Craig Mullen’s Post

Army operational shooting competition, if you know who is going to win, is it really competition? Does such dominance drive marksmanship improvement, units have tried to match the standards of Gurkha teams, and have come close, which comes at a cost, and creates professional shooters rather than combat marksmen. whilst it drives a few individuals does it collectively raise the standard? If not how can it be improved so it does?

In the Navy, I once knew an Officer who looked perfect on paper.. Top of his class. Impeccable uniform. Admired by superiors. But in private moments, I saw a different story. Constant self-doubt. Never satisfied. Always chasing the next accolade. It made me realize: External validation is a Hollow Victory. Think about it like a ship. A shiny exterior might impress at the dock. But it's the internal structure that matters when you're facing a storm 🌪️ Early in my career, I chased every Commendation, every pat on the back. I looked impressive. But I didn't feel Impressive. The turning point? A mission where everything went wrong. Equipment failed. Plans derailed. But our team pulled through. No Fanfare. No Recognition. Yet I felt more Pride that day, than any official award. Why? Because I impressed myself. I realised - True satisfaction comes from within. Now, I have a simple test: Can I look in the mirror and be proud of what I see? Not because of medals or promotions. But because I've lived up to my own standards. Society pushes us to seek external validation! So, ask yourself: Are you impressing others at the cost of impressing yourself? Are your goals aligned with your values, or just what looks good? Remember: You're the one who has to live with yourself 24/7. Make sure you're impressing your toughest critic - YOU! What will you do today to impress yourself?

When choosing to pursue an MBA, William Chung (MBA '25), a former U.S. Army Medivac helicopter pilot, knew it would be a training ground for integration into civilian life and provide tools for future success. "At MIT Sloan, I’ve been welcomed by an extraordinary community of humble and innovative minds, all united by a drive to support and elevate each other’s ambitions." Learn more about William's time at MIT in his interview with Clear Admit! tinyurl.com/mst8fuj4

Happy New Year, everyone! ‘ Play long - term game with long term People’ Naval Ravikant As we kick off this brand-new chapter, I've been doing some thinking and reading. You know, life's a lot like a game—sometimes short, sometimes long. But here's what I believe: the real victories often come from playing the long-term game with the right people. So, here's my wish for you all: May this year be filled with genuine connections and adventures that speak to your future. Surround yourself with those who share your vision and values, and let's dive into challenges that help us grow for the long haul. Let's make choices today that set the stage for our tomorrows—let's build something that lasts. Let this year be of chasing dreams, setting goals that matter, and embracing the journey with those who are in it for the long run. Happy New Year, folks!

Things going really well so far with the Cooperate & Graduate Challenge! We’ve got a number of folks who haven’t missed a day yet and are piling up points. Our Captain Consistency ribbons go to: Aaron Chapman, Bob Sutter, Derek Phillips, Ed Fleming, Jacob Cook, Jim Reilly, John Pomory, Joe Sroka, Joe Saia, Kathy Borkoski, Maria Lorio, Molly Saia, Rich Pannell, Rick Preciado Way to go, my friends!! The above list is probably incomplete because a handful of folks haven’t begun recording their numbers. We have a bunch of folks who are absolutely crushing it and in close contention to win one of the three jackpot prizes. Our points leaders are as follows: In first place, Leah Heil, USMA ‘03 120 points 1200 total pushups 142,775 steps Runner up, John Pomory, USMA ‘91 117 points 1330 pushups 121.092 steps For the bronze, Rich Pannell, USMA ‘89 113 points 1130 pushups 113,000 steps All of these three beasts have an unbroken streak going. Other superlatives: The highest pushup total for any given day so far goes to John Pomory who beat his face for 261 pushups! He’s followed closely by our Naval Academy sister, Kathy Borkoski who crushed 220 pushups in a day. Wow! Leah Heil has pushed out 150 every single day of the challenge so far! The highest total daily step count goes to Julie Reilly, the brains and beauty behind MidStrong. Last Saturday, she got 26,603 steps. Our total jackpot is $800. Our winner will take home $400. The runner-up will pocket $280. And our bronze medalist earns $120. Pretty nice pocket change! If you haven’t gotten started at all with the challenge, well… no excuses. Start today. Every day that you do something is better than any day that you do nothing. As we teach and preach consistently at MidStrong - SOMETHING > NOTHING. Any questions, drop them in the comments below or message me directly. Remember, we are stronger than our excuses! #oldgradstrongproject #midstrong #goarmy #beatnavy #armystrong #pushups #steps #challenge #stronger #burnfat #buildmuscle #discipline #cgchallenge

Back a few hundred thousand years ago I was a Private in the California Cadet Corps. Moving through the NCO Ranks, then attending Officer Candidate School, ultimately achieving position and rank Battalion S3, Lt. Col. Of all the memories I have of this time, it was my field commission 5th BDE, 48th BN, CO (Captain Fox) Leading exhibition drill teams and Competitive Rifle Marksmanship Competitions that lessons latched on for a lifetime. Participating then Leading (squad leader then Cadre) in state championships for prone, off hand, and kneeling, in five-man, ten-man teams and individual competition taught me this: Focus on your target. Be patient. Breath. Be in the moment. Believe in yourself. Notice what your body is saying about your environment. Choose your best moment wisely. Don't push a bad position. You are in control. Let it play out. Be mindful. Understand probability and impact. Pass good knowledge to good recipients. Commanding a platoon during D&C (Drill & Ceremony) competition In front of thousands, taught me this: Preparation Wins the day. We are stronger in a unified group. Collaborate. Listen to alternatives. Understand defined methods and best practices. Listen to your Betters. Challenge them appropriately. Support each other. Champion situational awareness. Practice until its like breathing. Operate in lock step, flawlessly. Pivot together. Mind your cadence. Timing matters. Choose your battles. One of the platoon exercises I formulated and fondly recall: Standing at attention back to back, Count from one to sixty in your head at the same time as your platoon, and snap your fingers simultaneously at 60. Hit that cadence... *SNAP. First positive steps to becoming a dyed in the wool, effectual team.

Fridays thoughts After all, it is true! I sometimes wonder if all the conceptualization around building teams I often talk about is so important. The world continues to spin, and the sun rises every morning despite everything. But then, simple things happen, and I start to believe again. Last Friday, I had the privilege of having dinner with some of my Naval Academy comrades (for those unaware, there is no political affiliation in using this word) to celebrate the 30th anniversary of our entry into the Navy. A few words pop up in my mind when I think about those hours spent with them: happiness, safety, respect, pleasure, camaraderie, truthfulness, trust, and I could keep going. One of the most important jobs the Naval Academy, with all its flaws, has done for us is simple: help us understand what a team is through rituals, discipline, processes, etc. and why! Thank you all! PS: It's amazing, refreshing, and healthy to see middle-aged men behaving like young adults. I have traveled back in time.

Finally promoted to Lieutenant, hard work and dedication pays off.

Today our team, the Prismatic Unicorns, closed out the Project Mercury Innovators Forum Innovation Showcase alongside our Cohort-12 colleagues and defense community in front of a live audience of executives in professional military education, innovation leadership, and joint warfighting. We presented the operational problem set of the Pacific and the gaps and challenges with Agile Combat Employment, sensing far forward in the battlespace, and making meaning from that data quickly at echelon. Our mobile device enabled solution, called Echolink, provides *Redundancy and *Resiliency at an inexpensive, fast, and scalable *Rate, leveraging *Real existing technology against *Real problem sets. Extremely humbled to have our sponsor, 16th Air Force, join the showcase and issue some tough questions for us to defend the desirability, feasibility, and viability of the concept. Enlisting so many different experts and stakeholders throughout this 12+ week curriculum helped us address those concerns in confidence, even after a big pivot in week 6. I really hope we can transition this front-end innovation for back-end development and diffusion to the rest of the Joint Force and our Allies and Partners. To that last portion, and doing this journey with new-found friends across the Department of the Air Force, made this the most impactful professional military education #PME curriculum I have completed. It's learning strategy, creative problem solving, and entrepreneurship by doing the work firsthand as a practitioner. #militaryeducation Not just in a safe academic environment, but in the real world where you must put skin in the game, if nothing but reputational risk and unpaid time and energy. I learned that innovation is hard. It's inefficient and it takes discipline. You need to be intentional to find the hidden order and opportunity despite being in a complex environment, operating with ambiguous direction, and thinking divergently. Clausewitz would call this military genius. To see it through despite many quick, fast-learning failures, from interviews, to experiments, to sponsor pitches, you need persistence. Marine drill instructors would call this discipline and spirit - the hallmarks of a Marine.

Did you know that a tree has to grow in 2 different directions at the same time? "It's the work that you do in the dark when it's difficult and damp that makes the work that you do that everybody sees in the light work...if you're unwilling to grow down you can not grow up. " - Dr. George C. Fraser. Where do you need to grow in your personal or professional journey today? And are you willing to grow downwards through the depths of resistance away from the light FIRST before you can ever grow upwards towards the sun where everyone will see your fruit? The right answer to this question is the ultimate key to your success...