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Head Aggie shares leadership with Laughlin

  • Published
  • By Joel Langton
  • 47th Flying Training Wing public affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Texas A & M University's head football coach Mike Sherman visited Laughlin July 18 and shared leadership insights with nearly 400 wing members during a speech in Anderson Hall.

Sherman has coached football at every level, including several years at the helm of the NFL's Green Bay Packers, but said his time at Laughlin was meant to say thanks to those who make his life possible.

"I have a tremendous appreciation for the life I have and the people who let me live my life the way I want to live it. These are the people who make it possible and I appreciate it," Sherman said.

Sherman said appreciating the military is a family tradition: "First and foremost, growing up with a father who was in the Reserves for 20 years and served in World War II and my grandpa was in World War I, I see the big picture and realize that somebody has got to protect us and these are the people who do that," he said.

He shared stories from the NFL and college level for nearly an hour in historic Anderson Hall. "I remember me and Brett Favre were talking about what he'd do if he wasn't playing football. He said he'd love to be a fighter pilot," Sherman said.

Sherman arrived at Laughlin at about 11:30 a.m., for lunch with Laughlin's wing and group leaders and then received a quick base tour before arriving at Anderson Hall where a nearly packed auditorium was waiting for him.

He spent the first and last parts of his speech thanking Laughlin members for their service.

"Coming here was a no-brainer," he said. "What you do every day, that's danger. Me and my guys, we're playing a game. You guys, what you're doing is for real."

After his speech, he finished his tour of Anderson Hall, where astronauts, Air Force Chiefs of Staff and every other type of Air Force leader had been trained.

But this wasn't his first tour of a military installation. Last year, he paid for much of his own trip visiting troops in Iraq and said he was incredibly impressed with the men and women there.

"I was so impressed with the attitude of everyone who was there, everyone was locked in. I met hundreds and hundreds of people, different college football fans, different NFL fans, from different parts of the country but they were all focused and locked in on that mission," Sherman said.

Having leaders like Sherman share at Laughlin is part of growing future Air Force leaders, Col. Mike Frankel, 47th Flying Training Wing commander, said.

"We want to share about leadership from as many perspectives as possible," said Colonel Frankel. "We've had retired 4-star generals here, now top college football coaches and we want anyone that can share insights with our team on how to best lead."