Today’s Combat Story is with our first Navy Vice Admiral, Mike LeFever, who spent 38 years in uniform supporting US National Security across the world. Rising from an Annapolis wrestler to a surface warfare officer, Mike was selected to command a strike group, would serve at the US Embassy in Pakistan as the head diplomatic officer (during the Bin Laden raid), and finished his military career as the Director of Strategic Operational Planning at the National Counterterrorism Center, within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

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Mike has gone on to write a book about leading through crises titled End Game First: A Leadership Strategy for Navigating a Crisis, and, since leaving service, has stayed very busy with roles as a CEO for a cyber and tech company; a senior advisor and mentor at the McChrystal Group; Performance Ambassador and Speaker for Liminal Collective and Arena Labs; works on the Cipher Brief with friend of the show Glenn Corn and more.

This is a really and insightful discussion with an incredibly senior, accomplished, yet thoroughly humble leader and I hope you enjoy his sense of humor, honest talk, and experiences at the highest levels of both global affairs and military strategy as much as I did.

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Find Mike LeFever Online:

https://nationalsecurity.gmu.edu/mike-lefever/

End Game First: A Leadership Strategy for Navigating a Crisis

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Show Notes:

00:00 Introduction 00:44 Introduction to Combat Story and Host 01:03 Meet Vice Admiral Mike Lefevre 01:34 Career Highlights and Leadership Roles 02:25 Personal Insights and Experiences 02:53 Memorable Moments in Islamabad 07:07 Significant Events and Challenges in Pakistan 09:06 Reflections on Leadership and Service 09:54 Unexpected Career Path and Surface Warfare 15:04 Leading Earthquake Relief in Pakistan 19:10 Building a Humanitarian Task Force 24:14 Navigating Crisis and Leadership Lessons 32:04 End Game: Strategic Planning and Execution 35:07 Military Influence in Pakistan 35:29 Anecdotes from Bab N Abad 36:41 Building Relationships in Pakistan 39:44 The Bin Laden Raid 42:36 Post-Raid Reflections 44:00 Geopolitical Challenges and Operations 53:14 Leadership and Mentorship 55:20 High-Performance Training 57:44 Current Endeavors and Reflections 01:02:02 Personal Reflections and Closing Thoughts