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101: Dr. Chevy Cook — On Leadership Lessons from the Secretary of the Army, Finishing a PhD in Character Development, and How to Manage Energy

August 16, 2023 by Cal Walters in Intentional Living, Leadership

Chaveso “Chevy” Cook and his wife Ashley are from Columbia, SC. She is his high-school sweetheart and a University of Pennsylvania employee. Their most important triumphs are being together for over two decades and their beautiful daughters London and Lola.

Chevy commissioned from the United States Military Academy (USMA). His career began as an Air Defense Artillery officer in 3-4 ADAR, 82nd ABN DIV, Fort Bragg, NC. After selection and training he branched Psychological Operations (PSYOP), remaining at Fort Bragg, and spent his initial special operations career in 8th PSYOP Battalion. Afterward Chevy returned to USMA as a Tactical Officer. Fortuitously he also became an instructor at USMA in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. Returning to Fort Bragg afterward he commanded D Co, 3rd PSYOP Battalion and then served as S3 for 7th PSYOP Battalion. He also previously served as the speechwriter for the 25th Secretary of the Army, the Honorable Christine Wormuth, prior to his current role as the Battalion Commander of Headquarters Command Battalion at Fort Meade, MD.

During his career Chevy has deployed during “The Surge”, the “Arab Spring”, and the fight against ISIS, in various positions including Battery XO, Detachment Commander, and Special Operations Task Force J3. These and other operational experiences span Iraq (x3), Qatar (x2), Niger, Jordan, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and the United Arab Emirates.

Chevy’s civilian education includes degrees from USMA (BS - 2004), the University of Texas-El Paso (MA - 2008), Columbia University (MA - 2013), and Tufts University (PhD - 2021). He has fulfilled all the military education required of a PSYOP professional, including SERE-C (High Risk), Jumpmaster School, the Military Deception Planners Course, and the Tactical Information Operations Course. Of his professional memberships, his non-profit role as co-founder and Executive Director of MilitaryMentors.org allows him to uniquely serve others outside of the uniform. He also is fortunate to be a guest speaker and a writer on topics of character, organizational change, diversity, mentorship, leader development, and other professional topics.

Regarding his awards and decorations, Chevy is most proud of his three Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medals, his branch’s Major General Robert McClure Medal (Bronze), the 2016 Secretary of the Army Diversity and Leadership Award, and the 2021 Tufts University Presidential Award for Civic Life.


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August 16, 2023 /Cal Walters
mentorship, Leadership
Intentional Living, Leadership
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#66: General (Ret.) David Petraeus — Mentors, Building a Team, & Culture Keys

June 21, 2021 by Cal Walters in Leadership
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This episode is brought to you by HigherEchelon, Inc. HigherEchelon is a leadership development & organizational performance consulting firm providing human capital and technology services to optimize performance. HigherEchelon can help prepare your organization to meet the rapidly changing, complex and often ambiguous requirements of today’s world by developing Resilient and Adaptive leaders, modernizing and enhancing processes, and implementing transformational technology solutions. Visit HigherEchelon.com to connect with the amazing team at Higher Echelon and learn more about how they can help you and your team. Check out this great interview of HigherEchelon’s President, Dr. Joe Ross, on the Beyond the Uniform podcast.


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General (US Army, Ret.) David H. Petraeus is a Partner and Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, which he established in May 2013. He is also a member of the boards of directors of Optiv and FirstStream, a venture investor in more than 15 startups, and engaged in a variety of academic endeavors. Prior to joining KKR, General Petraeus served over 37 years in the U.S. military, culminating his career with six consecutive commands, five of which were in combat, including command of the Surge in Iraq, command of U.S. Central Command, and command of coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Following retirement from the military and after Senate confirmation by a vote of 94-0, he served as Director of the CIA during a period of significant achievements in the global war on terror, the establishment of important Agency digital initiatives, and significant investments in the Agency’s most important asset, its human capital.

General Petraeus graduated with distinction from the U.S. Military Academy, and he is the only person in Army history to be the top graduate of both the demanding U.S. Army Ranger School and the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College. He also earned a Ph.D. from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.

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General Petraeus taught international relations and economics at the U.S. Military Academy in the mid-1980s, he was a Visiting Professor of Public Policy at the Honors College of the City University of New York from 2013 through 2016, and he was for 6 years a Judge Widney Professor at the University of Southern California and a Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute, Co-Chairman of the Global Advisory Council of the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Senior Vice President of the Royal United Services Institute, and a Member of the Trilateral Commission, as well as a member of the boards of the Atlantic Council, the Institute for the Study of War, and over a dozen veterans service organizations.

Over the past 15 years, General Petraeus was named one of America’s 25 Best Leaders by U.S. News and World Report, a runner-up for Time magazine’s Person of the Year, the Daily Telegraph man of the year, a Time 100 selectee, Princeton University’s Madison Medalist, and one of Foreign Policy magazine’s top 100 public intellectuals in three different years. General Petraeus has earned numerous honors, awards, and decorations, including four Defense Distinguished Service Medals, the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, two NATO Meritorious Service Medals, the Combat Action Badge, the Ranger Tab, and Master Parachutist and Air Assault Badges. He has also been decorated by 13 foreign countries and is believed to be the only person who, while in uniform, threw out the first pitch of a World Series game and did the coin toss for a Super Bowl.

On this episode, General Petraeus and I discuss how to find the right mentors, how to cultivate a great mentor/mentee relationship, how to build a highly functioning team, what he looks for in team members, and much more!


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June 21, 2021 /Cal Walters
mentorship, mentor, culture, team building
Leadership
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