Military

Anchored in Excellence: From CU to the High Seas

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:52:09 +0000

Anchored in Excellence: From CU to the High Seas Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:52

Erika Hanes

Admiral Stephen T. “Web” Koehler (Phys’86) has dedicated his life to the U.S. Navy. Inspired by his father’s career as a Navy pilot, Koehler began his own career in naval aviation upon graduating from CU, where he was commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC). After nearly 40 years as a naval aviator, he assumed command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in April 2024.

How did your education at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ prepare you for a career in the Navy?

My studies in physics made me a more competitive recruit when I joined the CU Navy ROTC. This was especially beneficial when I attended the Navy’s Nuclear Power School later in my career, ultimately enabling me to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

What leadership principles do you prioritize when commanding a team, both in combat and in peacetime?

Whether in war or peace, operating well requires every individual to maintain a constant pursuit of excellence and a mastery of their area of expertise. A highly skilled team is able to make the extremely difficult look routine. Cooperation and teamwork are non-negotiable standards in any mission.

Reflecting on your roles in major operations, such as Operation Desert Storm, Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom, what do you want the next generation of military leaders to know?

Every generation of leaders faces new challenges. Our success, however, depends on compassion, care, standards and true leadership of those who work for and with you. Only with a shared understanding of service and a common purpose will you succeed as a team.

What do you see as the biggest challenges for the U.S. Navy in the coming years?

Since the end of World War II, the U.S. Navy has preserved and promoted a rules-based international order with relative peace and prosperity. In the years ahead, we must continue to strengthen our ability to maintain this peace and prosperity with cutting-edge technologies, the innovation of our warfighters, and enduring coordination with our allies and partners — and we always do so with honor, courage and commitment.

Can you share your favorite memory from your time at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ?

It is hard to pick a single memory. It varies from hiking and climbing in Chautauqua Park and Eldorado Canyon to the CU football win over Nebraska in the fall of 1986. I still remember that win, because there is nothing like the taste of victory.

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Photo by Christopher Sypert

Admiral Stephen T. “Web” Koehler (Phys’86) shares his journey from CU to the high seas, highlighting the Navy’s enduring values of honor, courage and commitment.

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Janine Davidson: Bringing Leadership Lessons from the Pentagon to Colorado

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Janine Davidson: Bringing Leadership Lessons from the Pentagon to Colorado Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/04/2024 - 00:00

Jessica Sachs

Janine Davidson (ArchEngr’88) is president of Metropolitan State University of Denver. Prior, Davidson was appointed by former President Barack Obama as the 32nd undersecretary of the U.S. Navy. Davidson also served as an Air Force officer and was the first woman to fly the C-130 aircraft. During the 2023 Homecoming Weekend, ��ƷSM��ӰƬ awarded her the George Norlin Award for her contributions in her career and community.

How have the lessons you’ve learned prepared you to lead a university?

At CU, I was an engineering student, Air Force ROTC cadet and a member of Greek life, which exposed me to unique people groups and leadership styles. Leading MSU Denver during the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself tapping into my military flight training, where I learned how to stay calm in an emergency and take decisive action. I find leading a university is not unlike being a leader in the Pentagon, which built my patience for working within a large bureaucracy and an appreciation for the importance of structure and process for inclusive decision-making.

Are there any CU leadership moments that have inspired your decision-making at MSU Denver?

When [past CU president] Gordon Gee came to ��ƷSM��ӰƬ and decided to live in the dorms, it reinforced his focus on students. I’ve said my three priorities at MSU Denver are “students, students and students,” and President Gee showed me the power of always keeping students in mind.

How do you push students to become trailblazers?

More than half of MSU Denver’s fall 2023 class are first-generation college graduates. They already know it takes grit and perseverance to be a trailblazer. We encourage students to study what they love by giving them resources and connections. If you are passionate about something, you’re more likely to be good at it. And if you’re good at something, there will be room at the top!

What MSU Denver initiatives have you been the most proud of?

The Classroom to Career Hub ensures students leave college prepared for successful careers and has doubled the number of employers actively recruiting our students. We also implemented our Interdisciplinary Health Institute, which will prepare our students for a variety of healthcare careers while growing and diversifying Colorado’s struggling healthcare workforce.

What are your goals for the future of higher education throughout Colorado?

My biggest long-term goal is truly closing the equity gap for students. Many students are choosing to go to college out of state for financial purposes. We need to get more students ready for the future job market while keeping Coloradans in Colorado.

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Photo courtesy Janine Davidson

Janine Davidson is president of Metropolitan State University of Denver. Before transitioning to a higher education career, she was appointed by former President Barack Obama as the 32nd undersecretary of the U.S. Navy.

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Military Band Drills at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Military Band Drills at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/07/2022 - 00:00

A military band drills in front of what is now known as Baker Hall. The residence hall, built in 1937, was referred to then as simply the “men’s dorm,” before it was renamed for former CU president James Baker after the war. We’d love to know more about this photo! If you have any context or history behind this image, write us by clicking the button below.

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Photo courtesy ��ƷSM��ӰƬ photograph collection, Box 42, Item Univ 5191, Rare and Distinctive Collections, ��ƷSM��ӰƬ Libraries

In 1943, a military band drills in front of what is now known as Baker Hall.

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Thunderbird Flyover

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 14:52:03 +0000

Thunderbird Flyover Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/23/2020 - 08:52

On Saturday, April 18, the U.S. Air Force's Thunderbirds honored Colorado COVID-19 frontline healthcare workers with a community flyover that included Boulder, Fort Collins, Denver and Colorado Springs. One of the pilots was Lt. Col. Kevin DiFalco (AeroEngr'04), director of operations for the eight-jet demonstration squad. He flies the No. 7 jet.

Photo by Glenn Asakawa

Forever Buff among the elite pilots.

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A True Honor

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 07:00:00 +0000

A True Honor Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 02/01/2020 - 00:00

Christie Sounart

Former CU Buffoons a cappella member Gary Forsberg (Psych’64) of Farmington, Utah, is a retired Navy commander. In June, the 100-man a cappella chorus he’s a part of, Sound of the Rockies, represented the U.S. at France’s Brittany American and Omaha Beach American Cemeteries, and at the Sainte-Mère-Église and Luxembourg Gardens, to commemorate D-Day’s 75th anniversary.

What’s your favorite CU Buffoons memory?

While returning from a Colorado Springs performance, we stopped at the Roman Villa restaurant. While waiting for our food, we burst into song with the old college classic, “Gaudeamus Igator.” Mama and Papa came running into the room and applauded with shouts of “Encore, encore!”

Where’d you sing after CU?

I sang and traveled with the Naval Air Training Command Choir in Pensacola. I sang at the Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony, and with Tennessee Ernie Ford.

What was it like performing in France?

It was an honor to sing where so many sacrificed to liberate Europe from tyranny. We had about 20 Normandy veterans seated in front of us at Omaha Beach. They sang along quietly with us when we performed the WWII-era song “I’ll Be Seeing You.”

Anything else to share from those performances?

The French people were so welcoming. They greatly appreciated the message we brought in song, particularly our closer, a medley of “This Is My Wish” and “Wonderful World.”

What does the 75th anniversary of WWII’s end mean to you?

It marks the incredible accomplishment, at great sacrifice, of the Allies’ landing and defeat of those who would oppose liberty. And it’s a reminder of the efforts of my father and mother, and members of my extended family, in that conflict.

Interview condensed and edited. Photo courtesy Gary Forsberg

In June, Gary Forsberg and the a cappella chorus he’s a part of, Sound of the Rockies, represented the U.S. at France’s Brittany American and Omaha Beach American Cemeteries, to commemorate D-Day’s 75th anniversary.

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From Free-Throws to F-35s

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 15:31:00 +0000

From Free-Throws to F-35s Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/01/2018 - 09:31

Christie Sounart

Tucker Hamilton and Aaron Frey are test pilots for the U.S. military’s most sophisticated fighter jets ever. Their journey together started in middle school.

Two F-35 fighter jets zoom over the Pacific Ocean. The pilots, charged with completing a live missile test, are focused, confident and prepared. Even in a test mission, lives depend on it.

They’re not alone. A fleet of aircraft, boats and about 100 control room communicators follow their every move on this summer day.

A pair of missiles fires from one jet, striking their targets: Airborne drones. The other F-35, armed with its own missiles, holds fire amid the explosion. The moment — painstakingly calculated and rehearsed — simulates the highly complex air-to-air scenario F-35 pilots could encounter in real combat. All total, the day’s mission costs $1 million.

Air Force Lt. Col. Tucker “Cinco” Hamilton (AeroEngr’02) and Marine Maj. Aaron “Amber” Frey (AeroEngr’02; MS’03), were the pilots that day, in August 2017. They first met at Evergreen Middle School in Evergreen, Colo. Later, they reacquainted as fellow aerospace engineering majors at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ, and again — nearly 25 years later — as two of the U.S. military’s ace test pilots.

The F-35 jets, based at California’s Edwards Air Force Base, are considered the most sophisticated military fighter jets in history, and the Defense Department’s largest ever acquisition program, at more than $1 trillion. Hamilton and Frey are among some 20 total test pilots for the F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter. For their August missile test last year with the 461st Flight Test Squadron, they were two of just 13 pilots who could have flown the mission.

Hamilton uses one word for their repeated encounters in life: “Serendipity.”

“Being able to develop the most advanced aircraft to ever take to the skies, with one of my buddies from middle school, was a complete kick,” he said.

As 13-year-olds, Hamilton and Frey attended the same birthday parties and played on the same basketball team. Hamilton was a forward. Frey played guard.

“As I recall, he was a little taller than I was,” Frey joked.

The boys from Evergreen lost touch after enrolling at different high schools, then reconnected in Air Force ROTC and aerospace engineering classes during their first semester at CU in 1998.

In 2002, they again went separate ways and lost contact: Frey stayed at CU for a master’s degree in aerospace engineering; the Air Force commissioned Hamilton the day of graduation.

Hamilton, then a lieutenant, moved to Florida, completed pilot training with the Navy and, later, the Air Force, and became a combat-ready F-15 fighter pilot. After a stint in Germany, he spent time in Afghanistan with the MC-12 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft unit. His interest in engineering, technology and flying drew him to apply for test pilot school. In 2011 he was among 10 pilots selected to train at Edwards to become a F-35 test pilot.

“I wanted to develop leading-edge technology and get it into the hands of our warfighters,” he said.

Meanwhile, after briefly working on satellites in the private sector, Frey joined the military, in 2004.

“I always was interested in flying airplanes and the military,” he said. “When I was working as an engineer, I realized, ‘If I want to do this, I need to do this now.’”

He joined the Marines, became an officer and deployed to Afghanistan twice, flying combat missions and serving as an instructor pilot. While in Afghanistan in 2012, he too was accepted into the Edwards test pilot school.

When Frey arrived in California for training, Hamilton had just finished the program. The two passed each other in a hallway.

“Fast-forward to 2012, 10 years nearly to the day [from CU graduation],” said Hamilton, now married with four children. “And I’m walking through the U.S. test pilot school about to graduate, and Aaron Frey walks by in his Marine flight suit.

“I said, ‘Dude what are you doing here?!’”

The two briefly caught up. They’d both known danger.

In early 2008, for instance, Hamilton was involved in a 500-mph, mid-air collision with another jet during a F-15 flight over the Gulf of Mexico. Flames engulfed his plane, and he ejected into the ocean. The other jet’s pilot died instantly. Hamilton floated in the ocean, alone for hours, until a 25-foot fishing boat rescued him.

But Hamilton remained a pilot, and became an advocate for new safety measures. He was the first pilot to test the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System on fighter jets — technology that corrects an airborne plane in an emergency. It has since been installed on several aircraft and saved eight lives so far.

“I know the experience made him a better pilot,” said Frey, who’s encountered frightening situations of his own.

“Managing risk is part of the job.”

In 2016, four years after their hallway meeting, Hamilton became director of operations for the 461st Flight Test Squadron, which tests all three variants of the F-35 fighter jets: The F-35 A, for conventional takeoffs and landings; B, for short takeoffs; and C, for landing on aircraft carriers. Frey’s name was listed as a test pilot with the squadron.

“I didn’t realize Cinco was in my squadron,” said Frey. “I walk in and, again, there he is!”

The F-35s — made by Lockheed Martin — are top of the line, with technologies, weapons, sensors and equipment never used before.

Endless scenarios for each variation need testing by the squadron. Hamilton and Frey have tested all aspects of each variant of the single-seat planes.

“I will go take the jet to over 800 mph at 2,000 feet, pulling 9 gs making sure the system is safe and works,” said Hamilton. “It’s our job to take it to the extreme.”

Today, Hamilton remains commander of F-35 developmental test efforts at Edwards, leading nearly 1,000 people. In October, Frey, a married father of twins, was promoted to operations officer of the Marine Operational Test & Evaluation Squadron 1 at the base. He tests the F-35s in extreme military scenarios, such as landing an F-35B in frigid temperatures in Alaska.

“Our wives know each other, our kids play together,” said Frey. “Once you’re squadron mates, you really stay in touch for the rest of your life.”

Photos by Chad Bellay

Tucker Hamilton and Aaron Frey are test pilots for the U.S. military’s most sophisticated fighter jets ever. Their journey together started in middle school.

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THEN – World War I

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 20:56:00 +0000

THEN – World War I Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/01/2017 - 13:56

The United States entered World War I early in 1917. University students and professors across the country enlisted. Campuses became military training grounds.

When peace came in late 1918, an estimated 1,000 Coloradans were among the dead, including 55 ��ƷSM��ӰƬ alumni. Their names are inscribed in the University Memorial Center and carved into the walls of what today is the economics department building.

From top:

ROTC Band on the quad.
Medical detachment. Many fraternity houses were converted to barracks and medical facilities. This house was likely the medical group’s home.
Student Army Training Corps linemen and concrete workers. East side of Gamble Field (current site of the UMC).
Outside barracks, east side of Gamble Field, near the old engineering shops.

Photos courtesy CU Heritage Center

A collection of World War I photographs.

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Selling War: A Critical Look at the Military's PR Machine

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 21:16:41 +0000

Selling War: A Critical Look at the Military's PR Machine Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/14/2016 - 15:16

By Steven J. Alvarez (Jour'99)
(Potomac Books, 384 pages; 2016)

Buy the Book

In the spring of 2004, army reservist and public affairs officer Steven J. Alvarez waited to be called up as the U.S. military stormed Baghdad and deposed Saddam Hussein. But soon after President Bush’s famous PR stunt in which an aircraft carrier displayed the banner “Mission Accomplished,” the dynamics of the war shifted.Selling War recounts how the U.S. military lost the information war in Iraq by engaging the wrong audiences—that is, the Western media—by ignoring Iraqi citizens and the wider Arab population, and by paying mere lip service to the directive to “Put an Iraqi face on everything.” In the absence of effective communication from the U.S. military, the information void was swiftly filled by Al Qaeda and, eventually, ISIS. As a result, efforts to create and maintain a successful, stable country were complicated and eventually frustrated.

Alvarez couples his experiences as a public affairs officer in Iraq with extensive research on communication and government relations to expose why communications failed and led to the breakdown on the ground. A revealing glimpse into the inner workings of the military’s PR machine, where personnel become stewards of presidential legacies and keepers of flawed policies, Selling Warprovides a critical review of the outdated communication strategies executed in Iraq. Alvarez’s candid account demonstrates how a fundamental lack of understanding about how to wage an information war has led to the conditions we face now: the rise of ISIS and the return of U.S. forces to Iraq.

In the spring of 2004, army reservist and public affairs officer Steven J. Alvarez waited to be called up as the U.S. military stormed Baghdad and deposed Saddam Hussein.

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Courtnie Paschall's New Flight Plan

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Courtnie Paschall's New Flight Plan Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 12/01/2015 - 07:00

Clint Talbott

Course Correction

Courtnie Paschall (Neuro, ElEngr’15)

For Courtnie Paschall (Neuro, ElEngr’15), working on a drug trial for patients with schizophrenia while applying to 20 MD-PhD programs counts as light duty.

By the time she touched down at CU-Boulder in 2013 to study neuroscience and electrical engineering, she had proved she could handle stress: She’d graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy (’08), where she studied physics and Mandarin Chinese, attained the rank of Navy lieutenant and trained for years in a T-34C “Turbomentor” airplane and a modified Bell 206 helicopter.

She’d not only learned to fly both fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft, but to perform stunts also — figure-eights, Immelmann turns and barrel rolls.

Then she charted a new course: Today Paschall is a research assistant at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and headed for a career in medicine and neuroscience research.

“The next decade in neuroscience is going to revolutionize the way we approach our health,” she says.

Paschall — who in May graduated from CU summa cum laude and was named Outstanding Graduate for the College of Arts and Sciences — had long thought the military would be her life: Her parents are both Marines. Her dad is still on active duty.

She was two weeks from “winging” — a graduation ceremony in which military pilots celebrate the end of flight school and sign an eight-year service contract —when the Navy decided to pare its forces.

Paschall had the option to sign up or move on.

Given her deep military ties, it was a “terrifying” crossroads, she says — and like most crossroads, also an opportunity.

“The blood rushed from my face,” she says. “I had to walk outside and take a deep breath and just make sure that I was really willing to commit to an unknown future and give up everything this path meant.”

Paschall was 23.

“The military was all I’d ever known,” she says, “and I wanted to do something else.”

That something else was neuroscience, which led her to CU-Boulder. She enrolled as a junior with an unusually refined sense of purpose.

In her honors thesis, Paschall probed the morphological effects of marijuana on three subcortical brain structures shown to be affected by drug use in human adults.

Marie Banich, professor of psychology and neuroscience and Paschall’s thesis advisor, described her as “exceptionally bright and motivated” — and also fast, finishing her honors thesis in nine months, half the time of an average honors student.

Now the pilot has filed an MD-PhD flight plan.

Says Paschall, “I am deeply fascinated by human cognition — how we think, what causes cognitive dysfunction, and how can we intervene to restore normal processes.”

Photography by Trevr Merchant

For Courtnie Paschall (Neuro, ElEngr’15), working on a drug trial for patients with schizophrenia while applying to 20 MD-PhD programs counts as light duty.

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From Battles to Books

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 07:00:00 +0000

From Battles to Books Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 12/01/2012 - 00:00

Clay Evans

As U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan winds down, veterans are filling classrooms across the nation, including at CU-Boulder. Adjusting to civilian life isn’t always easy.

After spending five and a half years on embassy duty for the United States Marine Corps in such far-flung places as Russia and Rwanda, Joe Cafferty was ready for a major change.

As soon as he got out, he grew a beard, bought an old VW van and began driving around the country. But after a few itinerant months he decided to take advantage of the post-9/11 GI Bill, a federal program that pays all tuition and a substantial living stipend to veterans seeking a college degree.

“I decided on Boulder for the sole reason that it was where I imagined I could get as far away from the military as possible,” says Cafferty, 27, a fast-track senior studying international relations and Russian.

But he found he missed the camaraderie he had experienced in the Marines and, despite efforts to blend in with students who were 10 years old when he entered military service, he caught the attention of another vet who invited him to a meeting of CU’s Student Veterans Association. Cafferty relished the reconnection and today serves as the group’s president.

“You can hate the military, but you can’t overlook that brotherhood,” he says.

As the United States winds down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon is looking to shed as many as 100,000 active duty personnel from its rolls in the next five years. CU-Boulder, like other schools, expects to see a significant upsurge in veteran enrollment.

Today there are 700 to 800 veterans on campus — exact numbers are not available because not all veterans make contact with the Office of Veteran Services.

“In three or four years we’re going to peak, and we’ll be at 2,500 to 3,000,” says Mike Roberts, veteran services program manager for the Boulder campus.

The student veteran office efforts include everything from assisting vets with their GI Bill or VA benefits to career services to hosting hikes and other activities. There are special orientations for vets, counseling services and groups for women.

“We want to make sure the program is strong and robust so we can serve this generation and they can move on with their lives,” Roberts says.

As a U.S. Army cavalry scout in Afghanistan, Thomas Walton became acquainted with fear in a way most Americans never will. It was his job to be out front where danger and death all too often lurked.

“Thinking you are going to die all the time kind of sucks,” the 25-year-old says. “And having to deal with people around you actually dying . . . it’s not the most fun in the world.”

But making the transition to college has included its own share of unnerving experiences.

“Speaking in front of a class of 30 somehow seems more frightening to me than going down a road that might have an IED [improvised explosive device] on it,” Walton says.

Like Walton, Diana Olsen, 26, has found challenges integrating into civilian life. The former nuclear technician on the USS Enterprise, who joined the Navy out of high school in 2006 for the college benefits, appreciates the maturity and experience she gained. But even that asset can make it hard to fit in, she says.

“I remember being 18 or 19, being wild and crazy,” says Olsen, who grew up in Aurora, Colo. “Years later, after the Navy, it’s hard to connect. It’s almost like we [young veterans] are a different generation.”

Student veterans tend to be “more mature” than your average undergraduate student, says George W. “Barney” Ballinger, Colonel, USAF (retired) and director of the Office of Veteran Services at CU-Boulder.

“Even if they weren’t in combat, they had responsibilities,” Ballinger says. “They understand responsibility. They understand loyalty, discipline, attention to detail, mission, accountability and integrity.”

Living and breathing discipline every day has helped many student vets excel at CU. Able to maintain focus and avoid distractions, many drive through a degree program in less than four years while earning top grades.

“Being in an environment where you are not able to quit gives you a whole new perspective on what you are capable of,” Walton says. “Nothing is impossible in the Army; it’s just a question of how hard it’s going to be.”

Most veterans return from service changed. And whether physically or psychologically, some come home wounded, particularly those who have seen combat duty. Even as battle deaths drop, thanks to improved military and medical technology, the ranks of those who have lost limbs or been otherwise injured have ballooned in the post-9/11 era. Meanwhile, more returning vets than ever before are coming home with devastating, yet invisible, injuries.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, of the nearly 500,000 returning post-9/11 troops seen by the Department of Veterans Affairs for health care, 21 percent have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, 2 percent with traumatic brain injury and 5 percent with both.

Not all returning vets are happy with how the VA has dealt with them. Military bureaucracy, like any other, can be frustrating, even at the campus level.

“The VA makes mistakes all the time” with regard to benefits, “but when you try to talk to someone about that, it’s near impossible,” says John Lurquin, 29, a former Marine helicopter crew chief diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder who is working toward his doctorate in cognitive psychology.

For many, getting involved in what the university offers has been key to bridging the gap between combat and civilian life.

Michael Whitley, 25, a paratrooper in the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division who served for 14 months in Iraq, joined the CU Triathlon Club and volunteers for the CU Art Museum and community garden. And the studio art and art history major says he has found a few unexpected allies along the way.

“Vietnam vets are some of the people I’ve talked to the most about my transition period,” Whitley says. “I pretty much cut off all ties to the military, except for the benefits.”

Some students embrace both the new experiences offered by the college community and a continuing connection with the military.

Cafferty, for example, is an intern for U.S. Rep. Jared Polis and recently received a fellowship with Green Jobs for Veterans in Denver. Jon Wezner, 29, who was a military intelligence analyst in the Army, serves as chief of staff for CU-Boulder’s student government. He also coached a Little League team last summer and organized a team for the American Cancer Society’s Boulder Relay for Life.

“I personally felt my military experience was really great,” says Wezner, a junior economics major. “But reinvesting in the community is what’s going to help me accomplish a larger range of goals.”

By the Numbers at CU-Boulder

About 50 percent of vets are married and 25 percent have children. About 50 percent have part-time jobs. The average student vet GPA is 3.0. The average graduating vet GPA is 3.4 versus an overall graduation average of 3.1. There are 25 students on active duty. There are 700-800 veterans on campus. About 50 percent of them served in combat.

As U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan winds down, veterans are filling classrooms across the nation, including at CU-Boulder.

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Military

Anchored in Excellence: From CU to the High Seas

How did your education at ��ƷSM����ӰƬ prepare you for a career in the Navy?

What leadership principles do you prioritize when commanding a team, both in combat and in peacetime?

Reflecting on your roles in major operations, such as Operation Desert Storm, Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom, what do you want the next generation of military leaders to know?

What do you see as the biggest challenges for the U.S. Navy in the coming years?

Can you share your favorite memory from your time at ��ƷSM����ӰƬ?

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Janine Davidson: Bringing Leadership Lessons from the Pentagon to Colorado

How have the lessons you’ve learned prepared you to lead a university?

Are there any CU leadership moments that have inspired your decision-making at MSU Denver?

How do you push students to become trailblazers?

What MSU Denver initiatives have you been the most proud of?

What are your goals for the future of higher education throughout Colorado?

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Military Band Drills at ��ƷSM��ӰƬ