I recently finished Jocko Willink’s and Leif Babins’s book, The Dichotomy of Leadership. It, along with their book, Extreme Ownership, is a great read, and I highly recommend both of those books to everyone. Reading Dichotomy has made me reflect on my own leadership philosophy and decisions, as well as the leaders that I have worked for. I can remember working for leaders who made me so angry. People have said to me that I have a problem with authority, to which I would usually reply, “No, I have a problem with stupidity. When that stupidity outranks me, that’s the rub.” After all, I had served in both the military and law enforcement. How could I possibly have a problem with authority? While both the military and law enforcement do have legitimately bad leaders, what I failed to realize is, at my level, I may not have been aware of the broader, strategic picture. This has become clearer to me as I’ve gone from a school resource and school safety officer to a school safety coordinator. That being said, there should always be someone willing to speak truth to power, but there is a way to do so. Further, mutual courtesy and respect should always be given, and egos should always remain in check. To some of my leaders that I perceived as “bad,” I apologize. I should have taken ownership and done more. At the very least, if someone is truly a bad leader, we could all still learn from them. Even if it is that we don’t want to be that kind of leader. With that being said, I have had some exceptionally GREAT leaders in both the Marine Corps and law enforcement. I had a former staff NCOIC when serving on the battalion staff at 7th Communication Battalion. Gregory Pacheco is his name. When I worked for him, he was a Staff Sergeant then a Gunnery Sergeant. Once I left the battalion staff, and went back to my communications platoon, I worked for (then) Lt. Jessica DeJesus. She was a brand new lieutenant, and we were her first platoon. When Gunny Pacheco was my SNCOIC, he had close to twenty years in the Marine Corps, while Lt. DeJesus had less than four. One enlisted. One officer. Two different ends of the years of service spectrum, and both incredible leaders. They both took a vested interest in their Marines, our struggles, but also how to help us get better. Both of them helped lead and mentor us as we moved through the ranks and began to shape our own career paths. When I transitioned into law enforcement, I had a primary field training officer, Brevin Cameron. Brevin and I were both military and Iraq War veterans. I am a few years older than Brevin, but he had been a police officer quite a few years longer than me. Just like my military mentors, Brevin took the time to get to know me on a personal level while also making sure that I was proficient enough to be a successful, proactive law enforcement officer. To Gregory, Jessica, and Brevin – Thank You!