As a veteran, I look back at my time in the military and know that the experience was different than some organizations I’ve been involved with in civilian life but what does the difference boil down to? Four characteristics come to mind:

  1. A true sense of shared values and a cohesive team enhanced by operational missions whose success or failure often meant the difference between life and death.
  2. Extremely high standards with personalities who were committed to professional excellence.
  3. A “get ‘er done” attitude that recognized the need for efficient action but was built on years of intense academic and practical learning.
  4. The understanding that simple things like showing up on time and being prepared is not the exception but a minimum requirement. 

Of course, this is my experience, yours might be different. I happened to be in one of the most alpha competitive environments in the midst of legends where any perceived weakness would be exploited just for the fun of it. Flying out of “Fightertown USA” at Naval Air Station Miramar in the F-14 Tomcat after the original Top Gun movie had been released necessitated a level of self-confidence and proficiency most could not achieve or sustain.

After three deployments on the USS Kitty Hawk, about 150 carrier landings, and combat operations in the Persian Gulf, I decided to transition out of the military. On that journey, my last stop was teaching naval engineering and weapon systems and leadership at the University of San Diego as a professor of Naval Science and earning my MBA.

And then I was a civilian, entered the workforce, and realized very quickly that I was wired differently than many. Finding myself in the corporate world floating in a large global systems integration firm with a lot of politics and bureaucracy was not the place I wanted to be.

Fast forward to Constitution Wealth and I’m lucky enough to be involved with a firm that also embodies the four points listed above. As a partner and financial advisor I’ve got ownership in, and a commitment to, an organization that shares a true sense of shared values and a cohesive mission. We are all committed to leveraging our values and expertise to help our clients align their life and financial affairs with their conservative values as well. 

As a kid, I never imagined I’d be launched off an aircraft carrier in an F-14 Tomcat at 150 mph into the pitch black night on my way to missions in the Persian Gulf with the best of the best. After I got out of the Navy, I never imagined I’d be involved with an organization that came close to those high standards. But I did with Constitution Wealth. What we propose to our clients is simple, imagine aligning your conservative values with your financial life with a team that holds the same values as yours with the education experience, and expertise to follow through. 

So, happy Veteran’s Day to all of my fellow-veterans and to those of you who support the values our country was founded on. And for the veterans out there who are working in the civilian world, I encourage you to join a firm that shares the same values and standards you have set for yourself and if you can’t find one, start one, and carry on with your life mission.