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I grew up in the Seattle area of Washington State, on the Northwest Coast of the United States. I have many fond memories of being on the water in a sailboat, or in the mountains exploring. (The banner for this page is of the Olympic Mountains where I spent a LOT of time growing up.) My first "paying" job was working at a Boy Scout Camp (Camp Parsons) and eventually as a guide with their High Adventure program - I spent more time with a backpack on my back in the summer than anything else. I can still draw a rough map of the mountain range (including peaks and rivers) from memory. I am an Eagle Scout and wouldn't trade the life skills I learned in Scouting for anything!
After high school, I attended the University of Washington in Seattle on a four-year Navy ROTC scholarship and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography/Cartography in 1994. My focus area was Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - which involves digital mapping, spatial databases, and data analysis/modeling.
The Geography world tries to answer the question, "Why there...and how?"
Whereas the History world normally focuses on the question, "Why then?"
Along with GIS, my studies focused on Physical Geography (the study of natural features and processes - weather, environmental processes, geology, oceanography) and Human Geography (the study of how human activity affects or is influenced by the earth's surface - things like migration, population growth, and cultural diffusion).
While in college I was the racing "skipper" for the Navy Sailing program. Many afternoons and weekends were spent either teaching basic sailing on 12-foot "Lasers" or leading a crew on a 40-foot sailboat!
(above: The "Quad" at the University of Washington)
(above: The "Lively"...my boat in college.)
Following college, I spent 22 years in the United States Navy and retired in the summer of 2016 as a Commander (in the Army or Air Force this would be a Lieutenant Colonel). I am a Naval Flight Officer and have more than 1,000 flight hours in the EA-6B "Prowler" - an electronic attack aircraft.
I spent 3 years as a flight instructor for these aircraft as well, teaching officers who had just completed flight school about the specifics of operating the aircraft weapons systems (and landing the EA-6B on an aircraft carrier).
I completed five deployments onboard aircraft carriers (6-8 months each) and also deployed "ashore" in the Middle East for 8 months on the Air Component Commander's Staff working on international electronic warfare systems integration - side by side with Canadian, Australian, and British Officers. I spent 2 years on a Carrier Strike Group Staff as the Electronic Warfare Officer where one of my jobs was developing training plans to make sure the Strike Group was ready for ANYTHING.
During 3 years on the US Pacific Command (USPACOM) Staff in Honolulu, Hawaii, I led a team focused on Technology Applications, Integration, and Innovation. My team also conducted research on military budget requirements, risk assessment, and "capability gap analysis" for the Pacific region. Part of my personal responsibilities involved reviewing "new" and developing technology and assessing how it could be used to lessen the risk to our U.S. forces.
Before retiring, I instructed at a school on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base operated by the Secretary of Defense. In this role, I taught undergraduate courses in international business, supply-chain management, arms export-control policy, cultural awareness, and cross-cultural communications.
In addition to my Bachelor's in Geography, I hold Master's degrees in National Security and Strategic Studies from the US Naval War College in Rhode Island and in National Strategy from the US Army War College in Pennsylvania. My regional "geopolitical" specialties are in Asia/South Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe.
I live here in Beavercreek with my wife and two daughters (12th grade and 10th grade) but try to get outdoors as often as possible. As John Muir said, "The mountains are calling and I must go." With Ohio's limited sailing and mountains, now I can more often be found on my bicycle on the region's trail network, or skiing at Mad River Mountain.
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