{"id":64550,"date":"2020-07-22T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-22T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/07\/22\/commentary-farewell-to-ned-stark\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:11:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:11:01","slug":"commentary-farewell-to-ned-stark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/commentary\/2020\/07\/22\/commentary-farewell-to-ned-stark\/","title":{"rendered":"Commentary: Farewell to \u2018Ned Stark\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s note: Col. Jason Lamb, AKA <\/i>Col. \u201cNed Stark,\u201d<\/i><\/a> is a career intelligence officer who in 2018, began writing a series of <\/i>provocative columns<\/i><\/a> for Air Force Times and War on the Rocks about leadership development in the Air Force and where it had gone wrong. They went viral, sparking debate across the service, and even prompting Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein to offer him a job. Though Lamb ultimately decided not to join Goldfein\u2019s team, he revealed his identity last year and consulted with Air Force leadership on <\/i>personnel issues<\/i><\/a>. He is retiring July 31, and now lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He hopes to join the Space Force as a civilian in the future.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My time in uniform is coming to an end. I\u2019ve been fairly public about my retirement, and some fellow service members I respect have asked me to provide some thoughts and encouragement for those who are continuing to serve. And so, with a sense of gratitude and a light heart, I offer a few ideas for consideration before I officially hang up the uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of us has, or will have, defining moments in our lives \u2014 not just important, but truly defining and life-altering experiences. I encountered my first such fork in the road as a second semester senior at the Air Force Academy. I was at the top of my game and the pinnacle of my fledgling career in the Air Force. I was a deputy group commander and it felt great; I reveled in my position and authority as the quintessential upholder of standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things were going well until about halfway through that last semester, when my cadet group commander, Mike Miranda, decided we should do a 360-degree evaluation. I thought it was an interesting idea and had no problem sitting in judgment of my peers. I measured cadet worthiness in terms of compliance with standards, and coldly evaluated my fellow cadets accordingly. The results of my evaluation came back a week later \u2014 and it was brutal. In short, the evaluation said that I was self-righteous and authoritarian, with a tendency to rely on my position to compel compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ouch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When confronted by such an assessment, a person basically has two choices: Reject it, or accept it and endeavor to do something about it. After reflecting for a couple of days, I decided the assessment was accurate and that I did not want to be the kind of person or leader it described. A few days after that decision, we had a staff meeting. I sat silently until the end when Mike went around the room and asked if any of us had anything to share with the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\t