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Much of the learning at National Staff College took place in small seminars, where participants examined at length and in depth lectures they’d just heard.
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National Staff College participants.
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Lt. Col. Amos Plante, Louisiana Wing chief of staff and director of the National Staff College
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A Medal of Honor recipient, retired U.S. Army Col. Jack Jacobs, and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation secretary, retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Perry M. Smith delivered a powerful message on leadership to CAP volunteers attending National Staff College.
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Medal of Honor recipient and retired U.S. Army Col. Jack Jacobs
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Maj. Aaron Oliver, commander of the Virginia Wing’s Langley Composite Squadron.
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Maj. Marie Rivera, commander of the Puerto Rico Wing’s Mayaguez Cadet Squadron.
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Lt. Col. Carlos Fernandez, commander of Puerto Rico Wing Group 5
Photos by Susan Robertson, CAP National Headquarters
Kristi Carr
Staff Writer
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS -- Eighty-four came, and they were a diverse bunch. They represented 32 Civil Air Patrol wings. The youngest two were 26; the oldest two were in their 80s.
All were CAP volunteers. All attended the 2009 National Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. And all came looking for ways to become better leaders.
Working towards the next level
Maj. Aaron Oliver, commander of the Virginia Wing’s Langley Composite Squadron, took a leave from his regular job as an Air Force fighter pilot to attend, hoping to gain a better understanding of CAP and corporate leadership.
Maj. Marie A. Rivera traveled from Puerto Rico to attend. As commander of the Mayaguez Cadet Squadron, she said she was particularly interested in the programs on ethics and core values.
Her husband, Lt. Col. Carlos Fernandez, who oversees the Puerto Rico Wing’s Group 5, was another 2009 National Staff College student. Professional development was at the top of his list as reason for attending.
Learning on the field of battle
For Lt. Col. Amos Plante, chief of staff for the Louisiana Wing and director of the 2009 National Staff College, the highlight of the week was the presentation on “Leadership Lessons from Combat” by retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Perry M. Smith, secretary for the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, along with retired U.S. Army Col. Jack H. Jacobs, a Medal of Honor recipient and MSNBC military analyst.
By way of introduction, Smith explained why Jacobs was selected for the highest award given to military personnel. On his first tour of duty in Vietnam, Jacobs, then a first lieutenant, suffered severe injuries to his head and face, yet managed to pull 25 of his fellow soldiers off the battlefield. Thirteen of them survived.
Jacobs picked up the story, explaining what he faced, both in combat and later, as he fought to recover from his wounds. Often asked what led him to respond as he did, he cited a quote from Rabbi Hillel, one of the most influential scholars in Jewish history: “If not now, when?”
It was the Army, Jacobs said, where he learned lessons he’d need on the outside. Those lessons obviously served him well, because after 20 years in the military, Jacobs went on to successes as an investment banker, real estate developer, business entrepreneur, West Point professor, author and television military analyst.
Delivering the best course of study
Curriculum for the weeklong National Staff College is heavy on leadership, but it also includes lessons in ethics, finances and communications, as well as an in-depth look at CAP’s national-level operations.
CAP regulations, Plante explained, spell out what students are expected to accomplish so the program’s format remains similar from year to year. Lectures by experts are interlaced with more intimate seminars, each with its own adviser, where students dissect the lectures and examine case studies.
A large pool of highly qualified lecturers, many with backgrounds in the military or with federal and state agencies, provide a rich mixture of information about strategic planning, policymaking and all aspects of governance.
Because it provides CAP with its very top leaders, National Staff College is one way to advance toward senior membership’s highest honor, the Gill Robb Wilson Award. Although there are alternatives, such as attending War College or other armed forces schooling, Plante estimates that 90 percent-95 percent of CAP volunteers achieving Level 5 — CAP’s top level of achievement for senior members — have used National Staff College as their preferred method for advancement.
Because of its graduate-level design, those attending National Staff College must hold the rank of major or above, must have completed CAP’s Region Staff College or its equivalent and must have the endorsement of their wing commanders.
Achieving ‘above and beyond’
“We call National Staff College the capstone in CAP’s professional development courses,” said Plante. “We’re leading leaders, and anyone who’d dedicated himself enough to get here has CAP in his heart and is the kind of person we want to train.”
As testament to the caliber and quality of CAP members attending National Staff College, even before they arrived some had taken to heart the lessons of the battlefield about which Jacobs spoke.
Step up
Oliver, who joined CAP as a cadet in Baton Rouge, La., was an experienced pilot in his twenties. He had always flirted with the idea of serving his country by flying fighter jets for the Air Force. Candidates for fighter jet pilots must be in the program, however, by the time they reach 30 – then fast approaching for Oliver.
Then America was attacked Sept. 11, 2001. Oliver joined the Air Force and now flies F-15s out of Langley Air Force Base, Va. Often assigned to presidential support, he flies over Camp David and other places where the president is.
In March, he will be training to fly the Air Force’s new F-22. At the same time, he remains active with CAP as Langley Composite commander, in which capacity he said he is particularly interested in setting the tone and pace for cadets.
“I could have been the guy who ‘coulda, woulda, shoulda,’” Oliver said. Instead, in the mode of Jacobs’ response on the field of battle, Oliver stepped up.
Choose your battles
At National Staff College, Jacobs spoke of the utmost importance of teaching and mentoring America’s youth, who will one day inherit the reins of the country.
Rivera has already made her choice. “Cadets are the most important thing I can do in CAP,” she said.
In addition to establishing both short- and long-term goals for her cadets, Rivera wants to advance in CAP herself.
“Only a few from Puerto Rico attain Level 5,” she said. She is anxious to become an example for other Puerto Ricans.
She found the perspective of CAP’s national commander, Maj. Gen. Amy S. Courter, who addressed those attending National Staff College, of particular interest.
“It’s an honor to serve her as a CAP volunteer,” Rivera said.
Don’t sweat the small stuff
Jacobs warned the students not to make everything a crisis.
Native Spanish-speaker Fernandez could easily have let language be a barrier to his full participation in CAP. Instead, he took the long view, attended National Staff College and put himself in the hands of other CAP volunteers, whom he described as courteous and kind as they helped him absorb material presented in English.
His experience underscored the value of teamwork as members of his seminar group went above and beyond — CAP-style — to help him understand the discussions.
While Oliver, Rivera and Fernandez each attended National Staff College to sharpen their skills, each is already a leader in CAP.
Good reading for good leaders
- “If not now, when? Duty and Sacrifice in America,” by retired U.S. Army Col. Jack Jacobs, recounts how he came to be chosen to receive the Medal of Honor. The book is laced with Jacobs’ observations about how today’s citizens handle, or fail to handle, the demands their country makes on them.
- “Rules & Tools for Leaders,” by retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Perry M. Smith, gives advice on how to run an organization.
- “Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty,” by Peter Collier, portrays the stories of living Medal of Honor recipients, who today number 93.
