A Pragmatic Idealist
When I was growing up in Maury County, I was a bit of an idealist. I lived in a great place with great people, and I thought our world was inherently good. I believed that bad people and bad things can only exist in the world when good people do nothing. I still believe that’s true. However, my thoughts about what good people should do have changed over time. I still strive to achieve ideal results, but my unique experiences have helped me develop a pragmatic and reasoned approach to problem solving.
I went to Tennessee Tech after high school and earned a business degree. I was already thinking about law school, but I also wanted to make a difference in the world. I was in high school during 9/11, so the military seemed like the right place for me to contribute. I served as an Officer in the Navy for 10 years, and initially, I thought I needed to travel the world to make a difference. I traveled a lot in the Navy and fortunately, I had lots of opportunities to do good and help people. However, I eventually realized that I can do a lot of good and help others by serving my own community.
Becoming an “Enabler”
In the Navy, I was a logistics officer who specialized in supply chain management. But, a better description of the work I did was “business operations.” I worked with officers from different communities, and even different countries, to run the business side of military operations. We dealt with acquisitions, contract management, inventory, maintenance, budgeting, and compliance. We did the same stuff every business does, but our business was preparing for combat and winning wars.
Despite the importance of our work, I had to deal with a lot of obstacles. The U.S. military is a bureaucratic beast that can frustrate your progress and goals if you do not know how to navigate it properly. That became my personal mission; finding a way to “get to yes.” That mindset eventually landed me in the Special Forces community. But, I wasn’t a Special Operator, and I didn’t go on target. I was an “enabler.” It was my job to make sure our operators had what they needed, where they needed it, when they needed it. That’s where I learned that everything was “figure-out-able.” We just had to find a way.
Finding a Way
When ISIS took control of large portion of the Middle East 2015, I had the opportunity to go to Baghdad and help our special forces turn the tide. In the Spring of 2016, the U.S. was pushing the Iraqi army to retake Mosul. However, the Iraqi forces didn’t believe they had the resources for the job. I worked for savvy SEAL team commanders who took me to meet with their Iraqi counterparts and assess what their forces needed. When I returned with an assessment that they needed 200 armored vehicles to move their forces on Mosul, my senior logistics officers didn’t want to hear it. There were too many other requirements, it would cost too much, etc… In short, there were too many obstacles.
However, I eventually ended up in a meeting with a Special Forces Colonel focused on helping the Iraqis retake Mosul. When he asked what the Iraqi forces needed, I spoke up. I explained the requirements and the obstacles. Then I explained how he could remove those obstacles. Within days, we were preparing to receive cargo planes full of armored vehicles. That’s when I realized that if you are willing to put in the work and dig into the details of problems, you can leverage the system instead of being blocked by it. I took pride in being the enabler that could help others cut through the “red tape.”
Coming Home to Practice Law
I always knew I would be a lawyer after the Navy, but I didn’t know what type of lawyer I would be. I knew I could help people, but I wasn’t sure how. Eventually, I concluded the people I really wanted to help were in my own community. I realized that I can combine my experience in the Navy with my knowledge of the law to enable others’ success. Now, I focus my practice on helping clients navigate and leverage our system of government, instead of being blocked by “red tape” and inefficiencies. I help good people do good things, and in the process, make our community a better place.
