USSTRATCOM kicks off 2019 Strategic Leadership Fellows Program

Ten U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) civilian employees are participating in the 2019 USSTRATCOM Strategic Leadership Fellows Program, a 13-week graduate level professional development course, held at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). The program’s kickoff event took place at UNO’s Mammel Hall, Jan. 17, 2019.

The fellows program was developed by the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI), UNO and USSTRATCOM in 2014. It is designed to further develop some of the nation’s top civilian national security specialists in support of the USSTRATCOM organizational transformation, to broaden mission awareness and to develop leadership skills.

Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of USSTRATCOM, provided the keynote speech and recognized the importance of the program. Hyten stated that the world as we know it is forever changing and in order to stay ahead of adversaries, the command must educate its people and be ready for that change.

“The goal is for you to continue to learn and you can’t learn if you’re not being challenged,” Hyten said. “That’s why we put you in this amazing university, to allow us to move in a different direction in the future. You are going to spend a few months out here, you’re going to write, you’re going to think, you’re going to learn and then you’re going to come back to work. Then you’re going to have to figure out how to reach out and collaborate with one another and build a different culture inside the command. We’re trying to give you a structured opportunity for all of you to grow and be successful.”

During the program, the fellows will learn mission-oriented skills from national security and defense experts with UNO in a classroom-based, hands-on environment. The course emphasizes team building, collaboration management, data-driven decision making and project management.

“This program will teach you about change, this place will teach you how to think differently,” Hyten continued. “One of the things I love about the Department of Defense, I love about my service to the Air Force, I love about USSTRATCOM as an institution, is that we will carve out time in people’s lives to educate them. Not many places do that in the world.”

The 2019 USSTRATCOM Strategic Leadership Fellows are:

• Anthony Brown, Global Operations Directorate

• Michael Feldhacker, Plans and Policy Directorate

• Geoffrey Goudge, Logistics Directorate

• Leslie “Marty” Hahn, Logistics Directorate

• Kevin Johnson, Joint Exercises, Training and Assessments Directorate

• Doug Kaupa, Training and Assessments Directorate

• Julie McNally, Plans and Policy Directorate

• John Steinauer, Global Operations Directorate

• Duane Tsuchiyama, C4 Systems Directorate

• Nanette Wellens, Global Operations Directorate

USSTRATCOM has global responsibilities assigned through the Unified Command Plan that include strategic deterrence, nuclear operations, space operations, cyberspace operations, joint electromagnetic spectrum operations, global strike, missile defense, and analysis and targeting.