There has been a lot of talk lately about tariffs and the impact that they will have on global trade and our economy.
CEOs and business leaders are starting to come out with their opinions. The discussion is fascinating to listen too as leaders debate important policy decisions that directly impact their stock price and the bottom line.
Yesterday legendary FedEx CEO, Mr. Fred Smith, opined on the impact of the President’s proposed tariffs during FedEx’s Q3 results conference call. It’s safe to say that Mr. Smith supports free trade.
The specific discussion is at 27:30 into the webcast where Mr. Smith shares his views on free trade and a few suggestions that the US Govt should consider. He has the listener type “Tariff” into google and then shares his thoughts on free trade.
One thing is for sure. The issue is going to continue to be interesting.
The dictionary defines a “legend” an extremely famous or notorious person, especially in a particular field.
I’ve never met anyone who better deserves this title than LtCol Robert “Muck” Brown – A-10 Attack Pilot, Husband, Father, Brother, Coach, Teacher, Mentor, Savior, Leader, and Friend.
LtCol Robert “Muck” Brown, legendary Attack Pilot, Husband, Father, Brother, Drummer, Artist, Leader, Warrior, Brother, Savior, and Friend
No one can forget the first time they had the honor and privilege of meeting Muck. For me, it was walking down the hallway at the Fighter Weapons School at Nellis AFB, NV where he greeted me (a lowly F-16 student) with a kind smile and a look that said: “all will be ok young Jedi… just keep your head up and keep going”.
We talk a lot about Muck.
We talk about how unassuming he was. How people often mistook him at first glance. How he quietly approached the most complex situations and always quickly brought clarity and wisdom to some incredibly complex issues – in life, warfighting, and combat.
We talk about how his perfect way of communicating with people and how he could bring disparate opinions together against a common set of goals and objectives – perfectly.
We talk about him as a young A-10 pilot forging forward to improve combat capability throughout the entire joint community, and his lifelong commitment to protecting the guys on the ground.
We talk about how after the attacks on 9/11 he left a high paying airline job to come back in the military and take a non-flying staff job so that someone else could stay in the cockpit and take the fight to the enemy.
We talk about his time in Iraq in 2002 and 2003 when he was the link between the pilots in the air and the special forces warriors on the ground – and how both parties were so blessed to have him there.
We talk about how he was as a Husband and Father – showing those in his life what true love meant through some really tough times.
We talk about how he loved teaching: kids and warfighters, and his amazing way of adapting a lesson perfectly every time to the listener.
We talk about how he saved the A-10, working to inform policymakers and along the way saved countless American and coalition lives because of his work – all while fighting cancer.
We talk about his love for aviation art, and his incredible gifts with a #2 pencil, and how you can look back at his notes today and find pictures of P-40 Flying Tiger Warhawks in the margins.
We talk about what it was like to be in the room when Muck sat down behind a drum set… Perfect, complete, magic.
And… we talk about how absolutely wonderful it was to be a Brother and friend of Mucks.
Muck passed away on this day a few years ago after bravely fighting cancer. We all miss you like crazy Muck – but the truth is that you are still here with us through the many gifts you gave us all and the incredible life you lived. Tonight we will raise a glass, smile a bit, laugh, and most importantly remember you and the legend you are.
We all read yesterday of the incredibly tragic loss of not one but two military aircraft.
The first loss was an F-18F Super Hornet crew recovering from an in-flight emergency in Florida. The jet was a part of VFA-213, “The Black Lions”, out of NAS Oceana, Virginia.
The second loss was in Iraq when an HH-60G PaveHawk of the US Air Force crashed near the Syria/Iraq border tragically killing all seven crew members on board.
I’m saddened that the majority of Americans are disconnected with our nations’ warfighters. They are more concerned about what is on Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram versus what is going on in the many dangerous corners of the world where our nation is decisively engaged and our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsman, and Civilians are defending our freedoms.
I think it’s important for my non-miliary friends and colleagues to understand something. Please understand, that even after 17 years since 2001, these losses hurt all of us – a lot.
The losses are tragic, whether they are safety or combat-related, and we all feel the pain to the core – no more so than their families, their loved ones, or their unit members.
For many of us with a lot of deployed time, we feel the soul-crushing sadness and heartache that these families feel. To a person, we wish we could make it all go away for the families. We wish we could carry the burden for them. We wish we could bring back their loved ones.
And I wish that the Nation would be more connected to our military members.
We all will think of our Fallen this weekend, and every weekend, and the families of the fallen that continue on showing us what true bravery really is… and… we will never ever ever forget.
I spend a lot of time talking with military service members and veterans about what they might do after their time in the service.
Generally speaking, the conversations all have similar themes.
They want to do something important with a mission. They want to do something that takes advantage of their leadership skills, they want to grow something, and oftentimes they are tired of working for somebody else.
Veterans bring incredible talents to startups. They are hard-working, smart, driven, determined and armed with just enough naivety (read crazy) that they are not afraid to go start and build a company. The challenge for many is to come up with a good idea (that has real potential and is scalable) and translate that into action. (Keep thinking… you will find it)
I often recommend that they read Jan Collmer’s book, “Go Start Something”. (Link below)
Jan doing what he loved – flying Airshows in his Extra 300.
Jan was a successful Veteran entrepreneur himself – and a spectacular one. He founded several successful businesses in the Dallas area and was the Founding Father of the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas Love Field. He also gave thousands of airplane rides to kids inspiring many to go on to a career in STEM.
He wrote his book to help potential entrepreneurs get their mind around starting a company and growing it successfully. I highly recommend the read to anyone thinking about starting something.
I read with great sadness this morning of the passing of Professor Stephen Hawking.
I have had the incredible honor of meeting some very tough people in my life – none tougher than Squadron Leader (Ret) Ned Cullen, MBE, and his Family.
Ned is a Royal Air Force Fighter Pilot and “TopGun” graduate – and one of my best friends in the world. He looks exactly what you would think a dashing, brave, smart talented RAF Fighter Pilot would look like – reddish blond hair and all.
Ned and I met in 2002 as our nations trained together for a very sensitive, very special mission which ultimately went down in the western deserts of Iraq in March of 2003.
On the first night of the war in Iraq, Ned was there, overhead protecting the UK Special Air Service (SAS) and our special forces while flying in his RAF Harrier jump jet – taking the fight to the enemy night after night.
One evening in April of 2003 Ned came up to me and told me he was not feeling 100% – that his fingers were tingling a bit. That did not stop him from flying combat missions night after night.
Upon returning to the UK in the Spring of 2003 Ned was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease or Lou Gerhigs Disease as it’s known here in the US.
What would stop most people in their tracks… has never… not once… not for one second stopped Ned or his incredible wife Heather, or their Son Rory from attacking life.
There are hard as nails people you meet in your life… and then there is the Clan Cullen.. every single one of them.
When I think of bravery – I think of Ned.
When I think of courage – I think of Ned.
When I think of tenacity with a huge side of humor – I think of Ned.
When I think of unconditional, never-ending, pure to the core love – I think of Heather and Rory.
Every single day the Cullens attack life no matter what gets sent their way, and every person who is blessed to know them and love them is grateful every day for the chance to be in their lives.
Today is a tough day for the world with the loss of Professor Hawking. He was a giant of a man.
It is also a day to rejoice at the incredible honor of knowing and loving other giants who even now continue to walk this earth – and yes, I’m talking to you Clan Cullen. I love you all.
On September 11th, 2001 I was the Chief of Weapons and Tactics at Andrews AFB, MD assigned to the 121st Fighter Squadron flying F-16s. My Wing Commander was Brigadier General Dave Wherley.
There are so many vivid memories from that day. They oftentimes move through my mind like a set of polaroids. One of the clearest memories is not of the Pentagon burning, or the fires in New York, rather it was the leadership shown by General Wherley.
After the second tower was hit, our Wing, on orders from the White House, scrambled to protect DC from further attacks.
While a group of us prepared to fly, General Wherley coordinated with the national command authority and was passed the rules of engagement that we were going to use during our missions. They were extremely liberal and put the onus of the decision to shoot or not to shoot on us. This was completely unprecedented.
After quickly briefing our mission and getting our equipment on, we ran to the operations desk to get our final instructions before running to the jets. As we stood there, General Wherley gave us our mission, our instructions, and our rules of engagement. He then paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and looked straight at us.
To this day, I will never forget his words.
“I trust you, you will do the right thing, no matter what I have your back.”
Never in the history of mankind, has a leader said a more right thing, to the right people, at the right time. Period.
In the very toughest of times, it is on us as leaders to remember that it is all about taking care of the team, and boy did Boss Wherley take care of us that morning.
General Wherley was a giant of a man and a great leader. He loved leading warriors and loved being a Fighter Pilot.
Maj Gen and Mrs. Wherley where they were happiest – together.
Tragically, on June 22nd, 2009 we lost both he and his lovely wife Ann when they were killed in the Metrorail collision in Washington, DC. They had just left Walter Reed Army Medical Center where they were volunteering and serving our Wounded Warriors.
Our unit misses him but remembers with perfect clarity the incredible leadership example from that morning.
Thanks Boss for the incredible gift of a good example. Never forget.
