How has being the U.S. Army Military Police School commandant enriched your career?
This has been an extremely rewarding assignment. This is a significant time of change for our Army. To be in this position allows you to have significant and crucial impact in the ability to shape change in the MP Corps that will help the corps as it provides professional policing capability for the Army across the range of military operations whether at home or abroad.
What will you miss most about the post and area?
I will miss the people here on Fort Leonard Wood as well as members of our local communities: St. Robert, Waynesville, and surrounding areas.
These communities have tremendous admiration for our military, and I am amazed, even though small in number (population-wise), they are very large in their support.
What does taking care of Soldiers mean from the regimental and school commandant perspective?
Our Army exists because of people, and at the center of the Army, as well as the MP Corps, are our Soldiers.
Soldiers really just want good leaders -- they want leaders who will lead them effectively and ensure they know that they are vital to the team.
We have an obligation to ensure that Soldiers know their leaders are there and will be there to support them.
When Soldiers know their leaders have genuine interest in them, they will do amazing things.
What experience, personal or professional, affected you the most during your commandancy?
The experience with the greatest impact has been the opportunity to travel across the United States and overseas to visit with our units who are stationed at these various installations.
Coupled with that, during each visit I get to meet with our Army senior leaders who talk about the tremendous support provided by our MP Soldiers and leaders for their respective installations.
What we do in preserving the force is real; we help commanders ensure readiness within their formations.
What advice would you impart to military police Soldiers as you depart?
Our Army has placed a tremendous amount of trust in the MP Corps and its Soldiers to do what is right all the time.
Our actions as we conduct policing operations and enforcing the laws (essentially the Rule of Law) get so much attention that we cannot afford to take short cuts or compromise our authority -- we are better than that.
If we are expected to enforce the law, we are obligated to abide by the law ourselves.
I want our MP Soldiers to execute each and every mission with pride and promoting the 'Profession of Arms' in a positive nature. The Army expects nothing less.
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