The Colonel

Gary is the associate director of the IPO.  A retired Marine, he spent many years as a Foreign Area Officer in Thailand with his wife and young son.  Following that he spent most of his career in various countries in Africa and then a few places in the U.S. Four years ago he came to the USNA as a company commander and then transitioned to the IPO a year ago.  To appreciate Gary, one must have a witty sense of humor first and foremost, as he is constantly firing off one-liners and hilariously twisted statements.  He is also the type of person whose passion for helping young people runs through his blood. He comes off as a brute Marine, but after a few minutes with him you realize he has a side you would never expect in which he so genuinely cares for those he likes (and even those he hates, a trait I have the upmost admiration for).  The thoughts he shared with the young officers and I in the office and over happy hours will undoubtedly stick with me for many years to come.  Among my favorites were:

1. Every topic is best discussed over a cold, frothy beverage with high alcohol content.

2. When traveling in Cambodia, always hire a prostitute as your protection.  Prostitutes have connections every where and no one wants to ruin their connect by hurting you.

3. Family is everything.  No matter what you do or where you go, if you have a happy spouse next to you everything is better (in fact he still refers to his wife as his bride).

4. Never add oil directly to a hot paper shredder (especially while leaning closely over it).

5. Avoid "fairy dust bull shit."  Be straight forward.

6. If you like furry puppies then that's your thing, as long as it makes you happy.

7. Only buy things that are unique.  Avoid the temptation to "nest" with generic, common, every day things.

8. Classic movies are the best movies.

9. The best things happen to you, like love, when you least expect it.

10. "Don't wake the whole town up if someone has flatulence in the middle of the night." i.e. make sure it's truly an emergency if you call someone in the middle of the night... the TADs had to learn this the difficult way.

11. Always care for those you lead.  Watch out for them and take care of them.

12. HAVE FUN.  Do whatever you want to do, need to do, and have to do but always have fun doing it.