About me
My professional life started with a BS degree from Middle Tennessee State University. I majored in Psychology which was my passion at the time, and majored in Sociology as well since I had four years to kill on a college deferment from the draft. My immediate future was decided for me by luck or fate. As the Army bore down on me in 1973, I decided to accept the offer of an ROTC scholarship for my final year. I got lucky again when I was selected for the Regular Army which meant that I was to be a 'lifer.' It was at this time that 'Catch 22' took hold. I was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Army Field Artillery, and as I received my diploma in the Army’s 'Class A' uniform. I began a 20 year odyssey around the world in command, staff and instructor assignments. I was in Germany, Africa, most of the Middle East, Panama and Honduras. In the USA, I went from Oklahoma to California to Texas, Arizona, Colorado, and North Carolina. Various Temporary Duty assignments took me to about a quarter of the states of the union.
The Army afforded me the opportunity to get a masters degree from the University of Oklahoma and the University of Southern California. My interest in academics led me to an appointment to the U. S. Air Force Academy where I was an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. I was able to use that experience and my Army instructor experience to teach in various extension course programs in areas where I was assigned. Teaching management theory on the Golan Heights, Biology in Corlu, Turkey, and Human Resources Management in Panama are experiences in and of themselves. I thoroughly enjoyed the diversion.
I left the Army on my twentieth anniversary of service and planned to enter the travel and tourism business with my brother-in-law. I did do that on a consulting basis, particularly in the business management aspect of the business, and accepted another quasi-military opportunity in Miami as the Senior Instructor of an Army JROTC unit. 11 years later, I finally allowed myself to retire from that endeavor. I worked for a little over four years to get a DBA from Nova Southeastern University, which included 62 hours of course work, a dissertation and a published article. It was an academic workout to be sure, and all because one of my life’s goals was/is to get a doctorate.
I am still engaged in the travel industry as an Independent Contractor, and in education as an Independent Consultant. I call the latter, 'Leadership Education Solutions.' I have military and civilian contracts (closely associated with the military) and some work with online business education.
I love the ocean and the outdoors. I read a lot but the fare is varied so there is no specific genre I am interested in. Computers are a fact of life and I consider that a hobby. I cannot sit still and am on the road locally, nationally and internationally whenever I possibly can be. I spend months in Turkey, one of the countries I enjoyed most in the military and where I wrote most of my dissertation and a handbook on writing a dissertation. I find it so interesting, stimulating while bringing me peace.