Mentors change lives. Often adults recall and honor their mentors. Major General Jerry Holmes shares two mentors who changed him.
Jerry Holmes, Maj. General, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Adjunct Faculty
at University of Oklahoma
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| Maj.-Gen. Jerry Holmes |
Introduction On October 17, 2018, General Holmes spoke about his mentors at the Jerry Holmes Leadership Program for Engineers and Scientists at the ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility, University of Oklahoma in Norman. Dr. Kim Wolfinbarger, the director of the JHLPES, asked General Holmes to comment. Students and faculty who have interacted with and learned leadership from General Holmes absolutely love and respect him.
Major General Jerry Holmes Bio
I had two mentors in the Air Force. Both of
them had a profound effect on my career and my life.
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Brig.-Gen. Harry
M. Chapman |
The first mentor was Brigadier General Harry M.
Chapman. I first worked for him in England when I was a young fighter
pilot, and he was my wing commander (three levels above me). I was assigned to
qualify him in the fighter aircraft that we flew at that time, the F-101, a
very high-performance fighter that was unforgiving, and not easy to fly.
General Chapman had been a fighter pilot flying P-51s in WW2 and had shot down
three German fighters. He was an experienced fighter pilot, but he had
never flown the F-101, and my job was to teach him. I approached my
assignment seriously and I worked General Chapman very hard because I wanted
him to learn to fly our F-101 and not kill himself. He got annoyed with me
for working him so hard, so he challenged me to a game of handball, and we
played handball every day for about three weeks. I won every game.
So, General Chapman decided I was worth taking on as a protégé. He gave me wise
advice that I did not like to hear at the time, but I followed it, and it put
me on a path to become a commander, many years later, like General Chapman.
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Brig.-Gen. W.L.
(Bill) Creech |
My second mentor was General W.L. (Bill) Creech,
for whom Creech Air Force Base in Nevada is named. I was a Colonel when I met
General Creech. He was a 4-star General and Commander of Tactical Air
Command (TAC), the largest combat training organization in the Air Force at
that time. It has since been reorganized and renamed Combat Air
Command. General Creech asked his subordinate commanders to nominate
their best Colonel for him to interview for key jobs. My commander, Lt. General
Arnold Braswell, nominated me to General Creech, and I was summoned for an
interview. I must have pleased General Creech, because he assigned me to
command the worst fighter wing in the entire Air Force (his words). That
changed my life because that is when General Creech became my mentor. He
didn’t want the “worst fighter wing” to fail. General Creech told me to
“make it better,” and he gave me broad latitude to do whatever I needed to do to
make it happen. Together, the men and women of the 366 Fighter Wing at
Mt. Home Air Force Base Idaho and I, made the wing one of the best, if not the
very best in the Air Force, in every way it could be measured. I was
their leader, but I soon discovered that, more importantly, I was their
servant. It was a rewarding assignment, probably the best I ever
had. That led to a series of command and staff assignments that General
Creech assigned me, and in all of them, General Creech was my mentor.
After both of my mentors retired form the
Air Force, we became very good friends. But, while we were on active
duty, it was a proper professional relationship. Both of my mentors not
only provided me valuable counseling, they also provided me great
opportunities. I think that is what mentors should do.
Personal communication 6-29-18
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