FINDING CONNECTION AT WABASH
Recently retired as the first female superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy, Lt. General Michelle Johnson visited the Wabash campus in September for a range of conversations with students, faculty, and staff.
WM asked Lt. Gen. Johnson—who served as deputy chief of staff in operations and intelligence at NATO before her stint at the Air Academy and is a command pilot with more than 3,600 flight hours—to reflect on her visit.
An excerpt:
In an age when our country is wrestling with dynamic forces that can divide us as a people, it was inspiring to experience connection at Wabash, connection with Wabash.
For so many people I encounter, my career as an Air Force officer, including the planes I piloted, seems to be cloaked in mystery. Neither conventional wisdom nor the thrust of action movies typically accounts for the executive-level engagements a general officer such as myself had with leaders at the highest levels of our government and of other nations, the collaborative efforts across government and private sector enterprises like cyber, space, and global logistics, and the diversity of the constituencies involved in national security.
Others find it hard to understand my concerns—based on more than 40 years of an all-volunteer military force—for the health of civil-military relations.
Others do not recognize the role of the three federal military service academies—all top-ranked U.S. public schools—as colleges.
Meeting with the professionals leading Wabash’s staff and administration helped me to find a language to translate my experience as superintendent of the USAF Academy to the broader higher-education community.
As for the men of Wabash, no translation was necessary—their welcome was uncommonly affirming.
It became clear to me during my visit that the ethos of Wabash, embodied in the Gentleman’s Rule, naturally bridges to the mission of the USAF Academy to develop leaders of character. My meetings with the men of Wabash were powerful for the focus—the students’ focus— on leadership and lifting others.
We seemed to “get” each other.
From Professor Stephen Bowen’s class on Theological Ethics to lunch with student-athletes, Greek life, and Sphinx Club leaders; meeting with the entire football team; and breakfast with the Writing Center Consultants, the positive vibe of a shared purpose was palpable.
In a time when technology can alter our behavior to make us arguably smaller of mind—when search engines can feed us a steady diet of what we thought, or bought, before—deep knowledge of the human condition and openness to “what can be” will help us grow larger of mind, greater in perspective. I learned at Wabash that it is on these points, wrapped up in a vibrant community spirit and shared purpose, that we “get” each other. It was obvious to me that this shared purpose not only connects Wabash men across the campus, but also connects the generations of the Wabash community …
… that, and winning the Monon Bell!
Michelle D. Johnson, Lt. Gen. USAF Retired