March 28, 2024 – I had the honor of introducing the guest speaker at NSSGA’s Young Leaders luncheon at the association’s convention and AGG1. This year’s speaker was Robert “Shark” Garland, a combat veteran fighter pilot of the United States Air Force. He was an F-15 Eagle instructor at the prestigious Air Force Weapons School (the Air Force’s “Top Gun” program) and one of the first test pilots for the F-22 Raptor. His talk was terrific as he discussed leadership and regaled the audience with stories from his time in the military. I had a chance to talk with him one-on-one before and after his speech. He was nothing short of gracious and engaging. In case you were wondering, I asked him about the Top Gun movies. He said the first one was pretty far off the mark, but the second one was spot on.
The Shark Man Cometh
