on that one in terms of service and leadership. It really started when I was 12 years old. So, in fifth grade, again, moved around a lot. So, I went from a really affluent area in Chesterfield County in the suburb of Richmond, Virginia, to Carlisle, and went from a brand-new school with one of the best libraries you could ever imagine to a not-as-great school and not a great a very old library. And so, as a huge reader as a kid, I was pretty determined to try to help and try to figure out a way to improve that library at the school I was at and Carlisle. And so, I was inspired by Oprah Winfrey; she had this campaign going at the time where she put these large water jugs in the 50 largest malls in America and said, “Hey, people, just throw your loose change in these jugs and our goal is to try to send 50 kids to college.” And they ended up raising a ton of money — enough to send 56 Honestly, kids to college. And that really resonated with me as a kid, I was like, I want to do something like this on a smaller scale for my elementary school to raise money for books. So, I had this idea. I pitched it to people at my dad and mom's work, and they agreed to match whatever money we raised at my local school to buy books for kids. And so, I made this presentation to the school principal and he said we had other funds coming in — “We're not really interested in your program that you want to try to pitch us on.” I continue to read and kind of do it on a local level in my own house; I ended up having over the course of the year about 120 150 bucks that I made, got the matching from my mom and dad's work, and then bought books for every kid in my elementary school class. And so, I wrote Oprah about it and about she inspired me everything else. And then she had me on the show and then donated $5,000, worth of books in my name. And so, at that point, it really kind of made a mark on me of, you know, you can make an impact on this world if you're passionate inspired about a problem or a challenge that you want to go solve. And so, I think that as a 12-year-old kind of got that going in me. And so, it was kind of always looking around places. And so, given the dad service, and then all the absolutely amazing opportunity at the Air Force Academy that kind of led me towards that of like this place will help me go to my highest of heights, whatever is possible for me for sure.   Doug Lindsay  08:08 That idea of wanting to make a difference, right? Why did you feel that calling to want to do that?   Maj. Nate Dial  08:14 I'm not sure if it's really like, “Why me?” I think it's more like, “Why not?” It's kind of how I would answer that. And my parents were always really good about anything that I was passionate about, if nurturing, and if it's educational. If it was about impact, my parents really nurtured it. And they were like, OK, like, let's continue to explore, like, let's ask questions, like, help you. And so, I think having a foundation of a family like that, that didn't put any limits on me and said, “We want to nurture that desire to help.” I think that's probably the why — was that I had this idea. My parents didn't shut it down or poopoo it; they were actually like, yeah, they put gasoline on the fire — let me go burn a little bit more. So that was probably how I would say that's the why. What drew me to the academy over other schools was, I wasn't going to be judged just on my academic performance. It was the academics, it was the military, it was the athletics, it was the leadership. There was so much going on there that I was very much a busybody as a kid. And going there was going to be able to feed that busy bardenas Because there's so much going on, there's 36 hours' worth of things to do what a 24 hour day. So, you were never going to be bored at that institution. So, that really spoke to me. And what's also nice about that, too, is when you have a bad performance, let's say in a Physics 215 class, you can take your frustration down on the intramural field, or help instruct somebody as a soaring IP. So, I think that ability to try to nurture every piece of my brain, any kind of desire I had, was awesome there. So, I think it was just super enriching because again, I would talk about the Academy is it's a, it's a will issue, not a skill issue — that if you have a willpower, there's people at that place that want to help you get there and want to help you succeed. Whether that's your classmates, your upperclassmen are the instructors, people really invested in people becoming their best selves. So, I think that's how I would probably encapsulate my journey there.   Doug Lindsay  10:08 And so there was obviously the individual drive from yourself. But did your faculty staff play a role in that? I mean, how did that shape how you showed up as a cadet?   Maj. Nate Dial  10:17 Yeah, huge. So, I was a track, I think my first two years at the Academy, and my career got ended because of two knee surgeries. So that happened. But what spoke to me around the track team was the late Ralph Lindeman, who was the coach there for many, many years. When you're in your offseason there, he gave you every Wednesday off to go to EI. And so, I always helped me as a freshman understand that athletics isn't my job, my job is school and being the best kid that I can be. And so, I think that's me with a really big foundation around like how to balance and compartmentalize the many parts of your life. So, that was a great foundation as a freshman have, I have this athletic performance I have to do. But at the same time, at the end of the day, like, I'm still a student, I needed to get the best grades I can get, I need to try to make sure I can perform as much as I can. So, I think having that was really huge for me initially. So, that was a great foundation, and an amazing AOC. My freshman year was all about performance. And so, he was a pilot beat to pilot and he was about the numbers. And so, I was a pretty good performer in terms of, like, the knowledge test and my academics and athletics. And so, he was much like, “Hey, man, based on your numbers, like, you can go as far as you want at this place.” And I never really thought about that until we really sat me down and [he?] told me that after my first semester, so that again, like, continue to fuel the fire of, like, just keep pushing the envelope and do as best as you can here. And then the same like my sophomore in junior year at an amazing AOC F 16 pilot type, who continued to nurture me. And then my senior year, my IOC was a maintainer who, again, like, just gave me a lot of that, like broader leadership around how to inspire others. So, I thought all that leadership from the AOCs was great. And then my instructors were amazing. I still talked to my adviser, and my thesis adviser to the Academy. Now, I probably sent him an update email every six months. So, those people who invest in me, I'm always very thankful. And I know I wouldn't be here without a lot of their help and, just, nurturing for sure.   Doug Lindsay  12:15 Was Cadet Wing Commander ever kind of something you've thought about? Or is it just something that kind of just happened as a byproduct  of your ability to kind of lean in and take advantage of those opportunities?   Maj. Nate Dial  12:24 Also a crazy story. So, I actually was pretty determined to leave the academy after my sophomore year. So, I just, I think everybody that sophomore year is just like the doldrums where everybody kind of just does not like that place. And I was definitely one of those people. And, you know, who's grinding, nobody cares, right? You're a 3 degree, you're not the cool freshman everybody picks on. And you've got so many more days left junior senior year that you're like, “I'm just out on this place.” So, I applied to a couple of universities to transfer and there was two other friends of mine who were doing the same thing and we were helping each other out. The other two people ended up leaving — one went to [the University of Pennsylvania]. And one went to UCLA. But I ended up staying. And so, I just kind of prayed about it and said, “Hey, you know, should I leave? Or should I stay.” And I made a pact with God that if I got into a couple of different programs, I would stay because it meant that I was doing really well. So, I was soaring IP, a Navy exchange, and then it was the summer immersion to Peru. If I got all three of those. I was like, “I have to stay, like, I'm just doing so well here. And it's such an amazing opportunity. You got to kind of have to stay.” And so, I stayed. I went to the Naval Academy. And while I always wanted to go there. And back on the East Coast, I'm seeing a ton of my friends on the weekend who I grew up with, being a Virginia kid, I was absolutely miserable at the Naval Academy. I don't want to get too much into I but it was bad. It was bad in terms of the kids I had a room with weren't the greatest. There's tons of rules. They're how they trained freshmen is so different than how we do. The culture is very different. And so, it actually made me appreciate the Academy that much more. And I got back to the Academy my second semester, junior year after the exchange, and I was like, “We got to make this place fun. Like you guys. We don't know how great we have it here compared to the other academies.” And so I was on this campaign of like, we got to make being a cadet fun again, like that's what we got to do. And maybe people appreciate this place. And so, I remember talking to my IOC at the time, and having this kind of epiphany that no, this place is awesome. I'm so happy to be here. This is great. So, it's so much awesome opportunity here. You know, “What job should I apply for as a senior?” and he was like, “Nate, like, you should apply for wing commander. That's like “Nah, I'm not that guy. I'm not that person.” And then he kind of broke down whatever the cadet equivalent to a surf was. And then just that kind of inspiration that I had the time to try to help him make it a better place for cadets and he was like to take that energy and try to pour into the cadet wing I think it'd be great for him and so his again his fuel to the fire for be maybe think about it and then we're pretty determined person so once I kind of get myself locked onto a vector then I give it my best effort.   Doug Lindsay  15:01 Did it end up working out? You kind of had that epiphany — that kind of figuring it out of I own this, right, this is me and what I can do, and I'm gonna make the most out of it, You came to the Academy, did you know that flying was the way to go? Maj. Nate Dial  15:12 One-hundred percent. I mean, I set up for the Academy to fly, pretty standard person. And that way, I got to appreciate it more though, because I had this really interesting peanut allergy. And there was a time where I didn't think I was able to fly because of this peanut allergy. And so, I didn't go through all these DOM or physicals which I'll describe what it was, I had to eat peanut butter over the course of eight hours, and every 20 minutes, they doubled the dose started with an eighth of a teaspoon all the way up to a half a cup. And they had all the like the gonads on me that monitor everything. And so, that was like the ultimate last test — I had to do the past to make sure I'd you know, wouldn't die if I ate peanut butter, I guess in the plane or have like some type of shock or incapacitation. So, I passed that. But that, like, 3-month process of all the physical tests I had to do around this peanut allergy had me really thinking about what else what I would do. And I just felt really fortunate to be able to get through that and so be able to live my dream. And so, I really do empathize with people who have some type of medical issue who got to the Academy, thought they were gonna be able to fly, then found out later that they couldn't, and then, you know, what do they do next? And so having had that journey, I can definitely empathize with cadets who have that I've talked to decent people who've had that.   Doug Lindsay  16:30 With the success that you had at the Academy, what were some of the, maybe the leadership principles that you pulled out of your time at the Academy.   Maj. Nate Dial  16:38 The first thing I would say is, relationships really matter. I think some of my successes would not be available without classmates or upperclassmen who poured into me or offered opportunities or offered help along the way. I think we all can talk about as grads, people who are still in our lives, right, they're the best men in our wedding, the groomsmen in our wedding or bridesmaids in our weddings, right? That's kind of how it works out. So that kind of family atmosphere there, it's very important, and the relationships matter too because you're going to fast forward from graduation, you know, eight, nine, 10 years, you're going to weapon school with these people, you're in combat with those people, you're in on the radio. So, having that relationship builds trust and builds Trumps means accomplishing whatever the goal is, or the mission, especially in hard times. So, I would say relationships matter. Therefore, how you treat people is very important. When in doubt, take the high road. When in doubt, err on the side of grace. Those are the kind of messages that would tell somebody. So, that's a very interpersonal skill I would talk about for the leadership part of it. And then the second thing I would talk about is being approachable and accountable. I think all the best leaders I saw, whether it was cadets, or staff, or faculty, or AOCs, were all approachable and accountable. So, I thought those were the two things I would hang my hat on going forward. And they just understand that you'll get better with reps. So, putting yourself out there, trying new things out, not being afraid to fail. When in doubt, ask questions to people who've already been there before. I think those are probably the biggest things I've definitely learned as a cadet.   Doug Lindsay  18:11 You graduated in 2010. You kind of went off doing the flying thing. Very intentionally you have stayed connected to the Academy.   Maj. Nate Dial  18:20 It's hard to give you a “why” but I can kind of give you a feeling I think of the why. So, the feeling I can talk about in this is around kind of like your first relationship with a significant other, where you have all the highs or the lows, you care about that person a lot. Even if you go your separate ways to something else, you always kind of keep tabs and you want to make sure that person is in a better place than when you whenever you kind of broke up or did something different. It's kind of the same way I feel about USAFA. It's the first decision that I made on my own was choosing to go to that school, obviously, I talked about choosing to stay to and stay committed to it and that process. And I knew I wouldn't be here without those four years. And so, I think that kind of feeling of connection and that relationship being such an integral part of my life — I could never really just separate away from it completely. And so, I think that's part of the reason why of always staying connected and then always figuring out ways of how can I support in a way that is meaningful?   Doug Lindsay  19:27 Can you talk a little bit about some of those ways that you support in terms of what you do to kind of help give back with your time and what you do?   Maj. Nate Dial  19:34 I think like many graduates find cadets or cadets find you. So, I think it's a very basic one that I've done from Day One is given the profile. A lot of people hear about my story are interested in some of the similar things I already did. So, cadets will reach out and I could probably talk you through a litany of cadets since I've graduated who I help out with that and stay connected with this. The second thing too is obviously now with the endowment that we started. So, put money in at a small amount was $20.10, a little bit of class pride there a month into a fund that went with the EO G. And then, over time, our goal was to come back to the 10-year reunion, and then figure out what we want to do with the sum of money. So, through that program, we were able to raise $330,000, of which we put to her and 10,000 of those dollars into an endowment, that at the time 2021, you all remember COVID. Seeing some of the stories online around the cadet experience was really heartbreaking. And so, we wanted as a class to try to help with their morale. And so, we have this endowment that gives $5,000 to the No. 1 cadet squadron for their morale fun. So, it's as no strings attached you can kind of get given DoD and government. But it's if they want to redo their SAR they can do if they want to go to Chipotle and have a big Chipotle dinner, they want to go to Top Golf or rent it out with like whatever they want to do to increase their morale as a squadron. We fund that with $5,000 every semester. And so that's a way of giving back if you're trying to find we have these funds, we have a need of the cadets. And so that's how our class decided to do that. And I just know, I'm a connector, I'm a conduit for that. So, I'm able to help with that. And then obviously, recently, this past May, when some people on the board call it so it wouldn't be an appointment or on the cog board jumped at the opportunity to try to lend my services and ideas for sure.   Doug Lindsay  21:31 There were highs and there were lows. To have those highs and really have those successes, we've got to understand those kind of low points too, and who we are. And it sounds like the highs may not have been possible if you didn't kind of sort through those lows as well, right?   Maj. Nate Dial  21:45 For sure. I think it's Conor McGregor's Trainer that has a book that either we're winning or we're learning, we're accomplishing the goals, and you're gonna get some things out of it. I think all of my greatest growth moments come through some type of failure or hardship. And so, I think I'll give an example as a cadet right is, I had never done poorly, right, academically, but I remember failing a GR in a super high level Spanish class as a freshman that I, like, I validated into. And so, it was the first time where I had to humble myself and ask for help. I was the only non-native Spanish speaker in this class. And so, asking people for help of like, “Hey, I don't get this,” or, “Hey, I need to study with somebody or something else.” I was a first time I had to humble myself in academic setting to do that. And so that was an opportunity to learn of that you can't just blast off on your own. If you want to get to this place, which was get an A in this course, you're going to need to lean on some classmates and ask for help. And it'd be like, “Hey, I don't get this.” And that is a strength. And I think a lot of us, when we get to the Academy, we're also Type A personalities who are highly successful, who have a lot of positive affirmation coming into that place, it's the first time you get smacked in the face with any kind of not high performance, slash average performance, slash below average performance. And so, I think how do you recover from that is huge in the growth. And so there's tons of opportunities, like, that I can talk through at the Academy where, at the time, it was a low, but it really was something to kind of harden me for the next situation, whether that was to give empathy for another person, or it's prepared me and harden me for the next challenge that's coming second, when it comes again, then I'm successful, and he would overcome this situation.   Doug Lindsay  23:25 It sounds like, you know, from early on, you know, again, your example, your grandfather example, your father, your mother and all that, that idea of service. And that really idea of kind of giving it your all — how does that influence your leadership today?   Maj. Nate Dial  23:38 So, the first thing I tried to do is just offer two things that one, I'm available. So, this isn't a onetime relationship is what I always tried to lead with is that if I'm taking time out of my day to talk with you, whether that's in an official capacity because you're in my chain of command, or an unofficial capacity, that this isn't a onetime conversation, that I understand that not everybody is prepared or has questions or answers or challenges right now, that might come in the future. So, hey, I'm available when future things happen, if I'm the person that you want to come to with these things you think I can help. So, that's the first thing of establishing that is, this is a lifetime relationship. If as long as you want to tap back in, you got me that I'm here. So, I think having that kind of long-distance trust is really huge to establish to you're saying it's a journey that people are going to it's cyclical that we're going to have certain periods or seasons in life. And then the second one is: I normally try to lead with how can I help you? Because I think a lot of times we want to give people advice and not try to answer people's questions. And so, I tried to lead with answering your questions of, “Hey, like, how can I help?” and sometimes it'll lead you to a lot of places, but I want to just be impactful. I want to leave everybody when I meet them better than when they before they met me. And same with every organization will leave every organization better than when I entered it. That's kind of the goal is every time.   Doug Lindsay  24:59 How do you find time to do that? Or how do you make time to make sure that you're setting the time to be available to folks when they need it?   Maj. Nate Dial  25:07 It's gotten crazier over the years. And my wife is really good about this in terms of helping me schedule my own time. But I have a literally a standing 6-hour window every Sunday from after church to like 11 o'clock to 1700 to 5:00 p.m. every Sunday, that I just block out for people to be available. So, people hit me up and say, “Hey, Nate, I was like, well, x, y, or z.” And I just send them, “Hey, this is the time blocks, the next couple Sundays. Let me know when you want to fill in.” And so, I kind of compartmentalize that, because another part I think of leadership is being fully present. So, we're all super busy as you're talking about. But for that six hours, I am yours, for whatever block of time, 30 minutes, hour or 45 minutes, I am yours. And I'm fully committed. And if you ever read ahead for me, I've prepped for that for 1015 minutes really quickly to get myself smart on it. And then I'm here and I'm available. So, I think having a dedicated predictable time for people is heavy. And then I always tell people to, like — if you email me, give me, like, 72 hours, but I never know what's going on in the world. But pretty much now we're always connected to the internet. So, it sent me two hours, I'll see it now even I'm busy. I'll tell you, “Hey, I'm super busy. I'll get back to you in (insert timetable).” But I try to make it predictable, and then hold myself very accountable to those times.   Doug Lindsay  26:20 So, you put that block of time there, right, where you're really being fully present and investing. What is it that you've taken away from that intentionality on time to be with other people?   Maj. Nate Dial  26:29 Ninety-five percent of the time it's enriching. Because I am a classic extrovert, people energize me. So that's all start with that. And most times, people are really inspiring, whether it's some of these new cool things that they're doing, or they're trying to pursue that it's like, "Oh, man, that's awesome. I hope that person gets there.” Or I'm inspired by their tenacity to try to overcome something or get there. Or I'm just inspired by them to keep my game up. Because when you have a mentee who's climbing these ladders and doing it, it's not like we're always keeping score, but where we got to get better. It's like, "Hey, like, I need to keep pushing the envelope,” to like, ”What am I doing right now?” If these people are calling me and asking, I can't stagnate, I gotta keep pushing too. So, it's kind of a pseudo-inspiration to kind of keep my game up, too. So, I think all the above is always really helpful. More recently, in my 30s, I have noticed and tried to make myself more available for the tougher conversations, especially with friends, as people have recently had one of my best friend's son died, who's under 2 years old. So, making time for people like that to sometimes the inspiration is just being there as a friend to be that they're willing to share their vulnerabilities with you because, right, like, it's really easy to celebrate things with others; it's kind of tough to talk about when you're not in the best places. But I think as a friend, when people can find you in those areas, that's really powerful. The older I get that people were comfortable being vulnerable with you, and trust you enough to be vulnerable with you. And so, I think those times, while they're tough emotionally, make me feel good about myself that people feel that they can come to me with those items as well. And so, we're talking about a lot about my successes, which obviously, I'm very humbled by and pray to God that they continue to go, but some of it is about how do you help people get through those turbulent times? I think those are some of the things that I think through myself that are some of the most rewarding items, when people are kind of going through those doldrums, or going through those dark places, or those valleys, of helping them get on the other end of it to be a part of that process. That's really, really, really, really powerful for me.   Doug Lindsay  28:41 You'd also mentioned that it kind of challenges you to be better. So, I've noticed what you've chosen to do both educationally you get a master's, Ph.D. Not everybody does that. So, you were kind of doing that to kind of challenge yourself mentally and intellectually, but also your writing, and you're putting out pieces — thought pieces— and research as well. What's been the impetus for that? Is it just to contribute or to continue to push yourself?   Maj. Nate Dial  29:04 My dad used to always talk to me about as a kid, don't just bring me problems bring me a problem and a solution or a potential solution. And so, when I identify items that I think are suboptimal, I think I have a duty to whatever I'm criticizing, to add to the body of work to try to get to a solution. So, talk about some of the research right on the NBA. I'm a huge basketball nerd. And so, the research I did around the impact of college basketball and McDonald's All-Americans it was because I was truly curious about is the one and done rule that great or was two years of college be optimal? Or how about more? Right? So that's a question I had. And so, I was like, “Well, I have this skill set around quant research. I'm passionate about it. So, let's push it there.” Or more recently of the debate around the best 75 players in the NBA or 70 in the 75-year history of the NBA. That paper that I put out there was OK, like how could you evaluate that more quantitatively and objectively than writers talking about how they feel about people? So those kinds of items, there are obviously the piece that did back in 2020 around race in the military. Like those are kind of identify a problem or identify a situation and just try to help move the conversation forward through my either skill sets, or works or experience.   Doug Lindsay  30:21 Nate, one of the things that you had written before was a conversation that you shared a little bit about between your grandfather and your father to you about the talk. Do you mind talking a little bit about that and sharing a little bit about what that meant to you?   Maj. Nate Dial  30:34 Sure. So, The Talk, it's a tradition where minorities explain to their adolescent child really males who are coming of age, some of the stereotypes that they gotta overcome, and try to give us some techniques of how to overcome them that they've developed over their time as an adult, or in their same situation. Talking a lot of friends, obviously, since my article published, you got a lot of highlights back in 2020, around the George Floyd summer. It's a tradition of a lot of different minorities. So, you kind of takes different shapes, but it's very similar overall concept. And so, with the talk, there's a couple of things that are pretty important is that it's dependent on time, and it changes and evolves. So, I'll use my own family as the examples that kind of talked about in the article, which is, so my grandfather was in the conscription World War II segregated enlisted military. And so, he served there, finished his tour of duty, moved to Chicago, had a GI Bill tried to use the GI Bill to buy a house and a VA loan, but couldn't because right, redlining was very apparent in Chicago. And so, you can only buy a house in certain parts of Chicago, where you get a loan. And so, you know, what he learned in his time was that what's on the piece of paper, in terms of what happens may or may not apply to you as a Black person in America in his time. So, that's what he kind of taught my dad. So, my dad has had situation he goes on to college ROTC Commission's he's out in Germany on his first assignment, and my grandfather goes and visits and so he has my dad go through the gate multiple times, and my dad at the end of it. So, the second or third time through the gate is kind of like, "Hey, Pops, what's up?” and essentially, my grandfather, so my dad is like, “I never thought I would see a day where a white enlisted member would have to salute my son,” you know? Right, showing like, OK, like this, this progress is happening. And America and so he's seeing that in real time, too. And so that kind of similar moment, I think, happened with my father and I, where my dad's probably cried in front of me, like three times his entire life. And I can definitely remember the first time which was the parade for Parents Weekend, the fall, when I was cut Wing Commander, where you come down the parade field, you're the No. 1 person coming out, you lead everybody, the 4,500 cadets, and the wing. And so after the parade happens, you talk to your family, and everybody's around. And my dad was like, visibly emotional. Because I think for him, he never thought in his wildest dreams, his son would ever have that kind of an opportunity or potential, like he thought I could get to the academy, and graduate and probably get a pilot slot and do my thing, but I don't think he ever thought I could be the cadet Wing Commander. And so I think he was just really overtaken about again, like the progress that has been made, and in our country and whatnot. So that's kind of the talk. And so I'm quite looking forward to what that looks like with my kid, right? Like, I don't have kids yet. But hopefully, God blesses me with a split some kids. And so, they'll be able to share that kind of similar moment with them. I'm really looking forward to in terms of what I've learned, but then what they're going to teach me too, about how America is progressing.   Doug Lindsay  33:46 I think a lot of times when we look at leaders, and especially successful leaders, we just assume it's all good and it's there's all this good stuff, but we don't always understand that kind of behind the scenes that sometimes you have to do is downshifts, right? It's not all up. Sometimes we have those ups and downs we've got to deal with right?   Maj. Nate Dial  34:00 One-hundred percent. And sometimes yourself taking a knee, right? Like, I'm not all here either. And being again, approachable and accountable of saying, “I'm not all here, so I need to work on me.” And in practice what you preach. I always think it's quite funny when I see squadron commanders talk about family time and balance, and then I see them in their squadron at 7:30 p.m. at night, right? If you're doing that, everybody then feels obligated to a TOS if you want balance right it's how are you practicing what you're preaching there, right? Are you leaving at 5 even though we know we have a lot of work to do, but we'll get to it tomorrow? Or hey, um, when I was a flight commander, I used to always show up at 8:15, so, like, 45 minutes afterwards, because I always worked out in the mornings based on like, I prioritize my fitness. I know the duty days or 7:30 but I'm gonna show up at 8:15 because I prioritize my health and like working out. I hope you do too. And that I would always on Fridays if I could, I'd let everybody go around like to And then just stay for the rest of the day. The treadle people have balanced around, like, hey, like, everybody else can leave, I'll handle myself on a Friday and start your weekend off now. So, try to, like — that's part of the accountability, responsibility. I think that we all, as leaders, or people, and the hardest part is practicing what you preach, especially when things get hard, is how do you sustain the idea or the principle, when sometimes the short-term benefit will feel good in the moment, but overall, for the principle or the objective, you might not be achieving that?   Doug Lindsay  35:36 What do you do for your own development, to kind of keep you sharp, you keep showing up ready for the next rep?   Maj. Nate Dial  35:42 I have a lot of mentors and friends outside of the military. And so sometimes I normally try to reach out to them of challenges that they're facing and dealing with, and asking questions around that, to try to get a feel for how different industries are dealing with certain items or friends of mine. So, that's an enriching part of it. And then I could also offer, like, some of my military experiences to those same people. So, that's kind of a nice back-and-forth of kind of intellectual jabbing, and support for one another.  A big thing for me is I start pretty much every day off 30 minutes every day with a devotional, some, again, religious so I started with the Bible, then, like, kind of meditation. So, that kind of keeps me centered, balanced every day, kind of a consistent foundation every day if I'm going to start my day. And then for the enriching part of I'm a huge biography person. So, I read biography, I think real life is always better than fiction. So, I try to read up on that, and then I'm a big self-health person, I'll go that's podcast. So, those are that but then again, to the balance part of it. I'm a huge sports guy. So, your Rich Eisens, Dan Patricks. Bomani Jones's, Stephen A Smith, like I listen to those people to try to let myself come down and be a normal person and be relatable to others who are who I lead. So, I try to nurture both sides of it, like my personal like, let's just be entertained and decompress. But also, hey, I see what else is out there.   Doug Lindsay  37:09 Sounds like there's a lot of different ways that you invest into there to make sure that you show up and be present the way you want to right? Maj. Nate Dial 100% 100%. N   Doug Lindsay  37:09 Nate, one of the things that sometimes people will have debates on is that leaders are born versus leaders are made or somewhere in between. Do you mind sharing your thoughts about kind of how you think about that based on your the work that you've done and your own practical experience or leaders born and they made? Or what does that? What does that look like?   Maj. Nate Dial  37:34 I definitely have a nurture-over-nature person. I just think too much of life has shown me that, especially around high-leverage moments, right? So there, my dad taught me something very similar. But the quotes, in easier way to articulate the idea that people don't rise to the occasion they revert to their training, so in necessitates the obvious question is, “How good is your training?” And so I think, while people could have some, like natural skill sets around leadership, I think, to hit your full potential, you've got to be nurturing that over time. And you only really get that through reps; you only get that through leadership challenge. That's why the Academy is so awesome with the leadership laboratory that we have there. And why in a lot of ways, I prefer the Air Force Academy model over West Point where West Point, a lot of their top cadets stay the same over the whole year, versus our Academy changes essentially three times the summer, the fall and the spring, because it gives more people more opportunities to have some of those leadership challenges to try to grow and develop. So, I'm a big believer in that — that you need reps to be able to get there. Could you get lucky once or twice, but I think to really hone your skills, your potential, I think you have to have some type of environment that nurtures that out of you.   Doug Lindsay  38:51 Exactly right. You know, we may all have different starting points on how we show up. But how we engage in what we do and how we do those reps and how often we do those reps are fully up to us and how we're going to how we're going to manage that right? I can't necessarily control where I start, but I can control how I finish and how I engage with the process. Right? Different for sure. A-firm. 100% agree with that. You we're successful at the Academy, you're successful in the Air Force, you're a little over midway through your career, what advice do you have for young leaders?   Maj. Nate Dial  39:20 The biggest thing is control the controllables. And so, by that, I mean you control your energy, you control your attitude, you control your effort. And most importantly, you control how you respond to adversity. People are always taking notice of that. So, if you control the controllables and you worry about you show up every day with high energy or positive energy, you give everything great effort, people are going to want to help you. People are going to see that and follow you with that. And then you control your attitude. So how do you treat people? How do you approach people? How do you operate in your day-to-day life? People respond to that. And so, I think always having that in mind of control the controllables, especially around those four items, I bet people would tell people to focus on that. And through those reps, as you get older, you'll get more tools in the toolkit. But I would start with that.   Doug Lindsay  40:12 Do you mind maybe sharing one of those adversities you faced and how you kind of move through that in terms of maybe a challenge that you faced, and you had to sit there and go, “How am I going to respond to this?” and maybe how that shaped you, or maybe a pivotal one that you wouldn't mind sharing?   Maj. Nate Dial  40:27 I'll go with, yeah, I'll start with pilot training, I think. So even though we talked about a little bit at some of these like valleys before, I never had really been in a dark place before. But pilot training was pretty dark for me, because it was the first time where I was, you know, an average or below average performer. This thing I always wanted my whole life, as we've talked about already, of being a pilot in the Air Force, I've done all the right things, and hit all the highs. You can hit educational at the Academy that to get so close to your dream and not be a great performer was rough. And so, I think part of that was a great journey of just how do you deal with that kind of adversity and not performing as you thought you would, or how you could? I was, you know, went to an 89 ride and T-6s. So, for people who aren't familiar with a pilot training that's like your, if you fail this, right, like you're out of the program, pretty much. And so, it takes some hooks to get there. And so, I was flying and got through that. So, that was kind of, you know, seeing the precipice of the cliff, and then getting yourself off of it. But what was nice about that was like the light bulb went off later, and T-38. And I had the tie for the top check ride for the initial check ride to gates at Shepherd. So, the light bulb eventually went off. And so, some of that with me, too, was being at Shepherd, it's designed to be a single seat fighter pilot place. And so, you know, just trying to deal with that whole situation there at inject was very interesting for me. Obviously, I wrote about in one of my pieces. But what that experience taught me about seeing the precipice and then coming back being somebody was trying so hard but not performing. What it helped me do? Honestly, it's empathize with people who are struggling. So, I know a lot of people who are at the Academy talk about, like, you know, “Chemistry was my crucible,” or “Water survival was my crucible,” and like, I gotta always go at it. And while I had not great performances, everything was really high, right? So, you don't get to become the cadet wing commander and not perform at a pretty high rate in the fall. So, while I had challenges, it was nothing that I didn't overcome or weren't essentially speed bumps, that was the first like, no kidding, like, I might not make it through this program moment. And so, with that, that just gave me a lot of empathy for people and allowed me to ask better questions, when especially people who are high performers who are in this weird doldrum, I can ask a lot more questions. And I kind of get some of those feelings that I felt back then. So, that's one of those challenges that I think that I would talk through around just making me a better leader were in the in when I was living in it, it felt horrible and terrible. But being on the other end of it, 2, 3, 4 years from then, and I'll give you an example. So, I had an airman who worked for me, you can fast forward see, it's probably 2016-ish, who was top linguist coming out, was a distinguished graduate of his cryptological program came to me and he was going through doing some crazy stuff, right? How to get like an article 15 from the commander or whatnot. And so, when that was happening, I just sat him down and we have a really good conversation around like, “Hey, man, like, this is weird, like, whatever this is, right now, it's not it.” And so, I got to share a little bit about my story about pilot training or whatnot. And so, we got to talk and I said, “Hey, man, so I'm gonna do usually take a week leave, go home, get away from this place, like, reset, come back and then let's, let's talk again.” So, he was able to do that. And then we put them right into the ALS program. So, that's like the airman leadership school. So, when they go from being an airman to sergeant's and our Air Force, everybody it's a it's a big kind of bridge moment for them to have educational development for their personal military education. And I challenged him. I said, “Hey, man, let's get back on this DG train. Let's, let's have this be a top performer. Again, this is your opportunity to recover, right? We, we hit this high, we got this whole group of teens, and now we're coming back. And so let's, let's make it happen.” And he finished No. 1 this class, and he was back on the train. So, I could use that example of where, you know, my personal crucible was able to hopefully help me as a leader relate to somebody and then hopefully, now granted, the kid did all the work. He's amazing; he's doing great things now. But to have a little bit of an impact on that, I think, was only because I went through my own hardship. So that's kind of that empathy that I talked about as a leader of having this moment knowing that it's going to prepare me to lead somebody in the future.   Doug Lindsay  44:44 It wasn't just that you had gone through a hardship but then you were open, honest, transparent about that as well that you were able, willing to share that aspect with him so that you can go through that process, right? So, it's just to be human about it. Anything else that you'd like to leave our listeners with respect to, you know, leadership or any other topics that we talked about today?   Maj. Nate Dial  45:08 I think the biggest thing is, just be authentic. I think we all have strengths, weaknesses. And so, being authentic to yourself of how are you building a team that highlights your strengths that covers your weaknesses, and being self-reflecting self-critical and knowing what those are? So, I think that's probably the first thing I think for any leader, I think all the best ones I've been around have all been very, very self-aware. And so, I think that will be the challenge, I think, for everybody try to how are you self-aware around strengths and weaknesses? And then, the second one is, you know, don't be afraid to be vulnerable. Now, you can't be oversharing. But you're gonna kind of know those spots where you can be vulnerable. And don't be afraid of that. Some of the — I can think about a wing commander who talked about his divorce in a public forum, and how he had to take a knee and go to mental health and everything else. I was like, that's really inspiring for where the wing commander didn't talk about that openly at an all call, I was like, “Man, that's powerful to me.” And so, I think, you know, you're gonna kind of pick and choose those moments. And I was gonna be a wing commander, but you'll know those moments. And so, I would try to tell people as I try to think about that.   Doug Lindsay  46:21 Thank you for your transparency. Thank you for your journey, and the example that you're setting for all the grads out there and everything that you do. And thank you for your time today and being on the Long Blue Leadership podcast. Nate, in case some of our listeners want to reach out to you and connect with you, do you have some social media handles or some ways that they can get a hold of you?   Maj. Nate Dial  46:38 Yeah, sure. If the first one so all the publications and whatnot are on my personal website. So that's www.drnathandial.com. So, drnathandial.com, is my personal website. You can see all the publications, my Twitter handle, where I publish a lot of things there is therealnatedial  is the handle. LinkedIn, Nathan Dial, you can find me sure if you're part of the long blue line probably have a common connection or two. So, feel free to add me there. And that's my socials and look forward to connecting with you all.   Doug Lindsay  47:12 Sounds great. Thank you so much.   Maj. Nate Dial  47:15 Thank you so much for having me and look forward to talking to you sometime in the future.   KEYWORDS people, cadet, talk, Academy, leadership, place, years, dad, Air Force Academy, put, nurture, kid, leaders, pretty, person, reps, wing commander, challenge, huge, thought   The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation   

Episode Summary: In episode 164 of the Aerospace Advantage, Tip of the Spear: Inside the 509th Bomb Wing and the Future of Stealth Bombers, John "Slick" Baum chats with Colonel Keith "Ghost" Butler, long-time B-2 pilot and commander of America's sole stealth bomber wing. The ability to attack any target around the globe anytime, anywhere is a crucial asymmetric advantage for the United States. Key policy options fundamentally rely on the B-2 and the men and women who fly and sustain the aircraft. The 509th is on call 24/7 to execute both nuclear deterrence and conventional strike missions—a tremendous responsibility. They make headlines wherever they fly around the globe.  However, with only 20 B-2s in the Air Force's inventory, the aircraft and crews are stretched thin as high-demand, low-density assets. Top defense leaders know it is time to build out America's stealth bomber capacity—that's why there's such an emphasis on fielding the B-21, America's newest stealth bomber.  Col Butler explains the types of sorties he and his crews are executing, the unique realities involved with operating a jet as advanced as the B-2, and what it means to be dual-qualified for both the conventional and nuclear missions. Additionally, having successfully commanded Detachment 5 of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center at Edwards AFB, Colonel Butler brings unique insights into what's in store for tomorrow's long-range strike mission. This is a riveting episode you will not want to miss! Credits: Host: John “Slick” Baum, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Producer: Shane Thin Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey Guest: Col Keith "Ghost" Walker, Wing Commander, 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman AFB Links: Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://bit.ly/3GbA5Of Website: https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchellStudies Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell.Institute.Aerospace LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nzBisb Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mitchellstudies/ #MitchellStudies #AerospaceAdvantage #b2 #bomber #b21 Thank you for your continued support!

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we start a new series on 1999's Homeworld, from Relic Entertainment. We set the game in its time and then turn a little bit to the opening moments and the tutorial. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: First couple of levels + tutorial Issues covered: a layered intro, our history with RTSes, the music hitting, transitioning to a console player, console RTSes, a new timeline, setting the game in its time, going against the norm, Relic and its RTS series, the big genre of the time but one that never grew, grognard capture, the appeal of online games, early e-sports, popularity in Korea, the feel of a space sim, checking all the boxes, how 3D it really is, switching views to elevate a target point, mouse and keyboard, doing their own thing with hotkeys, evolution working on games, presentational advantages, a graphics benchmark game, economical game development, elegant ship design, great silhouettes, maybe tessellating, editors that look like RTSes, spending budget on contrails, using specific things on PCs vs the graphics cards, camera and control, mining everything you can and building as you go, replacing inferior ships with new ones, finite people and resources reflecting themes, elegance in design, framing the camera well, the great use of the fleet commander and the magic of moving the camera, WWII space physics vs more accurate space physics, interestingly bad video games, finding those bad games, moon shots, imagining a deeper ecology, speedrunning Trespasser, a diversion into speedrunning. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Starfighter, Starcraft (series), Total War (series), Warcraft (series), Quake, Halo, Battlestar: Galactica, DOOM, Diablo, PlayStation, Age of Empires (series), Pikmin, Brutal Legend, Tim Schafer, Johnny "Pockets", System Shock 2, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Planescape: Torment, Shenmue, Owen Wilson, Command and Conquer (series), Westwood, Tim Curry, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, Final Fantasy VIII, Chrono Cross, Silent Hill, Rayman 2: The Great Escape, Quake III Arena, Omikron: The Nomad Soul, David Cage, Asheron's Call (series), D&D Online, LotR Online, Turbine Entertainment, Derek Flippo, Sega, Creative Assembly, Blizzard, Ensemble Studios, Total Annihilation, Impossible Creatures, Dawn of War, Company of Heroes, Warhammer: 40K, Myth, Bungie, Call of Duty (series), LucasArts, Galactic Battlegrounds (series), Force Commander, Andrew Kirmse, TIE Fighter (series), Descent: Freespace, Wing Commander, Colony Wars, Elite, Star Citizen, Star Wars: Squadrons, Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, GoldenEye: 007, Metroid Prime, Resident Evil (series), Eric Johnston, X-COM, Julian Gollop, Baldur's Gate, Troy Mashburn, Trespasser, Biostats, Belmont, Reed Knight, Dragon's Dogma, Bethesda Game Studios, D&D, Black and White, ARK: Survival Evolved, Valheim, Half-Life 2, GameThing, Dave Wolinsky, Pippin Barr, Control, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: A few more levels! Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Link to the magazine here! (https://archive.org/details/Nintendo_Power_Issue001-Issue127/Nintendo%20Power%20Issue%20053%20October%201993/page/n3/mode/2up) Things discussed: Super Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back, Star Trek, Dinosaur bones, Mortal Kombat, Super Bomberman, Plok, Wing Commander, Star Fox comic, Fox's mom, Fox's girlfriend, Fox's moms dress, The new NES, Street Fighter arcade machine

Hillary and Tina cover Royal Canadian Air Force Wing Commander Russell Williams. Royal Canadian Air Force Wing Commander Russell Williams had a high-flying career. BUT as his confessions unravel, shocking crimes come to light, revealing a hidden and sinister side. Sources BBC Pilot Russell Williams's graphic murders shock Canada (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-11600316)--by Lee Carter CBC Col. Russell Williams timeline (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/col-russell-williams-timeline-1.913312) CBS News Canadian Commander Gets Life for Murders (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/canadian-commander-gets-life-for-murders/) The Crime Wire Russell Williams: Confessions of a Deviant Colonel (https://thecrimewire.com/true-crime/russell-williams-the-deviant-colonel)--by Rupert Taylor Government of Canada Ranks and Appointments (https://www.canada.ca/en/services/defence/caf/military-identity-system/rank-appointment-insignia.html) The Mob Reporter Col. Russell Williams — Brilliant police interrogation and confession (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsLbDzkIy3A) NBC News Canadian commander by day; sexual predator, killer by night (https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna41665374) The Star Life and times of Col. Russell Williams (https://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/life-and-times-of-col-russell-williams/article_57b595b5-6007-5722-8430-db9f04cef4de.html)--By Raveena Aulakh , David Bruser , Katie Daubs Vice He Was a Top Officer in the Military, and Also a Serial Killer (https://www.vice.com/en/article/wj5ekm/he-was-a-top-officer-in-the-military-and-also-a-serial-killer)--by Patrick Lejtenyi Wikipedia Russell Williams (criminal) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Williams_(criminal)) Photos Russell Williams (https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/durhamregion.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/22/122fff98-c46d-5704-aa7f-304b5b8f2528/63dec2b2bcdd3.image.jpg?resize=1000%2C750)--photo by Bill Tremblal/The Independent via durhamregion.com Russell poses in stolen lingerie (https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-us-murder-idCATRE69H4WO20101019)--from Rueters handout via Rueters Jessica Lloyd (https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2011/04/08/a45d124b-a644-11e2-a3f0-029118418759/thumbnail/1240x930/f24207d0d3116a7da200578102894b1a/Jessica-Lloyd2.jpg?v=c81a9d6c51e6280f2f4f876031d7d9bc)--from CBC via CBS News Marie-France Comeau (https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2011/04/08/a45d0f35-a644-11e2-a3f0-029118418759/thumbnail/1240x1550/a309fc1b6c29cb30f0075487b5a5f481/Marie-France-Comeau5.jpg?v=c81a9d6c51e6280f2f4f876031d7d9bc)--from CBC via CBS News

United States Air Force Colonel Russell "Bones" Cook is a Wing Commander and helicopter pilot with a lot of knowledge, experience, and wisdom to share. Col Cook commands the largest A-10 and Rescue force in a single geographical location at Moody AFB, Georgia. Peaches, Trent and Aaron cover a lot of ground with Col Cook and there is a ton of knowledge dropped in this one, whether you are already in or thinking about joining. Thanks very much to Col Cook for taking the time to come on and update us on everything in the United States Air Force! 00:00 - 18A Fitness code 1READY and Greymangear.com code ONESREADY03:55 - Col Russel "Bones" Cook, 23rd Wing Commander and the Next Fight11:30 - The importance of NCOs and how to win a fight in the new world - Lead Wing Concept27:00 - Aaron's Riot Act to the Viewers/Listeners - The Kill Chain, Stealth War, and Operational Imperatives29:30 - Rescue TTP's, the enabler mission, training for the next fight  31:30 - Pushing the limits to ready the force “Mission and Family”38:30 - Risk aversion in the military and Peaches says a statement as a question47:30 - Changes in the Air Force moving towards orders50:20 - What does the Air Force look for in potential 60 pilots and Bones' adviceDon't forget to subscribe to the Podcast on your favorite player! http://bit.ly/2OG2OlfHave a question?  Email us at info@onesready.comFollow us on Instagram http://bit.ly/2OeNoFIAs always, THANK YOU for your support, we truly appreciate it.#podcast #military #pilot The views and opinions expressed by the OnesReady team and any guests are those of the team and themselves and do not reflect the official policy or position of the DoD. Any content our Podcast guests, bloggers, sponsors, or authors provide is their opinion. It is not intended to malign the DoD, any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone.Collabs:18A Fitness - Promo Code: 1ReadyAlpha Brew Coffee Company - Promo Code: ONESREADYATAC Fitness - Promo Code: ONESREADYCardoMax - Promo Code: ONESREADYEberlestock - Promo Code: OR10Hoist - Promo Code: ONESREADYStrike Force Energy - Promo Code: ONESREADYTrench Coffee Company - Promo Code: ONESREADYGrey Man Gear - Promo Code: ONESREADY The content provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The host, guests, and affiliated entities do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. The use of this podcast does not create an attorney-client relationship, and the podcast is not liable for any damages resulting from its use. Any mention of products or individuals does not constitute an endorsement. All content is protected by intellectual property laws. By accessing or using this you agree to these terms and conditions.