Q First, can you briefly describe what you did in the military and how that led to your involvement in the
supply chain?
AI first enlisted in the military what seems like eons ago. After three years, I went to college and got my
commission as a second lieutenant in the Army cavalry,
which was combat arms [troops that participate in direct
tactical ground combat]. That was very fulfilling because
I was on the best team in the world, and it was something that I could really relate to. At that time, the Army
was taking combat arms officers
and moving them over into logistics
because it was looking for people
who understood what the combat
arms units needed to fulfill their missions. So I decided to put in for a
branch transfer to the Transportation
Corps. The transfer was approved,
and I went to Fort Eustis, Va., to go
through the Transportation Officers
Advanced Course.
Q What did that teach you?
AI learned a lot about the intrica- cies of managing transportation
and supply chain distribution from
a tactical kind of frontline level. You
learn how to take assets and work out
a plan to be able to support any mission, any disaster,
anything that the Army or the military in general does in
support of the nation. You could not fail because there
were too many lives on the line.
Q Where else have you been deployed?
AAfter I graduated from the officers advanced course, I went to Fort Carson, Colo., to serve as the commander of the 4th Infantry Division’s Transportation
Company, which was responsible for supporting over
18,000 soldiers in all types of missions. That is really
where I cut my teeth—that’s where I learned how things
worked and that teamwork is absolutely essential to
mission success. During Desert Shield and Desert Storm,
I was called upon to get all of the assets together to be
shipped from Fort Carson to Saudi Arabia. Over 5,000
vehicles had to get moved out in a very short period.
That was definitely a standout event in my life because
we really accomplished something special. I was so
proud of the team that I had.
Q You also worked with civilians later in your military career. Can you tell us about that?
AYes, I had a chance to participate in the Army’s “Training With Industry” program back in the ’90s,
in which selected officers were given a chance to go work
with a civilian company for a period of time. In my
case, I went to Sea-Land Corp., which was at the time
an innovator and a world leader in
container shipping. I moved to Long
Beach, Calif., to work in the terminals
there and learn how you load a ship
and how you deal with unions. Then,
in December 1994, I went to Dallas
to work in the company’s administrative offices.
QYou also have experience with combat deployments.
AYes, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I served with the security
assistant teams that were supporting units in the Middle East. We
handled the whole supply chain—I
mean, everything from maintenance
to transportation, ordnance, and
contract management. I learned a lot.
We then deployed to Iraq, which was another of those
combat zones where you are in a very difficult situation.
Combat is one of those things that really test your mettle
as a military person. That was a time of great learning,
of great satisfaction, and I am very proud of what we
accomplished in Iraq. That experience was a kind of validation that everything I had learned up to that point was
correct, and it cemented the foundation for everything I
did afterward, including here at Benjamin Moore.
QWhat led to your transition out of the military and into the private sector?
AAfter finishing up a deployment to Afghanistan in 2013, I realized that my time in the military was coming to an end. I think I had done just about everything I
wanted to as an officer, and I wanted to retire—but retire
from the military, not retire from life. So I submitted my
paperwork, retired in July 2014, and moved to Plano,
Texas.
