Earlier this spring, Cadet Bowden was fortunate enough to be selected to attend the 2024 National Character and Leadership Symposium (NCLS). NCLS is an annual leadership development symposium hosted by the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The event brings in notable speakers from business and academia to military leaders and world-renowned athletes for guests to listen and learn from notable leaders from across the nation. The theme for NCLS 2024 was “Valuing Human Conditions, Cultures, and Societies”. Notable speakers present included Air Force and Space Force senior leaders like Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin, Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein, as well as AF Academy Superintendent Lt Gen Richard Clark, Olympic Swimmer Missy Franklin, and NASA Astronaut Dr. Kjell Lindgren.
While at USAFA, Cadet Bowden was able to room with an AF Academy cadet, explore the campus, and meet AF Academy and other Air Force ROTC cadets alike during valuable networking opportunities. Of all the lectures, Cadet Bowden learned the most from the Senior Leader panel, hearing the CSAF’s intent and vision for the Air Force’s future, as well as from Dr. Alison Fragale’s Psychology of Power brief, in which he learned about the psychological effects positions of power can have and how without careful self-discipline and feedback, those effects can lead to poor decision making and create “bad leaders” out of good people. In between attending lectures, he had the opportunity to experience cadet life at the Academy, sitting in on an Aerodynamics class, and revisiting the 94th Flying Training Squadron where he once flew gliders through the Academy’s SOAR program. Upon returning, Cadet Bowden was able to share his experiences and the lessons he learned with the other cadets at Detachment 465 through a POC talk hour brief.
