AUSTIN, Texas -- Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch visited with cadets from the University of Texas's Army ROTC Battalion during a visit to the campus Oct. 6.
Lynch, commanding general of the U.S. Army Installation Management Command and assistant chief of staff for Installation Management, answered questions from the cadets and offered up advice to the young students and future Army officers.
"You're being given a wonderful opportunity to serve as a leader," Lynch said. "We expect you to adapt and innovate."
After sharing experiences from his 35-year military career, Lynch stressed the importance of finding a work-life balance. "What lasts is your family," Lynch said. "At the end of the day you're going to take off your uniform, but you'll always be the husband of your wife or the wife of your husband and the parent of your children."
Lynch outlined expectations for the cadets and encouraged them to be morally upright and to have unimpeachable integrity."You're going to embark on a career much like your current peers, where you're going from a university setting probably straight into combat," said Lynch. "From day one you have to be the moral compass."
The visit gave the college students a chance to hear directly from one of the Army's senior leaders.
"Focus on the family and prepare for combat operations," said Lynch. "I'm convinced that you can do both."
The general encouraged the cadets to surround themselves with competent subordinates and to learn how to delegate while taking care of their units. "The only way you take care of them is be down there with them and to look down not up," Lynch said. "If you take care of them, they'll take care of you."
"Make sure they're properly trained, equipped and well-led," he said. "You as a tactical leader have to know how to take the risk, how to assess the risk and how to mitigate the risk."
"You learn from people that have been there," said cadet Margarita Fox, after hearing tips on how to become a better leader. "Don't lose yourself in the Army, but make the Army part of yourself."
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